TPP 303: Dr. Joseph Lee Talks About the Importance of SEL / Social and Emotional Learning

Have you ever wondered if SEL (social and emotional learning) in school and classrooms really matters? I’ve been exploring this question a lot about over the past year, as well trying to understand the recent increase in parental and political pushback in the US specifically that is putting the future of SEL in schools at risk.  

I wanted to get into a deep conversation about SEL for the show, and so I reached out Dr. Joseph Lee, a psychiatrist with a special interest in social and emotional learning and helping people achieve what he calls optimal mental healthiness.

We had exactly the conversation I was hoping we would, as we got into so many important topics, including the state of children and young adult’s mental health today, demystifying what SEL or social emotional learning actually is, why SEL matters, how it’s best introduced in schools, the limitations in the current educational model for social emotional learning curriculums, what the pushback against SEL is really about, and what it’s at stake if our children aren’t provided with social and emotional learning opportunities. I think this is such an important and timely conversation – I hope that you enjoy it and that you help me amplify this episode by sharing it in your communities.

Dr. Joseph Lee, MD., is a Psychiatrist in private practice in Redondo Beach, California. He is also an educator in social and emotional learning (SEL) and provides individual and group supervision to licensed therapists looking to add mental healthiness and SEL principles to their own practices. Dr. Lee has a medical doctorate from University Of California, Los Angeles, School Of Medicine.

Things you'll learn from this episode

• What Joseph Lee is seeing in his practice regarding and his thoughts on the state of children and young adult’s mental health today
• What SEL or social emotional learning actually is
• Ways that SEL can be weaved into traditional educational curriculum as well as the use of specific SEL curriculum
• What social and emotional learning inside schools looks like in practice
• The “why” behind the pushback against SEL in the recent years and what’s it’s at stake if we lose the ability to teach SEL in classrooms

 Resources mentioned for SEL or Social and Emotional Learning

• Mental Healthiness / Dr. Joseph Lee’s website
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
• Dr. Joseph Lee & Mental Healthiness on Facebook
• Dr. Joseph Lee on Twitter
• Daniel Goleman
• Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
• Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman
• U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Youth Mental Health Crisis Further Exposed by COVID-19 Pandemic

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