ABSTRACT
This chapter describes universal supports for social and emotional learning (SEL) as the foundation for a cognitive behavioral therapy-based tiered system of school-based mental health. It describes how SEL is unique from but related to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and how the two can complement each other. Integration of PBIS and SEL seems to offer synergistic effects in promoting positive student outcomes. The chapter summarizes some lines of research that provide empirical support for the importance of universal SEL in schools. It offers online resources for identifying SEL programs and provides examples of several empirically supported SEL programs for use at the elementary and secondary levels. The chapter concludes by describing how to determine which SEL program is best suited for a particular school and various instruments/strategies available for universal screening and subsequent progress monitoring to determine whether the goals of the universal mental health initiative are being met.
