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Boundaries coach Barb Nangle presented the first program of the Well-Being Summit, “Stop Over-Giving: Repair Your Life from the Inside Out Boundaries for Attorneys.”
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On May 7, over 30 Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) members gathered at the CBA offices in Meriden for the 2025 Well-Being Summit, hosted by the CBA Lawyer Well-Being Committee. The Summit, which has been held annually since 2023, consists of a free-to-attend half day of wellness presentations focused specifically on well-being issues commonly experienced by attorneys. Attendees at this year’s event heard from two wellness practitioners, boundaries coach Barb Nangle and licensed professional counselor Tamar Draughn.
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| CBA Well-Being Committee Co-Chairs (L to R) Joan R. Wilson and Sara Bonaiuto provided a welcome to attendees for this year's Well-Being Summit. |
The Summit began with a brief welcome from the CBA Well-Being Committee Co-Chairs Sara Bonaiuto and Joan R. Wilson. They thanked the attendees for taking time out of their professional schedules to focus on their own well-being.
The first of the Summit’s two presentations, “Stop Over-Giving: Repair Your Life from the Inside Out Boundaries for Attorneys,” was presented by Barb Nangle. She spoke about her personal journey struggling through years of substance abuse and unhealthy habits before joining a 12-step recovery program at the age of 52. Drawing from her experiences pre and post-recovery, she discussed how self-imposed limitations and ineffective communication in a person’s professional life can lead to chronic stress and depression. She emphasized the importance of focusing on yourself, setting effective boundaries in your work, and providing clear and direct communication with others when you begin to feel overwhelmed. “I tend to think of boundaries as standards for your life, they are limits for you and for other people that let you uphold your own standards,” stated Nangle, before explaining that setting up healthy boundaries is essential to avoiding burnout and ensuring the ability to fulfill professional responsibilities.
Following the Summit’s initial program, CBA Lawyer Well Being Committee Co-Chairs Bonaiuto and Wilson led a brief discussion about general well-being practices and answered various questions from audience members.
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| Licensed professional counselor Tamar Draughn led a sound healing session as the second program of the Well-Being Summit. |
For the second and final Summit presentation, Tamar Draughn, president and director of integrative medicine at Phoenix Professional Services LLC, provided attendees with a sound healing session. During the session, she utilized mallets and singing bowls while leading attendees through a guided meditative practice focused on plants. She encouraged the audience to write positive affirmations and the names of loved ones on clay pots that were given to each participant. She continued by asking everyone to add soil to their pot and then plant leaf clippings that she had provided, emphasizing the connection between people and nature.
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| During the sound healing session, attendees wrote positive affirmations and the names of loved ones on clay pots and planted leaf clippings in the pots. |
After the second program, CBA Lawyer Well-Being Committee Co-Chairs Sara Bonaiuto and Joan R. Wilson closed the summit, thanking everyone who attended and encouraging them all to advocate for an increased focus on well-being in the legal profession.