Mindfulness and meditation are valuable practices—but they aren’t the only effective ways to manage stress.
This program introduces legal professionals to three alternative tools: (1) Humor, (2) Music, and (3) Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or tapping). Participants will explore how each approach can reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and support sustainable well-being in a demanding profession.
Whether you already practice mindfulness or are looking for other tools that fit your lifestyle, this session offers practical, accessible strategies to help you feel more focused, resilient, and grounded in your daily work.
Watch now to:
- Understand how humor and music influence the brain, reduce stress, and support emotional regulation and focus
- Learn the fundamentals of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and its use in reducing anxiety and promoting balance
- Identify simple, effective tools for managing stress and enhancing mental well-being in the legal profession
Meet Our Panel
Amy Levine
Moderator
Amy Levine joined LCL in 2023. As Director of Programs and Volunteers, Amy coordinates our organization’s educational programming as well as contributions to our organization from across the Massachusetts legal profession.
Amy has over 20 years working in the legal industry including working at Goulston & Storrs and Hale and Dorr (currently WilmerHale) and spent the last 15 years working as a vice president and legal recruiter at one of the top legal staffing firms in New England. She has experience in recruiting, coaching, counseling, professional development, and career management. She has presented at Boston University Paralegal Certificate program, the Massachusetts Paralegal Association and resume workshops. Additionally, she has coached Attorneys, Paralegals and Business Professionals on resume writing, job search techniques, and other elements of this process to find their ideal job. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Boston University and has dedicated her career to improving people’s lives.
Jeff Fortgang, PhD, LADC-I
Panelist
Dr. Jeff Fortgang joined LCL in 1998. As a Clinical Psychologist, HSP, he meets with clients regularly, leads groups, writes articles, and makes presentations to the legal community.
After graduating from Yale and working for a few years as a musician/songwriter, Jeff completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1980. His dissertation, internship, and fellowship focused on treatment of alcoholism. Jeff has held positions at Mass. General, Mt. Auburn, Newton-Wellesley, and McLean Hospitals, worked with various employee assistance programs, and directed programs at Westwood Lodge Hospital and Bay Colony/Spofford Hall Outpatient Services.
A former Instructor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of Harvard Medical School (1993-2016), he has been in his half-time LCL role since 1998. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the National Register of Healthcare Providers in Psychology, and Mass.-licensed as both a psychologist and alcohol/drug counselor. His private practice office is in Newton Highlands.
He is the coauthor of the book The Full Weight of the Law: How Legal Professionals Can Recognize and Rebound from Depression (ABA publication, 2017 – available in our lending library) with another LCL Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Shawn Healy.
Jeff runs our Solo | Stress Connection Support Group and our Immigration Lawyers Support Group.
Michelle Thompson, JD, PhD
Panelist
Michelle Thompson, Founder of Resistant Vision Coaching and Consultant, is a business coach who works with women lawyers who are working 70 – 90 hours per week and are exhausted, frustrated, and near burnout to grow their practices and increase billables without sacrificing their health and time with their friends and families.
If you are unable to build a book of business that allows you to meet the number of billable hours your firm requires, regardless of the size, you will miss your income goals and find yourself overworking so you don’t have time to spend with friends and family and on yourself.
With almost 3 decades in law and academia and over 5 years of experience as a professional coach, Michelle, an Accredited Certified EFT Practitioner with EFT International, helps her clients achieve professional sanity with a variety of embodied techniques that combine left and right brain strategies, from emotional freedom techniques (tapping) to strategic planning.
Mayron Periera Piccolo Ribeiro, PhD, BCBA, LABA
Panelist
Dr. Mayron Periera Piccolo Ribeiro, PhD, BCBA, LABA, is a psychologist, behavior analyst, and lecturer at Harvard College whose work explores the powerful relationship between music and the mind. Originally from Brazil, he earned his PhD in Psychology (insigni cum laude) from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, along with an M.Sc. in Behavior Analysis and dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and theology. Dr. Piccolo’s research focuses on how music can function as a social reward and therapeutic tool—particularly for historically marginalized populations, including individuals with psychiatric disorders, immigrants, and refugees. He investigates how communal music engagement supports emotional well-being, brain plasticity, and cognitive development, especially in children and underserved communities.
At Harvard, and previously as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia , Dr. Piccolo teaches The Science and Psychology of Music, a course that examines how music shapes our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and how it can be applied in clinical and everyday settings to improve mental health. The course integrates insights from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, highlighting music’s role in supporting patients with depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other conditions. A recipient of Harvard’s Certificate in Teaching Excellence and the Psychology Research Innovation Fund, Dr. Piccolo brings a dynamic, research-based, and deeply human perspective to the study of music’s transformative potential.