Written By: Rayden Marcum and Spencer Barsh, first year Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) graduate students in the M.S. Distance Program at St. Cloud State University
Edited by: Dr. Odessa Luna
What does it mean to receive Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) supervision? Surely, it’s more than just completing your Monthly Verification Forms each month and having your supervisor sign off on them. Rather, it’s a dynamic process that occurs every day in your fieldwork environment. It’s a mentorship; a learning experience; a give-and-take. You show up for your supervisor just as they show up for you. Beginning your fieldwork hours is an exciting time, and it is easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about everything you will learn. Many supervisees jump at the opportunity to learn how to run assessments, write programming, or carry out caregiver training. Seldom do we ask ourselves: how do we do these things ethically?
Britton et al. (2021) states that the “supervisor’s role, in part, is as a model of ethical behavior and ethical decision making in the process of clinical problem solving” (p. 546). Yes, it is our supervisor’s responsibility is to teach us how to implement assessments and write behavior intervention plans, but it is equally important that they teach us how to uphold the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts ([the Code], Behavior Analyst Certification Board [BACB], 2020).
In this blog post, we provide two anecdotes that fall under two key areas for potential ethical violations that Britton et al. (2021) identify in their article on cultivating ethical repertoires in behavior analysts. These domains include inadequate supervision and professionalism. While we will not cover reporting and responding to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), we strongly encourage you to discuss this with your supervisors as part of your conversations surrounding ethical conduct.
Anecdote #1: Learning how to Provide Ethical Feedback
Feedback is one of the primary ways that supervisors can foster a trainee’s competence, and it is through this combination of reinforcement and corrective guidance that ethical supervision is established. While positive feedback is necessary, it is essential that supervisors also provide corrective feedback when mistakes are made or a specific skill needs development. After all, a trainee cannot make improvements if they don’t know they are doing something wrong. Quality feedback is also crucial to improving client outcomes, as it ensures consistency across providers, increases supervisee competence, and reduces clinical errors.
Through my fieldwork supervision, I (RM) have been given many opportunities to identify ethical dilemmas and approach these issues appropriately. For example, while working in a clinic setting, I noticed that a registered behavior technician (RBT) was removing a client’s augmentative and alternative communication device and putting it out of his reach each time the client engaged in stereotypy (i.e., repeatedly pressing buttons on his device). Naturally, I reported my concerns with my direct supervisor, who could have simply said “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll handle it.” Instead, she gave me an opportunity to truly learn by encouraging me to speak directly to the RBT myself.
My supervisor facilitated the process by modeling things I could say, discussing relevant ethical codes with me (such as Section 3.01 that emphasizes our responsibility to clients and Section 2.15 that emphasizes minimizing risk of behavior change interventions), and role-playing the conversation (BACB, 2020). During our role-plays, she gave me feedback in the moment on how to approach the sensitive nature of the conversation. This step of rehearsing the conversation beforehand was helpful in ensuring a more positive outcome was likely, especially if it can be resolved informally (Britton et al., 2021).
Once I felt ready, I then met with the RBT and explained to them that removing a client’s communication device is the equivalent to removing their voice. While we can teach them and support them in using their device, we should never restrict a client for not communicating in the way that we think they “should.” I spoke with the RBT about offering alternatives or attempting to redirect if the client’s repetitive actions interfered with communication or the learning opportunity. I also emphasized the client’s right to explore their device. Although the conversation was difficult, this opportunity allowed me to hold a colleague accountable, encourage ethical behavior, and practice having hard conversations.
Anecdote #2: Receiving Guidance in How to Be Aware of Personal Challenges
Many of us likely got into this field because we wanted to help others. Maybe we didn’t know how or didn’t have the right tools, but we knew we wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Now, as we engage in conversations with our supervisors about client programming and family skills training, it’s clear that helping people is the lifeblood of this job.
The Code not only teaches us how to help others, but it also obligates us how to ethically collaborate with other professionals. For example, Standard 1.10 (BACB, 2020) asks us to be aware of personal biases and challenges that may interfere with our professional responsibilities. This is something that our supervisors can model for us through their own conduct, as well as help us practice daily. Through our supervisor’s actions, we can learn to maintain professional boundaries and communicate respectfully with others.
To illustrate, I (SB) often experience chronic migraines and intense anxiety. Often, my anxiety manifests in engaging in repetitive behavior to verify tasks will or will not happen. As a result, I find myself asking: how can I show up for my clients, coworkers, and supervisors if I am not at 100% myself during days with migraines? On days when I am experiencing limitations due to these health conditions, how can I professionally inform others and delegate when necessary? How can I avoid feeling disruptive but still communicate effectively to my supervisor?
During one of my monthly one-on-one meetings with my supervisor, my supervisor politely informed me that my repeated check-ins were becoming a distraction from my supervisor’s duty to their clients. Sometimes my supervisor would be in the middle of working on an individual treatment plan and my interruption would derail their train of thought, ultimately affecting the timeliness (BACB, 2020, Standard 2.02) of service-related administrative responsibilities. We discussed possible solutions, such as me writing my thoughts down in the notepad I carry around with me so that I could approach them during a designated time and place.
After practicing this proactive strategy for a month, both my supervisor and I noticed a significant reduction in the number of times I approached them in-person. Internally, I noticed myself discriminating which questions were relevant to ask in the moment and which could wait or be asked over Google Chat instead. By learning from my supervisor to use a behavior-analytic approach to my own actions, I was able to reduce the impact that my personal challenges had on others, which ultimately gave my supervisor more time to focus on providing effective treatment (BACB, 2020, Standard 2.01) instead.
While this example of professionalism seems simple, it is often the simple things that are most complex. All it took was my supervisor giving me polite yet direct feedback to enhance the quality of our collective practice and shape my professional skillset. This aspect of ethical supervision may be overlooked for more readily discernable practices such as ensuring evidence-based assessment (BACB, 2020, Standard 3.12) but is it this level of nuance that makes a great supervisor.
Britton et al. (2012) emphasized the importance of these soft skills when selecting supervisors and provided an evaluation framework titled “dispositions for professionals rubric” (pp. 541–542). The last item in their table measures awareness of personal circumstances. Unacceptable performance is characterized by lacking awareness of self-care to the point where personal problems interfere with work performance and client progress. On the other hand, exemplary practice includes self-monitoring issues related to self-care and intervening when you feel they might affect client service delivery. My goal is to strive for the latter, and through continued use of the strategies described above, I believe that goal to be attainable.
Concluding Remarks
The anecdotes we described above are just some of the many ways that supervision has helped shape our ethical conduct. Though our supervisors provide oversight through supervising our sessions and signing our documentation, they also do much more than that. Supervision teaches us what it means to be a behavior analyst. We are sure that fellow trainees have their own stories, and we want to hear them in the comments below. Let us know how supervision has helped shape your ethical conduct, and we look forward to growing our collective knowledge as a field through our shared experiences!
AI Statement:
Google Gemini was used during the revision process via Google searches regarding proper APA formatting, synonym suggestions, and other minor editorial support. Generative AI was not used.
Author Background:
Spencer (they/he) holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in French from Pomona College (2023) and brings two years of experience working as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) at The Bridge Autism Clinic (TBAC) in St. Paul, Minnesota. TBAC serves a diverse population in the Twin Cities area, including Vietnamese, Somali, and Ethiopian communities.
Rayden graduated with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from The University of Alabama in 2024. She has nearly 3 years of experience working as an RBT in home, clinic, and school settings with children ages 2-13.
References
Airfocus. (2021). Woman in black shirt using macbook [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-black-shirt-using-macbook-DowRNum2DI0
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts. https://bacb.com/wp-content/ethics-code-for-behavior-analysts
Britton, L. N., Crye, A. A., & Haymes, L. K. (2021). Cultivating the ethical repertoires of behavior analysts: Prevention of common violations. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(2), 534–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00540-w