Applied behavior analysis has faced sustained criticism for tendencies toward rigid, protocol-driven practice that can undermine the relational dimensions of effective therapeutic work. Over the past decade, a growing body of scholarship has called for ABA to embrace a more compassionate approach—one that maintains the field's commitment to evidence-based intervention while placing the quality of therapeutic relationships at the center of clinical practice.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via New York State Association for Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has faced criticism for rigid tendencies toward program development and specifically interpersonal interactions. Failure to create trusting, reciprocal, and enduring relationships with others threatens to jeopardize the field's reputation and conceal more substantial outcomes. Over the past decade, several publications have reached a consensus for ABA to further embrace a compassionate approach in its practice. This call to action produced important conversations over whether this embodied a novel approach altogether or a refinement of our existing foundations. Such questions demand an empirical answer to these needs, and tools that could be used to teach others how to engage in compassionate interactions with clients, caregivers, and colleagues. This presentation will review this chronology framed as a revolution consisting of three stages: radical, revolt, and reform. A novel tool, the Compassionate Care Assessment- Revised Edition (CCARE) will be introduced as an empirically-validated rubric to teach direct care staff to engage in compassionate practice with clients diagnosed with autism. Implications for practice and future directions toward objective definitions and measurements of compassionate care will be discussed.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Ethics |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
Britany is the Director of Research and Training at Journeys Autism Center located in Mishawaka, IN. She is currently a PhD student in the Institute for Applied Behavioral Studies at Endicott College under the advisement of Dr. Mary Jane Weiss. Britany's research interests include direct measures of soft skills, compassionate care, severe problem behavior reduction and the development/measurement of meaningful outcomes for individuals with ASD.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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.