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

Free Open Access Office Hours:

Every Tuesday at 12:00-12:30 Eastern time there are open access office hours when Dr. Julie Brown or Dr. Corey Gifford are available for free consultation. The link is on the home page.

Team consultations

The first step to doing an implementation is to create a Leadership Team. The Leadership Team plans and manages the implementation process. If necessary, programs can do a team consultation with the Skills System author/developer, Julie F. Brown, Ph.D. or Corey Gifford, PsyD, to support them to integrate and use the Skills System training resources.

The rate for team consultations is $300 per hour. Email [email protected]  to schedule a consultation.

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 Books

The 2026 2nd Edition Skills System text (The Emotion Regulation Skills System for Clients with Cognitive Challenges) contains teaching strategies and a 12-week group curriculum. The 2nd Edition Skills System Workbook (available through Guilford Press as an E-Book for easy of printing & it has fillable worksheets) has handouts, worked examples, and worksheets to personalize skills learning. Hard copies are available from Guilford Press and Amazon. 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 2026 rate is $495 per person.

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.