These answers draw in part from “Opening Remarks + Keynote: Scope of Competence: Just Because A Behavior Analyst Can Doesn't Mean All Behavior Analysts Can” by Tyra Sellers, JD, PhD, BCBA-D (BehaviorLive), and extend it with peer-reviewed research from our library of 27,900+ ABA research articles. Clinical framing, BACB ethics code references, and cross-links below are synthesized by Behaviorist Book Club.
View the original presentation →Scope of practice refers to the broad range of activities that a credentialed professional is legally authorized to perform. For BCBAs, this includes assessment, intervention design, supervision, and other behavior analytic services across populations, settings, and conditions. Scope of competence is narrower and specific to the individual practitioner. It encompasses only those activities for which the practitioner has demonstrated competence through education, training, supervised experience, and ongoing professional development. Two BCBAs may hold identical credentials but have very different scopes of competence based on their individual training and experience.
Conduct a structured self-inventory of your training, supervised experience, and ongoing practice. Be specific: identify the populations you have worked with, the conditions you have treated, the settings you have practiced in, and the interventions you have implemented under supervision. Distinguish between areas of deep competence, developing competence, and non-competence. Validate your self-assessment by seeking feedback from supervisors, mentors, or trusted colleagues. Review your assessment regularly and update it as your competencies evolve through professional development and practice.
Evaluate the specific competency gaps between what the case requires and what you can currently provide. Consider whether the gaps can be addressed through consultation, co-treatment, or brief additional training. If the gaps are significant, refer the case to a more qualified practitioner if one is available. If referral is not possible and the client has no other options, consider accepting with a plan for supervised competence development while being transparent with the client and family about your developing expertise. Document your decision-making process and rationale regardless of the outcome.
Yes, and the Ethics Code explicitly supports competence expansion through appropriate study, training, supervised experience, consultation, or professional experience. The key is that expansion must be systematic and supervised rather than improvised. Identify the specific area you want to expand into, seek targeted training and education, arrange supervised experience with a practitioner already competent in the area, gradually increase your independence as competence develops, and document the entire process. This structured approach protects both you and your clients during the expansion period.
The risks are significant and multidimensional. Clinical risks include inaccurate assessment, poorly designed interventions, missed critical variables, and active harm to clients. Ethical risks include violations of Code 1.05 and related standards that could result in professional disciplinary action. Legal risks include liability for harm caused by practicing outside one's competence. Professional risks include damage to your reputation and the reputation of the field. Personal risks include the stress and guilt that come from recognizing after the fact that you provided substandard care. These risks are often underestimated because practitioners may not recognize what they do not know until problems emerge.
Supervisors can only effectively supervise activities within their own scope of competence. If you are supervising an RBT implementing a feeding intervention but you have no specialized training in feeding disorders, your supervision is compromised. You may not recognize implementation errors, may provide incorrect feedback, and may miss opportunities for clinical improvement. Ethical supervision requires matching supervisory expertise with the activities being supervised. When a case falls outside the supervisor's competence, the supervisor should seek consultation or arrange co-supervision with a more qualified colleague.
The Ethics Code recognizes that behavior analysts may provide services in emerging areas when they take appropriate steps to develop competence. In crisis situations or areas where no qualified practitioner is available, the calculus is different than in settings with ample referral options. However, even in these situations, the practitioner must be transparent about their limitations, seek consultation, take steps toward competence development, and document their decision-making. Practicing outside competence should never be the default or a matter of convenience; it should only occur when the analysis of risks and alternatives supports it as the best available option for the client.
Organizational culture has a profound effect. In organizations that value volume over competence, practitioners may face pressure to accept any case regardless of their qualifications. In organizations that celebrate practitioners who take on everything rather than those who make thoughtful referrals, the incentive structure discourages honest competence evaluation. Changing organizational culture requires leadership commitment to competence-based practice, including policies that support referrals, professional development investments, and supervision structures that match expertise with cases. Individual practitioners can influence culture by modeling transparent competence evaluation.
Continuing education supports competence maintenance and expansion but is not sufficient on its own to establish competence in a new area. Attending a workshop on pediatric feeding does not make a practitioner competent to treat feeding disorders. Competence requires the integration of knowledge (which CE can provide) with supervised practical experience (which CE typically does not provide). CE is most valuable when it is targeted to one's actual areas of practice, deepening existing competence and keeping knowledge current. When CE is used to explore new areas, it should be followed by supervised experience before the practitioner begins practicing independently in that area.
Transparency is essential and need not undermine client confidence. When referring a client, explain that you want to ensure they receive the best possible care from a practitioner with specific expertise in their needs. When accepting a case with an area of developing competence, be honest about your experience level while communicating your plan for ensuring quality care through consultation or additional supervision. Families generally respect honesty about competence boundaries and prefer a practitioner who is transparent about limitations over one who overpromises. Frame competence boundaries as a commitment to quality rather than an admission of inadequacy.
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Opening Remarks + Keynote: Scope of Competence: Just Because A Behavior Analyst Can Doesn't Mean All Behavior Analysts Can — Tyra Sellers · 1 BACB Ethics CEUs · $20
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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.