Mental Health Matters

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Mental Health Law Section

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2026 Articles

2025 Joint Midyear Meeting Photos February 2026 The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association proudly co-hosted the 2025 Joint Midyear Meeting on December 11–12 at the JW Marriott Chicago, bringing members of the legal community together for two days of connection and collaboration.
2026 Annual Meeting Photos October 2026 ISBA members and guests gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis on June 11–12, 2026, for the Annual Meeting, which featured outstanding CLE programming, networking, and business meetings. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the Annual Meeting a success!
Advocating for Yourself to Better Advocate for Your Clients: The Taboo Topic of Self-Care By Isabella Mazzanti February 2026 Next time you may feel guilty about taking time for yourself and away from work, remember that you cannot be an effective advocate without self-care. In other words, self-care doesn’t compete with hard work, it protects it.
Become an Illinois Bar Foundation Champion By Jessica R. Durkin February 2026 At least twice a year at ISBA Annual and Midyear Meetings, we are pitched by colleagues and the Illinois Bar Foundation to become a “Champion.” But what is a Champion really, and what’s in it for us?
Beyond the Cubicle, Behind the Bruises: Domestic Violence and Women in the Workplace By Judge Megan Goldish February 2026 Employers can play a key role in detecting and protecting against domestic violence, which becomes especially important in the age of COVID when remote work became more dominant. Recent legislation has paved the way for workplace strategies to reduce the impact of DV, but employers can also implement policies to advance this goal. 
Editor’s Note By Sandra Blake October 2026 A compilation of recent news articles that detail issues relating to mental health.
Editor’s Note By Sandra Blake May 2026 A note from the Editor of Mental Health Matters, discussing Mental Health Awareness Month. 
The Gift of Understanding By Susan M. Goldberg May 2026 An anecdote, thinking back to years past: As a child, every year I noticed that there was always one present that remained under our Christmas tree for several days after Christmas. It was a small gift with a tag on it that said “For Luella.” My mother told me that Luella was a woman who was in “a mental hospital."
Lawyers’ Assistance Program: Mental Health By Nicole Sartori May 2026 The Lawyers' Assistance Program is a valuable resource for attorneys, judges, and law students, offering services from assessments, substance abuse to mental health treatments, support groups, and individual counseling. 
Seeing the Humanity: Northern Illinois NAMI By Susan M. Goldberg May 2026 Danielle Angilieri, the Executive Director of the Northern Illinois National Alliance for Mental Illness in Rockford, shares her career journey and offers words of wisdom when dealing with persons who may be suffering from mental illnesses. 
When the Mind Never Adjourns: Why the Legal Brain Struggles to Leave the Courtroom Behind By Dr. Alexandra Tsang October 2026 To the brain, sustained psychological pressure can feel remarkably similar to physical danger. The human brain does not distinguish between the threat of a charging bear and the stress of a high-stakes hearing. To the human brain, they are one and the same.
Why Illinois Juries Should Be Told the Truth: Consequences Instructions and the Insanity Defense By Kulmeet S. Galhotra October 2026 The result of presenting jurors with the option between Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Guilty but Mentally Ill is a predictable and troubling dynamic: jurors who believe the defendant was mentally ill and dangerous may reject an insanity verdict out of fear that the defendant will be released without treatment, and instead choose GBMI in the belief that it ensures mental‑health care. In Illinois, that belief is wrong.
Why Illinois Juries Should Be Told the Truth: Consequences Instructions and the Insanity Defense By Kulmeet S. Galhotra April 2026 Illinois remains among a small minority of jurisdictions that prohibit juries from hearing what actually happens if they return a verdict of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI). Jurors are often presented with an alternative verdict of Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI), a disposition that intuitively suggests treatment and accountability. The result is a predictable and troubling dynamic: jurors who believe the defendant was mentally ill and dangerous may reject an insanity verdict out of fear that the defendant will be released without treatment, and instead choose GBMI in the belief that it ensures mental‑health care. In Illinois, that belief is wrong.