RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 1

Board Certified Behavior Analyst

Gabrielle L. McClure

Capella University
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 2

Abstract

My personal goal is to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) through my current

work- the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD)- by July 2023. In order to achieve

this goal, I must graduate the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Psychology Master program at

Capella, finish my 1500 practicum hours, and pass the state licensing exam in Washington state.

The mental health care field has many important aspects such as continuing education, ethical

responsibilities to clients, and maintaining cultural competence across every client you interact

with. I aim to grow my knowledge of these areas as well as my skills in the workplace delivering

behavior therapy to children and teens across the span of my academic career, preparing myself

to become a fully independent BCBA.

Keywords: BCBA, CARD, ABA, Capella, education, ethical responsibility, cultural

competency.
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 3

Board Certified Behavior Analyst

The field of Psychology has been an interest to me since I was very young. Growing up, I

was a quiet kid and often found myself being the listener and problem-solver in my groups of

friends. Over time, I found a passion in being able to listen and give comfort and advice to

people around me when they were distressed. This is why I originally found myself pursuing

schooling in the field of psychology. During undergraduate school, I found an interest in

neuroscience and electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback therapy and its ties with mental

health counseling. I wrote my thesis on the application of EEG biofeedback as a diagnostic and

treatment tool for clients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This subject matter is

important to me because there are a few people I have known throughout my life that have been

diagnosed with PTSD, and a common factor across them all is 10 or more years of treatment

with little to no decrease in symptoms. These facts made me yearn to help these people in my life

as well as others in the world who may be going through the same plight. Near the end of my

schooling, I had two close family members die and my closest friend was hospitalized after

getting hit by a drunk driver- these experiences made me decide to wait to begin my master’s

program in mental health counseling so I could be home and present if something were to happen

to my loved ones. The first job that I got after finishing my bachelor’s was as a behavior

therapist at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD). Never had I imagined myself

working with children, an age group I was initially very uncomfortable around, but I got the job

and began my training. Over the first week I fell in love with the practice; it’s goals, therapy

delivery, and the clientele population. It’s been nearly two years since I got my certified behavior

technician (CBT) license and since then, I have attained my board-certified autism technician

(BCAT) license as well as become a trainer and assistant supervisor. The more time I spend with
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 4

my clients, the more of them I meet, the further my love of this profession grows. Now, pursuing

a masters in applied behavior analysis, I hope to further my knowledge in this field and create a

career that I will stay with for many years, helping entire families across that timespan.

Application of Vision and Goals

As a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), I will be working directly with clients on

the autism spectrum and their families on goals and treatments to improve the overall quality of

life for my clients now and in the future. My current career has assured a place for me after my

schooling finishes and I have acquired the correct licensure, so I am planning to continue on at

CARD as a BCBA once that is complete. CARD is very clinic-based with their therapy delivery,

but home and community based-therapy sessions are necessary and frequent for all clients as

directed by their BCBA’s and family needs. I love the way CARD diversifies their therapy

across locations and people, still prioritizing structure and the safety and well-being of the

therapist- these factors make it a preferred work environment for me. As a BCBA at CARD I

would be working not only with clients but also other therapists and families to formulate goals

and progress updates for the client, furthering the amount of people I collaborate with on a day-

to-day basis.

Goals

In order to become a BCBA with CARD, I need to finish my schooling, earn the required

practical experience hours, and apply for and obtain a BCBA licensure in Washington state. My

current course plan for the applied behavioral analysis (ABA) psychology master’s program at

Capella predicts that I will graduate in June of 2023. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board

(BACB) requires 1500 hours of supervised independent fieldwork or 1000 hours of supervised

practicum while providing ABA services (Board Analyst Certification Board, 2021). I plan to do
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 5

all my practicum through CARD, which is an accredited entity for the board, while finishing my

schooling (Bernard, et. al., 2021). After obtaining my necessary hours, I will take the state

licensing exam to become a BCBA in Washington. My mentor told me that the licensure takes

between six to nine months to become finalized through the state once you pass. During this

time, I will continue billing direct therapy with my new course load of clients, while still taking

on all of the full responsibilities of a BCBA. By December 2023 to March 2024, I aim to become

an official supervisor at CARD, taking a full course load, and directing a team of therapists along

the behavior plan I have created for every client of mine.

Influence of Research on Vision and Goals

My literature review focused on the affect that body language can have on the teaching of

functional communication and language to children on the autism spectrum, particularly within

ABA services. While researching, I discovered a direct correlation between open body language

and the quality of the teaching environment, as well as the significant awareness of others’ body

language that children on the autism spectrum have (Back, Ropar, & Mitchell, 2007; Yang,

2017). As a behavior therapist, I deal with building skills such as functional communication,

socioemotional competency, motor skills, and more while assisting with decreasing challenging

behaviors that are blocking the quality of life for the child and their family. The biggest and most

important skill we teach in ABA therapy is functional communication, because if we cannot use

words or signals to express our wants and needs, we are forced to gain access to them in

nonfunctional ways that negatively affect us and those in our general vicinity. I am very

passionate about teaching functional communication- always keeping it at the forefront of my

sessions and never placing it on the backburner when other things are desiring our attention.

Functional communication can help us gain coping skills, express ourselves, create and maintain
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 6

relationships, and so much more. In a fast-paced environment with a lot going on, it can be

difficult to maintain control of the situation; I believe these situations can create an insufficient

working environment for the learner as well as the teacher. One of the deficits caused by autism

spectrum disorder (ASD) is the inability to interpret body language of others, but that doesn’t

mean it is not an important skill to be utilized and taught (American Psychiatric Association,

2013). Sometimes, just observing a skill being utilized by someone around you can help you

learn the skill through modeling behaviors (Yang, 2017). Learning more information on the

importance of utilizing every form of functional communication during our sessions has made

me more passionate about the quality of therapy I deliver as well as my future in being able to

assist therapists with realizing and implementing these significant modeling behaviors during

their own sessions. Doing literature reviews on subjects relating to my field is exciting and I

believe it will help me to continue bettering my current practice as well as build the necessary

skills to share and help better those around me in the future.

Application of Research in the Acquisition of Professional Competencies

In my future career as a BCBA, I am going to need to hone many skills such as my own

assertiveness with parents and coworkers, cultural competencies, problem solving, and decision

making. Many of these should naturally increase during my schooling, but there are a few that I

will have to work on without the direct help of coursework. My biggest weakness with my

current job is in assisting, giving advice to, families and parents both when they ask for it or

generally need it. As someone with social anxiety, I have had to work very hard to come to terms

with my current position as an assistant supervisor, being able, and expected to, critique my

fellow therapists as well as BCBA’s that I work with. I have worked hard to overcome my

feeling of dread toward the responses of my coworkers to my feedback, knowing that it is better
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 7

to bring up critiques that I have rather than let them continue and possibly negatively affect the

client. When I become a BCBA, I will be expected to do this with parents, collaborating on the

client’s needs and also delivering parent training sessions on how I believe the family should be

handling certain things at home. I struggle with this even more because I feel out of place being

someone to tell a parent what is best for their child, but it is good to remind myself that it is all in

the client’s best interest and that parents are adults figuring out life just like the rest of us. Often

times, BCBA’s are the main source of information for families on their child’s developmental

status, progress, and other relevant information about the autism spectrum in general. We also

need to collaborate with parents on their personal goals for their children as well as ensure that

they are being carried out appropriately. Working with parents is going to be a large part of my

journey as a BCBA and will have to be something I overcome before I am independent in my

career.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an important part of all mental health professions because it is our job

to provide an outsider’s view on other’s situations and how our interpretations may assist in

relieving the problematic situation or stressor. Paul & Elder’s elements of thought stood out to

me the most as a very unique and categorized way of looking into the type of situations I will be

seeing as a BCBA. They separate critical thinking into eight sections; concepts, point of view,

information, interpretation and inference, questions at issue, assumptions, implications and

consequences, and purpose (Paul & Elder). When meeting a new client, I should be looking at

their situation through these lenses. What is the main concept, the reason for this family coming

to receive ABA? What is the point of view of this family, where is my information coming from

and how might it seem different that what I observe? What information can I gain from their
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 8

referral assessments, and which assessment should I have the parents fill out that could give me

the most information? While interpreting this information, what solutions could I come up with

to best assist this family and client to the best of my ability? Discuss with the parent what the

most pressing issues are and how we should begin resolving said issues. Make sure that my

decisions and assumptions are unbiased and made within collaboration with the family. Follow

through with the treatment plan and discuss the goals for treatment in the future according to the

plan you have created. And finally, solidify the treatment plan and its purpose before delivering

it to the relevant therapists who will be on the team, ensuring understanding of the client’s goals

and how we are going to achieve them.

Cultural Competence

Cultural competence is going to be a huge part of my effectiveness as a BCBA.

Understanding the background of my families and how that may affect our point of views and

goals for the client is an essential part of the care plan, ensuring no one is confused or not feeling

directly involved in the treatment process (Galanti, 2014). Our country is the home of many

diverse cultures, and I want to be able to help every family that I come across in the future to

achieve their best quality of life- something that may not directly align with my own views. I

want to create a safe space for families to come and give me feedback on their home life as well

as updates on how they believe therapy is progressing. The more minds we have involved in our

treatment, the better the quality and progress will be.

Ethical Competencies

There are many ethical competencies to consider when working in the healthcare field;

client confidentiality, equal access to care services, treatment efficacy, keeping records, and

more (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2019). As a BCBA, I will be in charge of

RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 9

maintaining ethical competencies with every client that I have, when something is breeched it

will be up to me to discover and notify the guardians that something happened. BCBA’s are the

main conductor of ABA treatment for clients; they create treatment plans, modify them, and

quality check the therapists on the team to ensure that progress is as maximized as possible.

Maintaining these basic ethical codes of conduct is a necessity for keeping clients safe and

flourishing within their treatment plan and keeping a controlled environment is important to

continuing services for clients to the best of our ability as a care team.

Conclusion

Overall, by July 2023 I hope to be waiting on my full licensure in Washington state as a

BCBA while beginning my career, billing direct therapy until the state pushes everything

through. I have much to learn and accomplish up until this point, ranging from personal to

professional goals. In the meantime, I will be utilizing every piece of new knowledge I learn

through my academic experience and in the workplace, consistently growing my skills and

implementing them close after. As a practitioner-scholar, I will be aiming to grow these skills up

to a point of independence by the time I graduate and lose this support system. The skills I

acquire will be directly assisting myself and clients in their therapy experience at CARD and are

a vital part of my growth into a BCBA. My overall goal during my time in the mental health field

is to help create a better quality of life for as many individuals and families as I can impact in my

time here. When we begin as behavior therapists, we are told all of the necessary information and

skills we will need to help our clients flourish, but it takes time to see the full impact that your

actions have on others’ lives. Knowing that I assisted in the betterment of someone else’s

suffering makes me feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness in myself as well as a drive to

continue forward to see how much change I can create in the lives of others.
RUNNING HEAD: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 10

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

(5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Back, E. Ropar, D. & Mitchell, P. (2007). Do the eyes have it? Inferring mental states from

animated faces in autism. Child Development, 78, 397-411.;’/.-0p.

Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2019). Professional and ethical compliance code for

behavior analysts. Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA® Trainees, 141–164.

https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-815914-9.00027-4.

Board Analyst Certification Board. (2021). Licensure of Behavior Analysis in the United States.

BACB. Retrieved from https://www.bacb.com/u-s-licensure-of-behavior-analysts/.

Bernard, A., George, H., Wrede, L., Meyer, S., Wilson, S., Coffman, H., & Turley, R. (2021).

Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis in Washington: Online ABA graduate degree

programs in wa. Applied Behavioral Analysis | How to Become an Applied Behavior

Analyst. Retrieved from https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/washington/.

Galanti, G.-A. (2014). Caring for patients from different cultures (5th ed.). University of

Pennsylvania Press.

Paul & Elder. Analytic Stage of Thinking. https://campus.capella.edu/critical-thinking/qualities-

of-thinking/analytic-stage.

Yang, X. (2017). The use of body language in english teaching. Theory and Practice in

Language Studies, 7(12), 1333-1336. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0712.23.