Board Certified Behavior Analysts’ Supervisory Practices of Trainees: Survey Results and Recommendations

Sellers et al. (2019) sent an online survey to 284 Board Certified Behavior Analysts. They asked how the BCBAs supervise trainees: what forms they use, how often they give feedback, and where they feel lost. The survey was descriptive—no test of a new tool, just a snapshot of real-world practice.

Most supervisors said they follow the ethics code well. Yet fewer than half had a written training plan or used standard feedback forms. Many wanted ready-made rubrics and clearer check-lists to guide each supervision meeting.

Falk et al. (2014) and Plant et al. (2007) also used surveys to guide BCBA work, but they looked at parent stress, not supervision. Their message: give parents cognitive tools and social support. Sellers flips the lens—BCBAs themselves need tools and support to train the next wave.

Stéphanie-Vassos et al. (2023) showed that moms of kids with ASD fall into four stress types. That warns us not to treat all parents the same. Sellers sends the same warning upward: one-size supervision does not fit all trainees.

Attwood et al. (1988) is the earliest survey neighbor. It asked about parenting burden; Sellers asks about teaching burden. Together they form a timeline showing BCBAs have long relied on descriptive surveys to spot practice gaps before fixing them.

If you supervise RBTs or BCBA candidates, this paper gives you a ready audit. Compare your own forms to the gaps listed: written training plan, weekly feedback sheet, objective rubric. Pick one gap and plug it this month. Better supervision tools now mean stronger clinicians—and fewer parent stress cases—later.