Social Emotional Learning

Why Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
Presented by Linda Price, a Massachusetts-based Licensed Educational Psychologist and SEL consultant, program participants are invited to learn about how to support the development of social emotional skills and mindfulness to:

• decrease stress and anxiety
• improve youth engagement and attention
• support compassionate and respectful relationships
• develop a calmer and more predictable school, home, and community environment.

What is SEL?
Social emotional skills focus on self-management, self awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills. Mindfulness activities elicit the relaxation response allowing for the social emotional skills to be applied and implemented more successfully. Programs specifically provide:

• techniques for creating structure and predictable routines
• increasing positive coping strategies, self-regulation, self-management, and responsible decision-making skills
• developing positive relationships and compassion with self and others
• being present with mindful communication so others can feel seen, heard, understood, and accepted in a supportive climate.

Through learning brain-based approaches, educators and parents/caretakers can assess what is behind a youth’s behaviors to identify and teach lagging skills and offer positive choices and breaks that allow youth to ‘calm their emotional brain’ during a stress response, and supporting youth to get back to their ‘thinking/rational brain’ in order to enable them to communicate, problem-solve, brainstorm, and learn.

Since many youth, as well as families and school personnel, have experienced trauma and may struggle with mental health challenges and conditions, Trauma-informed Social Emotional Learning practices are built into Linda’s programs. This perspective understands that behavior can be driven by unmet universal needs, wounds and trauma reminders, lagging skills, and the brain’s attempt to protect against real and perceived danger. Developing trauma-sensitive schools and communities with social emotional tools and mindfulness-based self-care practices can prevent compassion fatigue, burnout, and enable adults caring for youth to model and apply these strategies as well as communicate calmly and effectively with colleagues, parents, and caregivers.

Some of Linda’s program titles include “Trauma-Informed SEL”, “Using SEL to Reduce Student Anxiety and Stress”, “Coping Skills for Current Times”, “Supporting Youth Fears, Worries, and Grief: A Webinar for Adults”, and “The ABCs: Attention, Balance, Connection”.

Format
Delivered virtually or in-person, Social Emotional Learning programs can be tailored to the audience’s needs and familiarity with SEL concepts as well as the hosting group’s objectives. Programs can be tailored to schools, community groups, corporations, and conferences and typically range from 60-120 minutes. When appropriate, a program may also include a Young Adult Speaker from the Changing Minds: Stories Over Stigma program

Fee
There is a $500 fee for each workshop. In-person programs outside of the Greater Boston area may incur travel costs