How to Support New BCBAs: Session 148 with Shira and Shayna from HowToABA.com

So the title of this show may be a bit of a misnomer. Let me explain...

In Session 148, Shira Karpel and Shayna Gaunt, founders of HowToABA.com, join me to talk about one of my favorite topics: supporting the newly-minted BCBA. As you might know by now, that's very often my closing question of the podcast.

In this episode however, we pretty much spent the entire time talking about strategies for helping early-career professionals succeed. So what is the misnomer all about? As it turns out, the advice that Shira and Shayna provided - on topics ranging from obtaining mentorship to setting professional boundaries - is helpful for BCBA's of all experience levels.

Moreover, Shira and Shayna created HowToABA.com to provide materials and continuing education opportunities for BCBA's, as well as a supportive community of like-minded practitioners. And in this episode, they share their experiences and insight and address the following:

• Common challenges faced by newly-minted BCBA's (and how to address them).
• Common mistakes early-stage practitioners make.
• Strategies to establish professional boundaries.
• What practitioners are looking for in their Continuing Education.
• Why they started HowToABA.com.
• The ABA Forum that they're hosting. It's a virtual 3-night event where they bring together recognized speakers in the field who will share on different topics in Behavior Analysis - from supervision to ethics and social skills and everything in between.

Again, despite the headline, there's something in this episode for everyone. Also, I want to note that we had some intermittent Zoom connectivity challenges, and Shira's audio flaked in and out in a few spots. I chose not to edit those segments out because I think she was still able to make her points known, and thankfully, we were able to resolve it as the show went on.

Here are links to some of the things we discussed:

• The HowToABA.com homepage (and if you sign up for the BxResource, use code BOP to save 10%).
• The ABA Forum registration page.
• Surveys of the use (or lack thereof) Functional Analysis by practitioners (Oliver, Pratt, and Normand, 2015; Roscoe, et al., 2015).
• Great article about setting boundaries and avoiding burnout. And here's another perspective.

Today's episode is brought to you by:

• The 2021 Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis Conference! This year's VABA conference is April 15th and 16th. While this will be a safe and socially-distanced in-person event, it will also be available online, so don't worry if you're not local to the Virginia area. If you do sign up for it, use the promo code, GOMBU - a nod to conference sponsor, Mary Baldwin University, to save at checkout.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Also, I'm throwing a 5-year anniversary sale for all BOP CEU events. Get 55% off all CEU events by using the promo code "fiveyears." This offer expires at the end of February, 2021. Don't need CEU's, but want to get ad-free podcasts, access to bonus content, member Q & A zooms, and more? Consider joining the BOP Patreon Group. For more info, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations!