Doron Gold, Staff Clinician – Stay at Work Services at Homewood Health, received the 2016 CBA Wellness Forum’s Award of Excellence on November 5, 2016, at the group’s annual conference in Halifax. The award recognizes Gold’s dedication to improving the lives of lawyers and other legal professionals and students, in helping them lead more healthy and fulfilling lives. At Homewood, Gold lends his expertise as a former practicing lawyer and current social worker, to Homewood’s operation of the Member Assistance Program, a program offering confidential counselling, peer support and many other wellness resources to legal professionals in Ontario.

Gold’s work also includes co-authoring an online course on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, the Mood Disorders Society of Canada and Bell ‘Let’s Talk’. The course is called “Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession”, a self-learning program designed to help Canadian lawyers, judges and law students understand mental health and addiction issues, in the context of the legal profession.

Statistically, legal professionals are at higher risk for depression and addiction because of the demands and stresses of their jobs combined with the stigma of showing vulnerability. Gold’s hope for this course is that it expands knowledge of these issues and is a cornerstone to building a culture of wellness and self-care for legal professionals in Canada.

“It is a profound honour, and validation of the work we do in promoting wellness and removing stigma throughout the legal community.” Gold said, when he learned he had won this prestigious award.