Susan Jones, Founder of Creative Behavior Systems
A Different Way of Seeing
I did not come to this work through theory alone. I came through lived experience. Through listening, witnessing, learning, unlearning and paying close attention to how stress, safety and connection and disconnection shape human behavior.
After working in education for over 25 years at every level in California, it quickly became clear students, staff and leadership needed support which created intentional change for everyone. It was not long before working in Special Education, then teaching, to Teacher on Special Assignment, to Behavior Specialist to Analyst, coaching and training at every level, supporting parents, leadership and connecting to our communities, I fully understood this work is for every one of us. Soon, nonprofits, county offices, community and faith based organizations, etc. also brought me in for workshops, retreats, consulting, coaching, which reinforced again, the value of this work for all of us.
Everyone has been told 'behavior is communication' and to 'build relationships', and rarely taught the why, where, when or how. I learned quickly people needed simplified tools, fast.
Every reaction, withdrawal, escalation, shutdown or act of resistance carries information about our nervous systems, our lived experiences, our environments, our unmet needs and/or survival patterns. Not only students or parents or staff, all of us.
This lens reshaped how I worked in classrooms, with leadership, family/school systems, organizations and ultimately led to Creative Behavior Systems becoming a world wide entity other than merely a social media page!
If I had known I would be consulting world wide, I am not sure "Creative Behavior Systems" would have been my chosen business name, but it stuck after quickly making a Facebook page in 2011 based on my mantra, "acceptance and awareness, of self and others", it stuck!
If you are on Facebook or Instagram, let's connect!
Look for, #ACESBehaviorAndUs
The Work Beneath the Work
Much of today’s trauma-aware education has become narrowly focused on identifying trauma in children, often rooted primarily in the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. While this research played a vital role in increasing public awareness, trauma-aware spaces were never meant to become systems of labeling, blaming or separating and often have.
True trauma-aware work invites something deeper.
It calls for awareness of how nervous systems, histories, stress responses and survival strategies shape the way we lead, teach, parent, relate, or possibly struggle to do so, often unaware and unintentional.
Intersections of Practice This work lives at the intersection of:
- Nervous system awareness
- Lived experience
- Relational awareness
- Systems thinking
- Human-centered leadership
It is not about fixing people. It is about understanding people and shifting what we already do.
How Creative Behavior Systems Was Born
Creative Behavior Systems grew from years of working as and alongside educators, administrators, families, leaders and organizations and noticing patterns that repeated across settings:
- Escalation rooted in overwhelm
- Disconnection fueled by chronic stress
- Burnout masked as behavior management
- Compliance mistaken for regulation
Again and again, the same truth emerged:
When nervous systems are supported, behavior shifts.
This understanding reshaped my approach of moving away from reactive systems and toward practices rooted in regulation, co-regulation, awareness and relationships within our community.
Gently shifting our current practices toward creating belonging and community amongst learners, staff, leaders, parents and families.
Honoring Lineage & Influence
Much of my understanding of trauma-aware work was shaped through conversations, learning and friendship with an incredibly missed journalist and public health advocate Jane Stevens. Janes work was instrumental in bringing trauma-informed awareness into public consciousness, world wide.
Jane consistently emphasized that trauma-aware spaces must move beyond identifying adversity and toward building relational, regulatory and systemic capacity.
In one of our many breakfast conversations, Jane once said:
“Susan, your work is years ahead of its time.”
I carry her words not as a measure of achievement, but as a responsibility to continue shaping work rooted in humility, depth, nervous system awareness and human dignity.
To me, this is "Trauma Informed".
“This training was engaging and practical, offering strategies I can immediately bring into my classroom to better support and motivate my students.”
-Cesear, Teacher, Riles Middle School, California