The Emotion Regulation Skills System for Cognitively Challenged Clients: A DBT-Informed Approach
Authors: Julie F. Brown, Julie F. Brown
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Overview
This book is designed to be a comprehensive, user-friendly guide for professionals teaching emotion regulation skills to individuals with cognitive challenges. It introduces the Skills System, a simplified framework based on the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) but adapted to be more accessible for learners with intellectual disabilities or other impairments that impact learning. The book presents nine essential skills and three System Tools that help individuals understand their emotions and make effective decisions to reach their goals. The Skills System’s structured, step-by-step approach guides learners through the process of recognizing their emotional state, evaluating the situation, developing a coping plan, and taking skillful actions. The book provides detailed descriptions of each skill, along with practical exercises, handouts, and worksheets that can be used in group settings or for individual practice. I emphasize the importance of adapting teaching strategies to meet the diverse needs of learners, offering clear instructions, visual aids, and real-life examples to facilitate comprehension and retention. The book also includes guidance on how to integrate the Skills System into different therapeutic settings and how support providers can function as skills coaches, fostering generalization of skills in the individual’s daily life. My goal is to equip practitioners with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to teach the Skills System effectively, empowering individuals with learning challenges to improve their emotion regulation skills, build healthy relationships, and live more fulfilling lives.
Book Outline
1. Chapter 1: Introducing the Skills System
This chapter introduces the Skills System, an emotion regulation skills curriculum designed to help individuals, especially those with learning challenges, manage their emotions and behaviors in order to achieve their goals. The Skills System breaks down the complex process of emotion regulation into nine manageable steps, organized in a user-friendly structure that facilitates learning and application.
Key concept: The Skills System is a set of nine skills and three system rules that helps the individual cope with life’s challenges. This emotion regulation skills curriculum was developed to help the person organize her internal and external experiences in ways that decrease discomfort and problematic behaviors, while increasing positive affect and goal-directed actions.
2. Chapter 2: Learning the Skills System
This chapter provides a detailed description of each of the nine skills in the Skills System, as well as the System Tools that help individuals assemble these skills into effective chains for managing their emotions and behaviors. Each skill is broken down into simple, easy-to-understand steps, making it accessible for people with cognitive impairments. Important foundational DBT concepts and teaching points are also highlighted to provide context for trainers familiar with the standard DBT model.
Key concept: Clear Picture is the first skill in the Skills System, and it is an All-the-Time skill. This means that Clear Picture can be used at any level of feeling, 0–5. There are six steps, which collectively are referred to as the Clear Picture Do’s.
3. Chapter 3: Theoretical Underpinning of the Skills System
This chapter explores the theoretical foundations of the Skills System, highlighting the key elements from the literatures on emotion regulation, intellectual disabilities, DBT, and cognitive load theory (CLT) that inform the model’s design and implementation. The chapter emphasizes how CLT principles are used to make DBT and emotion regulation strategies more accessible to people with learning challenges, ultimately improving their ability to generalize skills into real-world contexts.
Key concept: The Skills System is a treatment tool that integrates (1) DBT principles and skills (Linehan, 1993a, 1993b, 2015a, 2015b) and (2) emotion regulation strategies (presented in the first section of this chapter). CLT was used to reorganize the DBT and emotion regulation models to address the needs of individuals diagnosed with ID.
4. Chapter 4: Structuring Skills System Instruction
This chapter provides practical guidance on structuring individual and group skills training, addressing topics such as group rules, makeup, and session time frames. The chapter introduces the E-Spiral framework, a four-phase learning model (Exploring Existing Knowledge Base, Encoding, Elaboration, and Efficacy) that structures each skills training session to facilitate effective learning and generalization. The 12-week Skills System curriculum is also presented, offering a structured approach to teaching the material, as well as two alternative approaches: Skills Surfing and an Experiential Approach.
Key concept: The E-Spiral is a teaching framework that guides Skills System curriculum teaching practices. It serves only as a general guide and framework to help practitioners remember the multiple steps within the learning process.
5. Chapter 5: Foundational Teaching Strategies
This chapter focuses on foundational teaching strategies that are used throughout the Skills System training sessions. The Quick-Step Assessment is introduced as a practical tool for instructors to monitor and adjust cognitive load demands, ensuring that materials are presented in a manner that is accessible for learners. Behavioral strategies, such as shaping, positive reinforcement, and contingency management, are also emphasized as important components for building motivation and facilitating generalization of adaptive behaviors.
Key concept: The Quick-Step Assessment is a strategy that skills trainers utilize to evaluate, design, and adjust interventions. These strategies are useful in Skills System groups and are helpful for leaders of standard DBT groups when participants struggle to comprehend the material. The assessment is a three-step process.
6. Chapter 6: E-Spiral Teaching Strategies
This chapter delves into the specific teaching strategies that are used within the different phases of the E-Spiral framework. A wide variety of techniques are presented, including using describe, disclosure, clarifying, assessment, relevant context, linking, and expansion questions to promote understanding and active participation in the group. The chapter provides specific examples of how to adapt these techniques for the different stages of the learning process, highlighting common challenges and effective solutions.
Key concept: This chapter introduces various teaching strategies and activities that are highlighted within the 12-week-cycle curriculum outlined in Chapter 7. These elements are woven together during various phases of the E-Spiral to enhance the learning process. The Quick-Step Assessment and behavioral strategies from Chapter 5 are also integrated into Skills System instruction.
7. Chapter 7: Skills System 12-Week-Cycle Curriculum
This chapter provides a detailed, week-by-week breakdown of the 12-week Skills System curriculum. Each week’s material includes specific guidance on how to review previous learning, introduce new skills, practice them through group activities, and make connections to real-life application. The chapter provides a framework for trainers to follow, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and adapting the speed and content to the individual needs of each group.
Key concept: It is impossible to predict whether the group will complete a teaching plan. Different settings have varying time frames for group sessions. Additionally, skills trainers must remember that the intellectual abilities of group members are unique. Therefore, the collective capacity of each skills group will be variable. This curriculum is a general guide for instructors. It is unlikely that all of the activities will be completed during the time frames that are available to the group.
8. Chapter 8: Skills Coaching Techniques
This chapter outlines skills coaching techniques that support providers, family members, and others can use to help individuals generalize the skills they learn in group into their daily lives. The chapter emphasizes the importance of extrinsic emotion regulation supports and provides specific techniques, drawing from the principles of DBT validation and the A + B = C coaching framework, to create a collaborative learning experience. The emphasis is on empowering the individual to utilize learned skills and increase independence while receiving support in a way that facilitates growth.
Key concept: A + B = C Skills Coaching Model: The skills coach helps the individual move from early-stage to late-stage processing and responding (refer to the dual stage, two-phase model in Chapter 3 (p. 49). If Person A impulsively acts with first-phase responses, the effectiveness is likely to be low. Through interpersonal emotion regulation strategies (that include both validation and skills coaching) the coach can guide Person A through steps to deepen processing, hence improving accuracy, promoting learning, and increasing goal-directed behaviors.
Essential Questions
1. What is the purpose of the Skills System and how does it differ from standard DBT?
The Skills System was created to offer a user-friendly, structured approach to learning and applying DBT skills for individuals with cognitive challenges. The standard DBT curriculum, although valuable, can be difficult for this population to grasp due to complex language, abstract concepts, and modular format. This book simplifies and reorganizes the DBT skills into nine concrete steps and three System Tools. The steps guide the person through the process of getting a ‘Clear Picture’ of the situation, using ‘On-Track Thinking’ to develop a plan, and then taking ‘On-Track Actions.’ The system simplifies complex DBT concepts like mindfulness and emotion regulation, making them accessible through metaphors, visual aids, and step-by-step instructions. This structured approach caters to diverse learning styles and reduces cognitive load, facilitating comprehension, retention, and real-life application of skills. The system also emphasizes building a common language around emotion regulation, empowering both individuals and their support networks to communicate effectively and collaboratively implement skills in daily life.
2. What are the nine skills and three System Tools that comprise the Skills System, and how are they used in practice?
The nine skills in the Skills System are: (1) Clear Picture, (2) On-Track Thinking, (3) On-Track Action, (4) Safety Plan, (5) New-Me Activities, (6) Problem Solving, (7) Expressing Myself, (8) Getting it Right, and (9) Relationship Care. The system encourages flexible usage but follows a core sequence of getting a Clear Picture, using On-Track Thinking to develop a coping plan, and taking On-Track Actions. There are four All-the-Time Skills and four Calm-Only Skills. All-the-Time skills can be used anytime regardless of the level of emotion, while Calm-Only skills are best used when calm and not emotionally escalated. Skills 1-5 are All-the-Time Skills and Skills 6-9 are Calm-Only Skills. The three System Tools (Feelings Rating Scale, Categories of Skills, and Recipe for Skills) assist with this process by providing a structure for choosing and assembling skills dynamically in context, depending on the individual’s emotional arousal and the nature of the situation.
3. How does the Skills System relate to DBT, and who is qualified to use it?
The Skills System emphasizes that it is a ‘DBT-informed approach’ and that using the Skills System is not ‘doing DBT’ unless the practitioner is DBT-trained and adheres to the DBT model. It is intended for use by qualified mental health professionals, with or without DBT training. In DBT, therapists and skills trainers may adapt teaching strategies for individuals with ID, but those changes must be carefully considered to retain the integrity of the model. The Skills System integrates essential DBT principles, such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance into a simplified format using CLT. The goal is to maintain the clinical effectiveness of DBT while increasing accessibility to improve generalization of skills in the client’s natural environment.
4. What teaching strategies are recommended for using the Skills System with individuals who have learning challenges?
This book emphasizes a variety of teaching strategies that aim to increase cognitive accessibility, reduce cognitive load demands, and cater to diverse learning styles. These include clear and simple language, breaking down complex information into smaller chunks, using visual aids and real-life examples, providing opportunities for practice, repetition, and feedback, using metaphors and analogies to bridge to familiar knowledge, structuring skills instruction using the E-Spiral framework to promote knowledge integration, and fostering a collaborative learning environment. These teaching enhancements aim to support effective knowledge transfer and promote real-world application of skills for individuals with cognitive limitations.
5. What is skills coaching and what is the role of support providers in the Skills System?
Support providers, family members, teachers, and anyone in the individual’s support network can be trained to act as skills coaches. Skills coaching goes beyond everyday support by offering encouragement, guidance, feedback, and assistance in applying Skills System concepts in daily life situations. Coaching utilizes principles of validation and incorporates change strategies to support emotion regulation and generalization of skills. Skills coaching enhances communication between the individual and their support system, promoting a shared language around emotion regulation and fostering a collaborative approach to managing challenging emotions and situations. The goal of skills coaching is to empower individuals to implement learned skills independently, while also providing ongoing support and encouragement to promote generalization and maintenance of skills in their natural environments.
1. What is the purpose of the Skills System and how does it differ from standard DBT?
The Skills System was created to offer a user-friendly, structured approach to learning and applying DBT skills for individuals with cognitive challenges. The standard DBT curriculum, although valuable, can be difficult for this population to grasp due to complex language, abstract concepts, and modular format. This book simplifies and reorganizes the DBT skills into nine concrete steps and three System Tools. The steps guide the person through the process of getting a ‘Clear Picture’ of the situation, using ‘On-Track Thinking’ to develop a plan, and then taking ‘On-Track Actions.’ The system simplifies complex DBT concepts like mindfulness and emotion regulation, making them accessible through metaphors, visual aids, and step-by-step instructions. This structured approach caters to diverse learning styles and reduces cognitive load, facilitating comprehension, retention, and real-life application of skills. The system also emphasizes building a common language around emotion regulation, empowering both individuals and their support networks to communicate effectively and collaboratively implement skills in daily life.
2. What are the nine skills and three System Tools that comprise the Skills System, and how are they used in practice?
The nine skills in the Skills System are: (1) Clear Picture, (2) On-Track Thinking, (3) On-Track Action, (4) Safety Plan, (5) New-Me Activities, (6) Problem Solving, (7) Expressing Myself, (8) Getting it Right, and (9) Relationship Care. The system encourages flexible usage but follows a core sequence of getting a Clear Picture, using On-Track Thinking to develop a coping plan, and taking On-Track Actions. There are four All-the-Time Skills and four Calm-Only Skills. All-the-Time skills can be used anytime regardless of the level of emotion, while Calm-Only skills are best used when calm and not emotionally escalated. Skills 1-5 are All-the-Time Skills and Skills 6-9 are Calm-Only Skills. The three System Tools (Feelings Rating Scale, Categories of Skills, and Recipe for Skills) assist with this process by providing a structure for choosing and assembling skills dynamically in context, depending on the individual’s emotional arousal and the nature of the situation.
3. How does the Skills System relate to DBT, and who is qualified to use it?
The Skills System emphasizes that it is a ‘DBT-informed approach’ and that using the Skills System is not ‘doing DBT’ unless the practitioner is DBT-trained and adheres to the DBT model. It is intended for use by qualified mental health professionals, with or without DBT training. In DBT, therapists and skills trainers may adapt teaching strategies for individuals with ID, but those changes must be carefully considered to retain the integrity of the model. The Skills System integrates essential DBT principles, such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance into a simplified format using CLT. The goal is to maintain the clinical effectiveness of DBT while increasing accessibility to improve generalization of skills in the client’s natural environment.
4. What teaching strategies are recommended for using the Skills System with individuals who have learning challenges?
This book emphasizes a variety of teaching strategies that aim to increase cognitive accessibility, reduce cognitive load demands, and cater to diverse learning styles. These include clear and simple language, breaking down complex information into smaller chunks, using visual aids and real-life examples, providing opportunities for practice, repetition, and feedback, using metaphors and analogies to bridge to familiar knowledge, structuring skills instruction using the E-Spiral framework to promote knowledge integration, and fostering a collaborative learning environment. These teaching enhancements aim to support effective knowledge transfer and promote real-world application of skills for individuals with cognitive limitations.
5. What is skills coaching and what is the role of support providers in the Skills System?
Support providers, family members, teachers, and anyone in the individual’s support network can be trained to act as skills coaches. Skills coaching goes beyond everyday support by offering encouragement, guidance, feedback, and assistance in applying Skills System concepts in daily life situations. Coaching utilizes principles of validation and incorporates change strategies to support emotion regulation and generalization of skills. Skills coaching enhances communication between the individual and their support system, promoting a shared language around emotion regulation and fostering a collaborative approach to managing challenging emotions and situations. The goal of skills coaching is to empower individuals to implement learned skills independently, while also providing ongoing support and encouragement to promote generalization and maintenance of skills in their natural environments.
Key Takeaways
1. Adapt DBT skills and teaching for individuals with cognitive limitations.
The standard DBT model can be difficult for people with ID to understand and use. This takeaway highlights the need to adapt teaching methodologies to fit the needs of the learners, emphasizing that simplification and structure are crucial to promote learning and generalization of skills for individuals with ID. By carefully managing cognitive load demands, providing appropriate supports, and using clear, concise language, we can make the material accessible and promote self-efficacy in learners of all abilities. Presenting complex concepts using metaphors, visual aids, and interactive exercises can improve both engagement and knowledge transfer.
Practical Application:
In product design, consider cognitive load. Complex interfaces or lengthy tutorials may overwhelm users, hindering their ability to learn the product’s functionality. Simplify the design, chunk information, provide clear visual cues, and offer interactive tutorials that gradually increase in complexity, enabling users effectively to navigate and engage with the product.
2. Use a structured, step-by-step approach to emotion regulation.
The Skills System framework, with its emphasis on Clear Picture, On-Track Thinking, and On-Track Action, offers a systematic, step-by-step approach to navigating challenging emotions and situations. This structure provides much-needed support for people with cognitive impairments, allowing them to make informed decisions and choose adaptive behaviors. This approach helps reduce impulsivity, improve planning abilities, and increase the likelihood of reaching personal goals.
Practical Application:
In effective meetings, start with a shared mindfulness activity (e.g., briefly noticing the breath) to center the group, followed by reviewing meeting goals and expected outcomes. Chunk information into smaller segments, use visual aids, provide opportunities for questions and discussion, and conclude with clear action steps. This will minimize distractions, improve focus, and increase the likelihood of a productive meeting outcome.
3. Understand the stages of emotion processing and choose appropriate intervention strategies.
The theoretical basis for the Skills System includes the ‘modal model’ and ‘process model’ of emotion generation and regulation. This background provides insights for practitioners and coaches to understand the multiple, interacting factors that impact the process. Specifically, the model emphasizes that emotions are not single events but rather a series of processing stages. Interventions must take these different phases into consideration to achieve an effective outcome. Understanding these elements helps trainers and coaches be more flexible and adaptable in their support of the learners.
Practical Application:
In an AI safety context, provide clear instructions and decision-making frameworks that facilitate late-stage processing. Rather than solely relying on pre-programmed responses, enable the AI to gather information, evaluate risks and benefits, identify goals, plan actions, and consider potential outcomes, allowing it to make more nuanced, contextually appropriate decisions.
4. Train support networks to be effective skills coaches.
Skills coaching is a key component of the Skills System, enhancing learning and generalization. Support providers, family members, or anyone in the individual’s life can be trained to act as skills coaches, offering guidance, feedback, and encouragement. Skills coaching utilizes principles of DBT validation strategies that communicate acceptance and change to support the individual in a variety of settings. This collaborative approach increases the likelihood of adaptive skill usage in the individual’s natural environment.
Practical Application:
When training an AI model, provide opportunities for practice and feedback in diverse simulated environments, allowing it to adapt to varying contexts. This promotes more robust and generalized learning, enabling it to apply knowledge and make effective decisions in real-world situations.
5. Use Problem Solving skills to address life challenges strategically.
Problem Solving and other Calm-Only Skills can be useful tools for addressing difficulties in life. Medium and large problems can create distress, trigger off-track urges, and impact both individual and interpersonal functioning. The Skills System utilizes worksheets, practice activities, and discussions to help individuals develop problem-solving skills, emphasizing a step-by-step approach that includes getting a Clear Picture of the problem, checking all available options, and having Plans A, B, and C to be prepared when difficulties arise. This framework assists individuals in strategically managing situations effectively.
Practical Application:
When developing a product roadmap, incorporate ‘Plan B’ and ‘Plan C’ contingency plans. Anticipating potential obstacles or roadblocks enables a team to be more flexible and adaptable, increasing the likelihood of achieving project goals.
1. Adapt DBT skills and teaching for individuals with cognitive limitations.
The standard DBT model can be difficult for people with ID to understand and use. This takeaway highlights the need to adapt teaching methodologies to fit the needs of the learners, emphasizing that simplification and structure are crucial to promote learning and generalization of skills for individuals with ID. By carefully managing cognitive load demands, providing appropriate supports, and using clear, concise language, we can make the material accessible and promote self-efficacy in learners of all abilities. Presenting complex concepts using metaphors, visual aids, and interactive exercises can improve both engagement and knowledge transfer.
Practical Application:
In product design, consider cognitive load. Complex interfaces or lengthy tutorials may overwhelm users, hindering their ability to learn the product’s functionality. Simplify the design, chunk information, provide clear visual cues, and offer interactive tutorials that gradually increase in complexity, enabling users effectively to navigate and engage with the product.
2. Use a structured, step-by-step approach to emotion regulation.
The Skills System framework, with its emphasis on Clear Picture, On-Track Thinking, and On-Track Action, offers a systematic, step-by-step approach to navigating challenging emotions and situations. This structure provides much-needed support for people with cognitive impairments, allowing them to make informed decisions and choose adaptive behaviors. This approach helps reduce impulsivity, improve planning abilities, and increase the likelihood of reaching personal goals.
Practical Application:
In effective meetings, start with a shared mindfulness activity (e.g., briefly noticing the breath) to center the group, followed by reviewing meeting goals and expected outcomes. Chunk information into smaller segments, use visual aids, provide opportunities for questions and discussion, and conclude with clear action steps. This will minimize distractions, improve focus, and increase the likelihood of a productive meeting outcome.
3. Understand the stages of emotion processing and choose appropriate intervention strategies.
The theoretical basis for the Skills System includes the ‘modal model’ and ‘process model’ of emotion generation and regulation. This background provides insights for practitioners and coaches to understand the multiple, interacting factors that impact the process. Specifically, the model emphasizes that emotions are not single events but rather a series of processing stages. Interventions must take these different phases into consideration to achieve an effective outcome. Understanding these elements helps trainers and coaches be more flexible and adaptable in their support of the learners.
Practical Application:
In an AI safety context, provide clear instructions and decision-making frameworks that facilitate late-stage processing. Rather than solely relying on pre-programmed responses, enable the AI to gather information, evaluate risks and benefits, identify goals, plan actions, and consider potential outcomes, allowing it to make more nuanced, contextually appropriate decisions.
4. Train support networks to be effective skills coaches.
Skills coaching is a key component of the Skills System, enhancing learning and generalization. Support providers, family members, or anyone in the individual’s life can be trained to act as skills coaches, offering guidance, feedback, and encouragement. Skills coaching utilizes principles of DBT validation strategies that communicate acceptance and change to support the individual in a variety of settings. This collaborative approach increases the likelihood of adaptive skill usage in the individual’s natural environment.
Practical Application:
When training an AI model, provide opportunities for practice and feedback in diverse simulated environments, allowing it to adapt to varying contexts. This promotes more robust and generalized learning, enabling it to apply knowledge and make effective decisions in real-world situations.
5. Use Problem Solving skills to address life challenges strategically.
Problem Solving and other Calm-Only Skills can be useful tools for addressing difficulties in life. Medium and large problems can create distress, trigger off-track urges, and impact both individual and interpersonal functioning. The Skills System utilizes worksheets, practice activities, and discussions to help individuals develop problem-solving skills, emphasizing a step-by-step approach that includes getting a Clear Picture of the problem, checking all available options, and having Plans A, B, and C to be prepared when difficulties arise. This framework assists individuals in strategically managing situations effectively.
Practical Application:
When developing a product roadmap, incorporate ‘Plan B’ and ‘Plan C’ contingency plans. Anticipating potential obstacles or roadblocks enables a team to be more flexible and adaptable, increasing the likelihood of achieving project goals.
Memorable Quotes
Chapter 1. 1
"Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you–they’re supposed to help you discover who you are."
Chapter 1. 2
"The individual is no longer paralyzed; she is a Skills Master."
Preface. 8
"…my solution was Uno!"
Preface. 11
"…it was so simple and so complicated at the same time–how dialectical!"
Chapter 2. 45
"…different New-Me Activities affect people in various ways, and situations require different tactics."
Chapter 1. 1
"Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you–they’re supposed to help you discover who you are."
Chapter 1. 2
"The individual is no longer paralyzed; she is a Skills Master."
Preface. 8
"…my solution was Uno!"
Preface. 11
"…it was so simple and so complicated at the same time–how dialectical!"
Chapter 2. 45
"…different New-Me Activities affect people in various ways, and situations require different tactics."
Comparative Analysis
The Emotion Regulation Skills System for Cognitively Challenged Clients distinguishes itself from other works in the field of DBT and intellectual/developmental disabilities through its explicit focus on adapting the standard DBT skills curriculum for individuals with cognitive limitations. While other manuals may offer general guidelines for adaptation or simplified versions of select skills, the Skills System provides a comprehensive, systematic framework that prioritizes cognitive accessibility, incorporating principles of cognitive load theory (CLT) to enhance learning and generalization. This emphasis on CLT sets it apart from traditional DBT resources and makes it a valuable tool for clinicians working with individuals who experience challenges with executive functioning, memory, and language. Additionally, this book’s comprehensive approach, including individual therapy considerations, skills coaching techniques, and integration within support environments, goes beyond the scope of most DBT-informed resources for individuals with ID. The focus on collaborative learning and empowering support providers to be effective skills coaches is another strength, recognizing the crucial role of social support in emotion regulation. The manual also differentiates itself by directly addressing the unique challenges of this population, such as increased rates of trauma and diagnostic overshadowing. It recognizes the need for a person-centered approach, honoring the individuality and strengths of each person while also addressing specific barriers to learning and generalization. While complementing existing works in the field, the Skills System provides a tailored approach that fills a significant gap in the current literature.
Reflection
The Emotion Regulation Skills System for Cognitively Challenged Clients presents a valuable contribution to the field of DBT and intellectual/developmental disabilities by offering a concrete framework for adapting DBT for learners with cognitive challenges. The strength of this system lies in its comprehensive nature, clear instructions, and practical applications. Although promising, skeptical considerations include the need for more empirical evidence to demonstrate the system’s efficacy with diverse populations. The pilot study provides initial support, but more rigorous research, such as randomized controlled trials, is needed to validate the model further. The long-term impact of the Skills System needs to be assessed to determine whether its effects are sustained beyond the initial training period. It is crucial to consider whether individuals may become reliant on the structure and whether it inhibits developing capacities for more complex decision-making. Despite the need for ongoing research, the Skills System presents a user-friendly framework that makes the powerful concepts of DBT accessible to individuals who may not otherwise be able to benefit from them. The inclusion of clear steps, System Tools, and teaching strategies empowers practitioners, support providers, and families to collaborate in promoting emotion regulation skills and improving the quality of life for individuals with diverse needs.
Flashcards
What are the six Clear Picture Do’s?
Notice the Breath, Notice Surroundings, Body Check, Label and Rate Feelings, Notice Thoughts, Notice Urges
What are the four steps in On-Track Thinking?
Check It, Turn It Up, Cheerleading, Make a Skills Plan
What are the five types of On-Track Actions?
Take a step to my Goal, Switch Tracks, On-Track Action Plans, Accept the Situation, Turn the Page
What are the All-the-Time Skills?
Skills 1-5
What are the Calm-Only Skills?
Skills 6-9
What is the Recipe for Skills?
Add one skill for every level of emotion, including 0.
What are the key elements in Getting It Right?
Right Mind, Right Person, Right Time and Place, Right Tone, Right Words (SEALS)
What are the SEALS?
Sugar, Explain, Ask, Listen, Seal the Deal
What are the parts of Relationship Care?
Building On-Track Relationships, Balancing On-Track Relationships, Changing Off-Track Relationships
What are the four elements of the Core Self?
Self-awareness, Self-acceptance, Self-value, Self-trust
What are the six Clear Picture Do’s?
Notice the Breath, Notice Surroundings, Body Check, Label and Rate Feelings, Notice Thoughts, Notice Urges
What are the four steps in On-Track Thinking?
Check It, Turn It Up, Cheerleading, Make a Skills Plan
What are the five types of On-Track Actions?
Take a step to my Goal, Switch Tracks, On-Track Action Plans, Accept the Situation, Turn the Page
What are the All-the-Time Skills?
Skills 1-5
What are the Calm-Only Skills?
Skills 6-9
What is the Recipe for Skills?
Add one skill for every level of emotion, including 0.
What are the key elements in Getting It Right?
Right Mind, Right Person, Right Time and Place, Right Tone, Right Words (SEALS)
What are the SEALS?
Sugar, Explain, Ask, Listen, Seal the Deal
What are the parts of Relationship Care?
Building On-Track Relationships, Balancing On-Track Relationships, Changing Off-Track Relationships
What are the four elements of the Core Self?
Self-awareness, Self-acceptance, Self-value, Self-trust