Burnout among behavior analysts and the professionals they supervise represents a significant threat to the quality and sustainability of ABA service delivery. While burnout has been recognized as a concern across helping professions for decades, its specific manifestation within behavior analysis carries unique implications due to the field's rapid growth, the intensity of the work, and the ethical obligations that govern practice.
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Join Free →The goal of acceptance and commitment training (ACT) is to increase psychological flexibility through engaging in behavior that aligns with one's values (Dixon et al., 2020). Values, or one's chosen verbally constructed contingencies are related to one's more substantial long-term reinforcers (Hayes et al., 1999). ACT interventions can help individuals sustain effortful behavior with a thin schedule of direct reinforcement (Hayes et al., 2012). By orienting individuals to their larger, long-term reinforcers, it may be possible to also reduce both burnout and delay discounting. However, the connection between burnout, delay discounting, and ACT is unclear in the literature. Research in this area could lead to improved quality of life for therapists working with individuals with developmental disabilities, the individuals they work with, and their families. This presentation will cover the behavior-analytic origins and purpose of ACT and its utility towards addressing stress and burnout. The implementation of an ACT intervention will be detailed. Lastly, experimental data will be presented.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 2 | Ethics |
| COA | 2 | — |
Rebecca earned her Bachelor’s degree in Speech & Language Pathology and Audiology, her Master’s degree in Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis and Leadership/Advocacy, and her Doctoral degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has been a BCBA since 2016 and has worked in schools, center-based, and in-home with all different skills and ages. Her specialties are early intervention, verbal behavior, and Acceptance and Commitment Training. Her dissertation specifically focused on applying Acceptance and Commitment Training to service providers to increase their mental health, well being, and how that can translate to better client outcomes.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.