Refining Supervisory Practices in the Field of Behavior Analysis: Introduction to the Special Section on Supervision
Package your supervision: pictorial packets first, remote feedback second, ethics hotline always open.
01Research in Context
What this study did
LeBlanc et al. (2016) wrote the opening paper for a special issue on supervision.
They did not run an experiment.
They framed eight companion articles that give step-by-step tools for supervising new BCBAs.
What they found
The issue bundles ready-to-use forms, group-supervision scripts, and ethics hotline plans.
Together they answer one question: how do we turn overwhelmed new BCBAs into confident, ethical practitioners?
How this fits with other research
Valentino et al. (2025) later updated the ethics hotline idea after the BACB code changed.
Zhu et al. (2020) showed you can give that feedback over Zoom and still raise caregiver-coaching fidelity.
Al-Nasser et al. (2019) proved you can cut live supervision time by giving trainees picture-rich self-instruction packets first.
McComas et al. (2025) extended the ethics push by asking supervisors to audit their own ableist language during sessions.
Why it matters
You can lift the heavy parts of supervision off your calendar. Start sessions with a pictorial packet, meet on Zoom, and keep an ethics hotline open. Your supervisee gets mastery faster and you keep your evenings.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The rapid growth in the number of behavior analysts and aspiring behavior analysts creates an imperative for effective and efficient supervisory practices. Many behavior analysts receive little to no explicit instruction and mentoring in supervision practices while they are in training themselves. Those behavior analysts may then be expected to provide supervision for a range of individuals soon after graduation and certification and throughout the remainder of their career. The papers included in this special issue offer guidance for establishing and maintaining supervisory relationships, understanding the importance of each of the ethical guidelines for supervision, structuring group supervision experiences, managing problems that can arise during the course of a supervisory relationship, and arranging models of supervision within human service organizations.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2016 · doi:10.1007/s40617-016-0156-6