📝 Episode Synopsis

In the first installment of the HEART & SOUL series, Dr. Joey Weisler shares the deeply personal story that helped shape the foundation of the HEART framework. Long before he entered a classroom as a teacher, Joey recognized what he calls "the look"—the quiet expression carried by people who simply want to feel visible.

Through reflections on a high school friendship, and the loss of the friend to suicide, and the lessons learned from years of trying to help others heal through direct intervention efforts, Joey explores the difference between caring for people and carrying people. Along the way, he examines how empathy can become both a gift and a burden, and why educators need structures that allow them to support students wi ...