Law students’ perspectives on a single session compassion training seminar

Compassion training aims to protect healthcare workers from empathic distress and enhance their wellbeing. It is a new and under-evaluated area for the legal profession. Law students and lawyers face rising mental health, physical and behavioural problems, which compassion training may help to reduce. This preliminary study evaluated the impact of a single compassion training session on 52 law students at Monash University law school, Australia. The students rated the session highly and considered it important for law students. They also reported how they would use the training and whether it could improve their wellbeing and resilience. The students believed that compassion training would increase their resilience and wellbeing, especially when dealing with distressed or difficult people. This pilot study suggests that compassion training could benefit law students.