Implementation

The goal of a Skills System implementation is to help organizations and/or practitioners support individuals who experience high levels of emotional dysregulation and complex behavioral health issues to improve their abilities to self- and co-regulate with the people in their environment. To accomplish this goal, the Skills System uses a “transdisciplinary” approach. Transdisciplinary means that everyone is involved with the implementation, rather than a select few within a system of support.

The Skills System Implementation Guide is designed to explain multiple elements of the implementation process. The Skills System Implementation Worksheet can assist programs to evaluate their current status on the elements and plan additional implementation activities in areas of need.

When ready to begin the implementation process, email Julie at [email protected]
for a free consultation to help you get started.

If your program wants to (1) create an environment where staff/collateral supports self- and co-regulation with the individuals and (2) teach individuals self-regulation skills the following resources are recommended. There are multiple resources listed below that are designed to address both of these needs.

1. Creating Environments that Support Self- and Co-Regulation

Team consultations

The first step to doing an implementation is to create a Leadership Team. The Leadership Team plans and manages the implementation process. Team consultations with the Skills System author/developer, Julie F. Brown, Ph.D., support the program to integrate and use the Skills System training resources.

Julie is available to meet with programs monthly/bi-monthly for 1-hour team consultations to support the implementation process. The rate is $300 per hour. Email [email protected]  to schedule a consultation. Leadership Team Consultation are required for large implementations.

Training staff to be skills coaches using the E-Learning

Training staff and collateral supports to know skills and skills coaching strategies is a vital step in the implementation process. The Skills System E-Learning is the primary training tool for staff and collateral supports.

• Skills System E-Learning Memberships:
  E-Learning Group Memberships are used to teach staff the skills and skills coaching strategies. It is recommended that all staff complete Course 1 Skills Basics (3-hours) and Course 2 Skills Coaching Strategies (3-hours). The cost is $20 per person for 1-year and the memberships are not transferable.
• Clinician Memberships are designed to give individuals and collateral support access to the E-Learning.
  • The E-Learning tab has details, pricing, and purchase options for Group and Clinician Memberships.

2. Providing Skills Instruction to Individuals

The Skills System is designed to be used by individuals who experience learning challenges. In order to teach vulnerable learners, skills instructors need to know the model and have access to multiple teaching resources to be able to maximize teachable opportunities. While the E-learning is used by some individuals to learn Skills System concepts, most individuals require some form of group/1:1 skills instruction to learn and generalize skills.

The Skills System teaching model is flexible to address the need of diverse individuals and settings. The resources can be use for in-person and/or remote instruction, in structured and informal/impromptu formats. To optimize the Skills System model, instructors need to complete the E-Learning courses and use the following resources listed below:

Skills System text

The 2016 Skills System book (The Emotion Regulation Skills System for the Cognitively Challenged Client) contains teaching strategies, 12-week skills group curriculum, and 150 pages of downloadable handouts/worksheets. It is available from Guilford Press and Amazon (usually under $30). The handouts can be used in conjunction with the E-Learning lessons to individualize and deepen skills instruction. There is a link to purchase the text on the Books and Articles page under Resources.

2-Day Instructor’s Training

Three times per year (March, June and October), Julie conducts a live, online, 2-Day Skills System Instructor’s Training. This training is designed to help people learn more about providing skills instruction to individuals who have complex learning challenges. The 2024 rate is $475 per person.

Consultation Community

Julie hosts a live, 1-hour online, monthly group consultation meeting on the first Friday of each month at noon EST. Skills instructors from different locations/programs, and of varying levels of experience, attend. The content includes training, discussions, and visual aids of relevant material. Sessions are recorded and available to watch after the meetings. There is an extensive video library that is searchable by topic that members can access. Membership in the Consultation Community is included after attending a 2-Day Skills System Instructor’s Training. This is a valuable resource that helps skills instructors increase competency and broaden their knowledge base.

Skills Coach Certificate

A skills instructor who works with the Skills System model for several months, can earn a “Certificate of Specialized Knowledge: Skills Coach.” This may prove to be a useful process to increase the likelihood that the instructor is working in fidelity to the Skills System. The Certificate is NOT a pre-requisite for instruction. The exam requires that the instructor or staff member have extensive prior experience coaching individuals to pass the oral exam. Information about the Skills Coaching Certificate is on the Certificate tab of the website.