25 Essential Skills Strategies For Professional Behavior Analysts

Jon Bailey and Mary Burch present five basic skills and strategy areas that behavior analysts need to acquire. This book is organized around those five basic skill and strategy areas, with a total of 25 specific skills presented within those areas. No behavior analyst, whether seasoned or beginning, should skip this book.

This second edition of Bailey and Burch’s best-selling 25 Essential Skills for the Successful Behavior Analyst is an invaluable guide to the professional skills required in the rapidly growing field of applied behavior analysis. The demands on professional behavior analysts, BCBAs and BCBA-Ds, are constantly increasing such that several new skills are required to keep up with new developments. Each chapter has been thoroughly updated and seven new chapters address recognizing the need to understand client advocacy, cultural responsiveness, and the movement toward diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field. The authors present five basic skills and strategy areas which each behavior analyst need to acquire: essential professional skills, basic behavioral repertoire, applying behavioral knowledge, vital work habits, and advanced skills. This book is organized around those five areas, with a total of 25 specific skills presented within those topics.

Behavior analysis, a rapidly growing profession, began with the use and application of conditioning and learning techniques to modify the behavior of children or adults presenting severe management problems, often because of developmental disabilities. Now behavior analysts work in a variety of settings, from clinics and schools to workplaces. Especially since their practice often involves aversive stimuli or punishment, they confront many special ethical challenges. Recently, the Behavior Analysis Certification Board codified a set of ten fundamental ethical guidelines to be followed by all behavior analysts and understood by all students and trainees seeking certification. This book shows readers how to follow the BACB guidelines in action. The authors first describe core ethical principles and then explain each guideline in detail, in easily comprehensible, everyday language. The text is richly illuminated by more than a hundred vivid case scenarios about which the authors pose, and later answer questions for readers. Useful appendices include the BACB Guidelines, an index to them, practice scenarios, and suggested further reading. Practitioners, instructors, supervisors, students, and trainees alike will welcome this invaluable new aid to professional development.

This long-awaited resource is the first to focus specifically on orienting and guiding trainees in the field of behavior analysis through the practicum and supervised experience. Clear and succinct, it provides comprehensive information on the competencies as required by the Fifth Edition the BACB® Task List. Going beyond the basic nuts and bolts of skill and knowledge requirements, the text prepares students for the day-to-day realities of the supervised practicum experience. It describes the process of locating a site, finding and working with supervisors and peers, and adhering to professional and ethical guidelines. Including seasoned advice on concluding the practicum, getting ready for the board exam, and developing a professional portfolio, this unique resource prepares behavior analyst trainees for employment and beyond. Real-life examples and case scenarios help students gain an in-depth understanding of requisite competencies. Abundant performance monitoring checklists and sample forms—conveniently downloadable—further reinforce knowledge. This book is also a useful resource for practicing behavior analysts guiding trainees under their supervision. Key Features: Delivers concise, structured guidance for students in behavior analysis training programs Provides practical tips on giving and receiving feedback as well as time management and communication skills Focuses on the development of competencies and encompasses the BACB® Task List Covers the full range of practicum experience, from orientation to skill development to post-certification employment Includes abundant checklists and forms, available for download Illustrated with practical examples and case scenarios

How to Think Like a Behavior Analyst is a revolutionary resource for understanding complex human behavior and making potentially significant quality of life improvements. Behavior analysts offer a worldview of the human condition different than almost any other professional perspective. To a behavior analyst, human behavior is largely learned and subject to change if the right variables are put into play. This is an empowering outlook, providing an opportunity for individuals to analyze the actions of those around them and an understanding of why others exhibit such behavior. Practical, clear, and direct, this book addresses basic questions such as how behavior analysis is different from psychotherapy, what analysis involves, and the meaning of evidence-based treatment. A chapter on Applications presents tips on using behavioral procedures to improve lives and deal with others, and articulates how behavioral procedures are used in community settings. In question and answer format, the text thoroughly covers 50 frequently asked questions about behavior analysis in an educational and entertaining manner. It was developed out of questions raised by students in behavior analysis classes over the last 35 years, as well as questions raised by consumers of behavior analysis services. This text is written for all professionals concerned with behavior, including undergraduate students in psychology and behavior analysis, parents, teachers, employers, and employees. The book can easily be used as a supplement to primary texts in introductory psychology courses, and the exercises that follow each question can be used to stimulate lively discussion in role-play and other active learning situations.

Quickly master a proven-effective behavior therapy that will allow you to expand the effectiveness of your practice. As a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), you work with a wide range of clients, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some of these clients may not be verbal at all on one end of the spectrum, while some may have very advanced language skills on the other. For these clients and their families, you need a flexible and adaptable therapeutic framework to ensure the best behavior outcomes. Drawn from relational frame theory (RFT)—the psychological theory of human language—acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can help. With this definitive professional manual, you’ll learn to conceptualize your cases using ACT, create your own exercises, generate metaphors, be present with the unique individual learner in front of you, and practice the core ACT skills flexibly to ensure better behavior outcomes for clients and their families. You’ll find an overview of the theoretical connections between behavior analysis, RFT, and ACT, as well as the core act skills, including present-moment awareness, flexible perspective taking, committed action, and values work. Finally, you’ll find information on cultural competency and diversity to help you service a wide range of clients. If you’re like many BCBAs, you need specialized resources when working with linguistically sophisticated clients, as well as their parents and caregivers. Let this book be your comprehensive guide to incorporating ACT into your work.

How to Think Like a Behavior Analyst is a revolutionary resource for understanding complex human behavior and making potentially significant quality-of-life improvements. Practical and clearly written, this second edition addresses basic questions like how behavior analysts work, why specific methods and procedures are used, what alternative "fad" treatments are, and more. The updated text answers 70 frequently asked questions about behavior analysis using an accessible question-and-answer format. Each question now includes a Quick Take, which is a simple and easy-to-read answer to the question, and then a more in-depth Technically Speaking answer that is more challenging. A brand-new chapter discusses ways of advancing one’s career in the field and how to go to graduate school and become board certified. This text is written for all professionals concerned with behavior, including undergraduate students in psychology and behavior analysis, parents, teachers, employers, and employees. The book can easily be used as a supplement to primary texts in introductory psychology courses, and the exercises that follow each question can be used to stimulate lively discussion in role-play and other active learning situations.