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In law enforcement, wellness can’t be an afterthought — it must be part of the foundation of operations. That means moving beyond surface-level initiatives to fully integrating mental health support into operations, training and leadership strategies. From proactive threat assessment to long-term officer resilience and retirement planning, embedding behavioral health into daily practice is key to building a healthier, more effective agency.
In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley talks with Dr. Cherylynn Lee, a police psychologist with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, about weaving behavioral science into tactical operations, threat assessment and daily officer interactions. From co-responder units to retirement planning, Dr. Lee explains how agencies can proactively support both sworn and civilian staff.
Read more from Dr. Lee on Police1 here. Connect with Dr. Lee on LinkedIn.
About our guest
Dr. Cherylynn Lee is a police psychologist and works full-time for the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office as the Behavioral Sciences Manager, overseeing the mental health co-response teams, CIT training and the internal Wellness Unit, including Peer Support. Dr. Lee is a member of the county’s threat management team and consults on threat assessment cases around the state. She also serves on the crisis negotiation response teams for both the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Barbara Police Department and teaches in the FBI 40-hour Crisis Negotiation Academy.
Dr. Lee has a private practice in the Santa Ynez Valley where she sees first responders exclusively, specializing in trauma, post-traumatic stress and mindfulness. She is contracted with The Counseling Team International to offer counseling and emergency response services across the state of California. Dr. Lee has led many critical incident stress debriefings for OIS, LODD, natural disasters and as requested by both local and state fire and law agencies.
Dr. Lee is also a subject-matter expert with CA POST on both officer and dispatcher wellness and has participated in several training videos and initiatives aimed at supporting and encouraging wellness for departments and their personnel. She currently sits on the California State Sheriffs Association Wellness board. She can be reached at Apple Podcasts. Contact the Policing Matters team at policingmatters@police1.com to share ideas, suggestions and feedback.
