Mental Wellness Strategies: Evidence-Based Approaches to Stress and Performance from Psychiatrist and Researcher Dr. Arlene MacDougall

Drawing on neuroscience and research on occupational stress, this presentation examines the impact of chronic stress on cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in the legal profession. Dr. Arlene MacDougall, a psychiatrist, researcher, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Western University, Director of Research and Innovation for Mental Health Care at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, and co-founder of the Global MINDS Collective, brings both clinical and research perspectives to the discussion of mental health, wellbeing, and evidence-based mindfulness practices. The presentation explains how sustained stress and elevated cortisol levels affect the brain’s executive functions, attention, judgment, and emotional regulation, increasing risks of burnout, depression, anxiety, and substance misuse among professionals working in high pressure environments. It introduces mindfulness as an evidence-based approach to strengthening attention control, improving responses to stress, and reducing unproductive patterns such as rumination and catastrophizing. Cognitive behavioural strategies are also explored to help individuals evaluate automatic thoughts, identify cognitive distortions, and adopt more realistic thinking patterns. Practical takeaways emphasize brief mindfulness practices, recovery cycles that include sleep, exercise, and social connection, and regular reflection on professional values and purpose as tools for sustaining performance, resilience, and long-term career wellbeing.