In the July 2023 edition of the monthly magazine for The Law Society Gazette, Daniel Lewis provided insight on how rehabilitation and depression can be linked and spoke about his own experience. View the article on page 23 here.

All rehabilitation services are both admirable and much needed in today’s world. As we know, there are some amazing companies and organisations out there that specialise in treating stroke victims, other brain and spinal injuries, and that make a remarkable difference to people’s quality of life.

Ten years ago, I had major surgery. I remember all too well after the surgery and during the period of recuperation, the physiotherapist coming round daily for a session to teach me to walk again and to get in and out of bed. At the time I resented and challenged this – all I wanted was to stay in the bed and sleep. I did not try, I just resisted. I was only in my early 50’s so deep down I knew I needed to get better in order to be allowed home, but I just did not have the will to let that happen.

Looking back on that period, I now know it wasn’t resistance as such – I was quite simply clinically depressed. It was never suggested by any of the nurses or doctors that this might be the case. Even though I would burst into tears if someone even said hello, depression was never diagnosed in order to get me better again. I did not even register it myself.

After a few months of being back home and not being able to straighten myself out, I went reluctantly to my GP who diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and clinical depression as a result of everything that had happened to me. He put me on anti-depressants and within a week or two I finally woke up from my dark place.

So, how can we link rehabilitation with depression? It should be easy you might think, but what I find interesting in retrospect is that when you need rehabilitation the most, is often the time when you most resist it. Perhaps, like me, you had given up and just do not want to wake up the next morning.

I find it amazing that the physio was clearly not trained to spot depression and with all her skills as a physiotherapist had not put two and two together. Treating depression is part of rehabilitation and I know that there are some rehabilitation organisations (such as The Rehab Physio) that actively see the mindset as part of the process. None of my friends spotted the depression either, so someone who has the ability to diagnose mental state is an important necessity for any rehab service.

Depression is as important as any other form of rehabilitation. When we think of the process of rehabilitation, we think about sophisticated machines helping patients to walk again, trained physiotherapists encouraging exercises, speech therapists and so on.

Then we come to mental rehabilitation.

A case that immediately springs to mind is that of the solicitor Sally Clark whose conviction for killing two of her children was quashed by the court of appeal. She served three years of a life sentence. In 2007, she died, a coroner ruling that she accidentally died from drinking too much alcohol. I do not know the ins and outs of the case, but I have to wonder whether there was enough mental rehabilitation given for her to come to grips with life after the case.

We do know there was tremendous family support, but often that is not enough.

Any form is healing, whether it be physical or spiritual, is totally dependant on whether you want to be healed in the first place. And what you want to achieve – you must want to get better. But if you have lost the will to live and it has not been spotted, any form of physical rehabilitation will be impossible. I would urge rehab practitioners to look at the individual they are treating for any form of depression that might hinder their future results. Alarm bells will often ring when resistance is shown.

In my experience, once the diagnosis of depression has been identified, and appropriate medication issued, it should not be too long before a change in the patient is noticed. Small signs such as wanting to eat, being pleased to see visitors and more crucially not battling against the whole rehabilitation process. Physical rehabilitation is of course essential, and with the physicality improving it goes without saying that the mental state will also improve. Think about achievement satisfaction when you can do something that a few weeks ago was unreachable. Hopefully, in the future depression can be treated as one of the main parts of rehabilitation and ,as in my case, ignored or not spotted.

I just hope that you, as the reader, will never have to go through what I did. And remember it is depression that can be the killer – not the injury.

Daniel Lewis is a Business Manager at Clayton Legal and a speaker on importance of noticing stress in employees.

Why We Are Working With Ecologi 

Over the past 24 years, we’ve been proud to support a wide range of charities, initiatives, and organisations as part of our wider CSR Programme.

From foodbank donations, sponsored walks, and baking competitions, to a more holistic look at staff well-being and support, it has been our goal to become a socially responsible business, both internally and externally – making a positive impact on our people and workplace, our clients and suppliers, our local community, and our local and global environment.

The purpose of our programme is to sustain a business that is successful and respected in its ethical standing by our stakeholders. Put simply, doing the right thing and supporting endeavours that matter to the individuals who work here on a deeply personal level.

And, whilst we have supported many national and often international causes, we are particularly passionate about helping those that have roots and impact here in the UK, and in the Northwest.

More recently, we have taken the time to educate ourselves around the importance of environmental sustainability, the effect of our business activities, and the role we must all play in reducing our impact on the planet.

We are therefore delighted to announce our partnership with Ecologi, a certified B-Corp social enterprise, and platform for Climate Action; helping individuals, families, and businesses become Climate Positive.

The enterprise, founded in 2018 by a group of environmentalists in Bristol, is nothing short of extraordinary.

Their platform offers an easy and effective way for businesses and individuals to make a positive impact on the environment by offsetting their carbon footprint and supporting reforestation projects both here in the UK and overseas; helping to protect and restore vital ecosystems that are home to a rich variety of wildlife. In addition, funds are used to support other certified projects focused on avoiding greenhouse emissions, carbon avoidance, and local initiatives that by proxy, are also creating job opportunities across the globe.

They have gained significant publicity and recognition in the last couple of years, scaling up their operations and attracting over 40,000 members (individuals and businesses) who support their mission in taking simple, but impactful climate action.

We have been so impressed by the work that Ecologi does that this year we have committed to funding the planting of trees in the UK for every placement we make. The monies raised collectively support multiple tree-planting partners across the country, including reforestation in Scotland and the reforesting of farmland.

You can see the impact of Ecologi’s work and their UK reforestation projects here.

We have also signed up for the Beta trial, ‘Ecologi Zero’ to calculate our carbon footprint and put plans in place to reduce our emissions.

With our virtual forest all setup, we are excited to turn our placements into planting and will keep all stakeholders updated on the wider impact of this particular element of our CSR programme.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals, and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help – whether that’s on a contingency or retained basis.

Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Read our feature introducing our new hires in Lancashire Business View.

Legal Recruitment specialists, Clayton Legal, have welcomed eight new hires to their team across their offices in Preston and Manchester as they push on with growth plans for 2023.

The latest cohort includes Natasha Roe, Patrick Hackett, Mark Davidson, Sadiyah Raja, Chris Orrell and Josh Nevin who all join the business as Recruitment Consultants, bringing previous experience across professional services, legal, and recruitment sectors.

The new additions will boost the well-established regional teams as they continue to unite hirers in the sector, with jobseekers across all practice areas.

Digital Communications and Content Executive, Omowumi Osundina, has also been recruited to further enhance the marketing department alongside Joel Okoye who joins as a Digital Marketing Apprentice. The appointments of Omowumi and Joel have been made to further enhance the already-established Clayton Legal brand and service offering, as well as drive continuous improvements to the company’s digital channels and client communications.

Lynn Sedgwick, chief executive, said:

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome all seven of our new starters to the Clayton team. Their skills, knowledge and previous experience are already having an impact on our business, and the way we are able to offer a transformational service to Law Firms across the country, as well as legal professionals seeking a new opportunity.

Despite the somewhat uncertain economic backdrop, we are continuing to invest in our business – our people, products and processes – in line with demand for our services and our own ambitious growth plans.

We are committed to being the very best service provider and build on our 25-year heritage in the legal field – and plan to add to our headcount further in the coming months as our search for customer-focused, experienced recruiters continues.”

The increased hiring activity is in addition to the physical growth of the business which opened a second office in Manchester city centre in Autumn last year, with plans to open other branches across the country later this year and beyond.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

UK recruitment industry news website Recruitment Buzz is the latest media outlet to cover our market analysis for advertised legal roles in Yorkshire.

This follows articles from publications including Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Business Link, Bdaily, and the Global Recruiter.

To find out what the results mean for legal professionals in Yorkshire and the surrounding areas, please click the links above.

Our latest market analysis for advertised legal roles has been featured in a number of publications including Bdaily, the Global Recruiter and Recruitment International.

It has revealed that vacancies for legal professionals across the North West have risen by 9% month-on-month. To learn more about the results, click the links above.

Our latest market analysis for Manchester and the surrounding areas has been featured by Recruitment International and the Online Recruitment website.

One of the key insights from our survey, which is based on our comprehensive data on advertised roles and candidates registered, is that demand for private practice lawyers has risen by 44% month-on-month.

Our latest market analysis for advertised legal roles in the North East has been covered by a number of a wide range of media outlets including Solicitors Journal, Global Recruiter, HR Director and IFA Magazine.

One of the key findings from our data is that vacancies for private practice lawyers across the North East have risen by 24% month-on-month – this can largely be attributed to a buoyant commercial property market which is fuelling demand for conveyancing professionals.

You can also read the full summary of all of our regions by clicking here.

Our latest market analysis for advertised legal roles in the Midlands has been covered by Recruitment International and Bdaily.

One of the key findings from the analysis is that vacancies for private practice lawyers across the Midlands have risen by 68% month-on-month – with the ‘mini boom’ in the region’s housing market contributing to the demand for residential conveyancing professionals.

You can also read the full summary of all of our regions by clicking here.

Our latest market analysis for advertised legal roles in the North West has been covered by the 29th August edition of the popular regional daily newspaper Lancashire Evening Post and regional business news site Bdaily.

One of the key findings from our analysis is that vacancies for private practice lawyers have increased across the North West by 36% month-on-month.

To read more about the results, including the levels of demand for family and probate solicitors, click here.

Our latest market analysis for advertised legal roles in the South East has been covered by a number of titles including The Global Recruiter, Staffing Industry Analysts and Bdaily.

One of the key findings is that vacancies for private practice lawyers have increased across the region by 36% month-on-month – with the increased cost of living in London being a contributing factor.

To read more about our analysis, including the comments of our managing director, Lynn Sedgwick, click on any of the links above.