Every behavior analyst faces moments where the edge of their expertise becomes the central issue. A referral arrives for a population you have never served.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Women in Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Scope of competence is a vital element in the ethical application of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), providing a foundation for responsible and effective work with both clients and supervisees. This presentation will examine the distinction between scope of practice and scope of competence, clarify the definition of scope of competence, and discuss its significance in upholding ethical standards, protecting consumers, and ensuring quality supervision. Attendees will review methods for assessing and maintaining their own scope of competence and explore ways to support supervisees and trainees in doing the same. The session will also present practical tools and suggestions for deliberately and ethically broadening one's scope of competence over time. Participants will be invited to reflect on their professional boundaries and practice, and consider how setting clear limits supports ethical, high-quality service delivery.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
| COA | 0 | — |
Tyra Sellers is the owner of TP Sellers, LLC consulting and Scholar-in-Residence at Pass the Big ABA Exam (PTB). She earned a B.A. in Philosophy and M.A. in Special Education from San Francisco State University, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco, a Ph.D. from Utah State University, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®. Her professional and research interests focus on professional ethics, training and supervision, assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, and variability. Dr. Sellers has over 30 years of clinical experience working with individuals with disabilities in a wide variety of settings. She has held positions as an Assistant Professor at Utah State University, Director of Ethics at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, and CEO of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts(APBA). She carries out reviews for several joirnals, has published several journal articles, four co-authored book chapters, co-authored books focused on supervision and mentorship and applied ethics for behavior analysis, and a workbook pair for consulting and new supervisors. She's been a vegetarian for 40 years, she loves flowers, she thinks Twizzlers should be uninvented, and she hopes you know how amazing you are!
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
231 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.