The Emotion Regulation Skills System for Clients with Cognitive Challenges: A DBT-Informed Approach: Second Edition
Book Details
- Publisher : Guilford Press
- Published : February 2026
- Cover : Paperback
- Pages : 260
- Category :
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies - Catalogue No : 38173
- ISBN 13 : 9781462559381
- ISBN 10 : 1462559387
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Now in a fully revised second edition, this authoritative manual presents the only dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)-informed approach designed specifically for people of all ages with learning and mental health challenges. Used in a wide range of clinical and community settings, the Skills System teaches essential emotion regulation and adaptive coping skills in a motivating, structured framework. It allows clinicians to provide comprehensive treatment for individuals who have had difficulty engaging in traditional therapeutic services. In a convenient large-size format, the manual features ideas for scaffolding learning, a sample 12-week group curriculum, and practical tools, including a reproducible/downloadable lesson planning worksheet. Client handouts and worksheets are not included in the second edition, but are provided in the companion workbook designed to optimize client learning, available separately in print or fillable e-book formats: The Emotion Regulation Skills System Workbook, Second Edition.
New to This Edition:
-Reflects the use of the Skills System in a growing range of settings; includes pre-instruction strategies, targeting strategies, and more ways to tailor instruction to clients’ needs, abilities, context, and learning preferences.
-Chapter on integrating the Skills System into individual therapy sessions.
-Updated emotion regulation theory and research.
-Companion workbook written expressly for clients, with numerous new reproducible tools.
Reviews and Endorsements
Brown has done it again! The Skills System has made DBT accessible to many people with intellectual disabilities and related cognitive differences. With the second edition, Brown has updated her seminal work and added a very helpful client workbook. Every DBT therapist serving clients with cognitive challenges needs the Skills System manual and workbook on their bookshelf. Bravo!
Amara Brook, PhD, ABPP, Director, Flow Psychological Services; Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno
The Skills System is, without a doubt, the magic wand of DBT. The skills of DBT are laid out in a format that is easier to follow, and therefore easier to instruct. The instructor’s manual guides professionals through teaching the skills, and the client workbook is easy to use and applicable to a wide range of ages. I absolutely love the worksheets!
Dani Stephenson, MA, Dayhabilitation and Community Integration Manager, Lakes LifeSkills, Dickinson County, Iowa
The second edition of the Skills System manual is an essential update to an already transformative resource. As a long-time practitioner using the Skills System, I value its accessibility, its emphasis on whole-system learning, and its unwavering focus on client empowerment and growth. I have even found it helpful for my own skill development--applying the Skills System in my own life has deepened my ability to use it effectively with clients. The second edition’s expanded content--particularly the chapter on targeted interventions--and the companion workbook offer invaluable guidance for supporting clients to build meaningful skills and achieve their goals. What sets the Skills System apart is its commitment to centering the experiences of individuals with cognitive challenges, promoting positive identity development, and supporting participants in pursuing the lives they want. It is a cornerstone of our clinical and support work.
Tony J. Raymer, LISW, RPT-S, Director of Brain Health, Easterseals Iowa
I have been using the Skills System in sessions with people who are dually diagnosed with an intellectual disability and mental illness for a few years now. I am very excited to see the second edition. Brown has not changed the basics, but she has added more tools to help instructors and clients better understand the Skills System, including the new client workbook, with updated worksheets, and the chapter on targeted instruction. I recommend the Skills System for working with any client who needs extra help understanding their emotions, regulating them, and creating plans to reach their goals.
Jennie Thole, LMSW, Trinity Services, Inc., Mascoutah, Illinois-A valuable tool for those seeking a structured approach to skills training with clients who experience learning challenges. (on the first edition)--School Social Work Journal, 3/1/2018
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introducing the Skills System
2. Learning the Skills System
3. Theoretical Underpinning of the Skills System
4. Structuring Skills System Instruction
5. Foundational Instruction Strategies
6. Providing Standard Instruction
7. Skills System 12-Week-Cycle Curriculum
8. Skills Coaching Techniques
9. Targeted Instruction
Appendix. Lesson Planning Worked Example and Worksheet
References
Index
About the Author(s)
Julie F. Brown, MSW, is a doctoral candidate in social work and an independent social worker. She has practiced in the intellectual disabilities field for over two decades and is Director of Program Development at Justice Resource Institute's Integrated Clinical Services in Rhode Island. Since 2005, Ms. Brown has been a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) trainer with Behavioral Tech, LLC. She received the Leadership Award from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
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