A three-day training workshop on mental health, specifically designed for legal professionals, was completed last week for 24 members of the Solomon Islands Women in Law Association (SIWILA).
Facilitated by mental health expert Debra Tuibau, the workshop focuses on identifying acute and chronic mental health issues, as well as developing healthy strategies to manage workplace stress and stressors.
The training provides critical tools for legal practitioners to recognize signs of mental health challenges—both in themselves and their colleagues—and fosters a supportive professional environment.
With high-pressure workloads common in the legal sector, the workshop aims to promote well-being, resilience, and sustainable workplace practices.
Gina Oroi, a Senior Legal Officer within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, emphasized the importance of the initiative: “This workshop has been very helpful, personally, I have learned about burnout and how it affects the work being delivered, I have learned that procrastination is a form of burnout,” Ms Oroi said.
“These things do happen in the office when one is overwhelmed with work while there is a lack of a support system in place, and hopefully with this training we could help nudge our respective offices to develop a self-care policy that looks after the mental wellbeing of people within the justice sector,” Ms Oroi concluded.
The workshop is made possible through the partnership between the Solomon Islands and Australian governments, supported by the Australia-Solomon Islands Partnership for Justice (ASIPJ).
This initiative underscores both nations’ commitment to strengthening justice sector resilience by prioritizing the mental health and professional development of legal practitioners.
