Designing A Successful Supervision Journey: Recommendations and Resources for New BCBA Supervisors

Abstract

As of 2022, board certified behavior analysts who are certified for less than 1 year and have met the qualifications to serve in a supervisory capacity are required to meet with a consulting supervisor if they wish to supervise trainees’ fieldwork experience. These guidelines establish a different supervisory level of accountability in our field, supervision for supervisors. Recommendations that are uniquely tailored for new supervisors and address the relationship between new and consulting supervisors have not yet been published. In this article, we share recommendations and resources with new supervisors. We extend current literature by outlining steps new supervisors can take and resources they can use to prepare for a successful supervision journey with their consulting supervisor and supervisees.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Email Template

Dear SUPERVISOR,

I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out to introduce myself. My name is INSERT and I am a newly certified Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) after passing my examination in MONTH YEAR. I also recently met qualifications to supervise trainees' fieldwork experiences and am seeking a consulting supervisor. After reviewing the BACB certificant registry, I noted that you meet the requirements to serve as a consulting supervisor and that you are listed as willing to supervise BCBAs. I wanted to reach out so you can get to know me and to see if you are interested in or able to provide the consultation I am seeking.

To give you a little background about me, I received my DEGREE from UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE in YEAR. Much of my training involved working with POPULATION in SETTING, but I also have experience with INSERT OTHER EXPERIENCES. I have attached a copy of my CV/resume in case you would like to see more specific details about these roles and the dates I held each position. My experiences supervising others have included INSERT.

I currently work at a SETTING where my primary responsibilities include:

• INSERT LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES

In order for me to be successful as a new BCBA supervisor, the types of support I may need from my consulting supervisors include INSERT. The reason I am interested in establishing a supervisory relationship with you is INSERT.

To help me gather some additional information about what a consultative relationship could look like if we worked together, I created a list of questions to generate some additional discussion:

• INSERT LIST OF QUESTIONS

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of this email. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have as well as schedule a time to chat further either via phone or virtual meeting.

Take care,

NAME

Appendix 2

Supervision Self-Monitoring Tool

Supervisor’s Name		Date of Meeting
Supervisee’s Name		Location of Meeting
Rating Key	1 = all of the time/agree 2 = some of the time/neutral 3 = never/disagree

Organization
Item	Score
The meeting began on time (as scheduled)	Yes	No
The meeting was free from distractions	Yes	No
I was prepared for the meeting	Yes	No
Notes:
Expectations and Professionalism
Item	Score
I communicated effectively with my supervisee regarding meeting expectations (e.g., preparation of agenda, meeting time, and location)	1	2	3	N/A
I set clear expectations about the context of supervision	1	2	3	N/A
I gave appropriate and clear deadlines for assigned tasks	1	2	3	N/A
I modeled ethical and professional behavior	1	2	3	N/A
I maintained a positive body position and engaged in appropriate non-verbal behavior throughout the meeting	1	2	3	N/A
I refrained from interrupting my supervisee while they were speaking	1	2	3	N/A
Notes:
Clinical and Ethical Expertise
Item	Score
I modeled clinical decision-making skills using evidence-based teaching strategies	1	2	3	N/A
I modeled technical, behavior analytic skills using evidence-based teaching strategies	1	2	3	N/A
I modeled ethical decision-making skills using evidence-based practices	1	2	3	N/A
I had enough clinical expertise to accurately answer questions posed by my supervisee or refrained from answering questions outside of my scope of competence	1	2	3	N/A
I asked my supervisee questions to gather more information to further discussion	1	2	3	N/A
Notes:
Teaching and Performance Monitoring
Item	Score
I followed up with feedback on previous observations of my supervisee during the meeting	1	2	3	N/A
When introducing a new skill, I provided a model/demonstration of the skill	1	2	3	N/A
I provided opportunities for my supervisee to practice skills and receive feedback on their performance	1	2	3	N/A
I scheduled a time to directly observe my supervisee practice skills with clients	Yes		No
I collected data on my supervisee’s performance to make decisions about the effectiveness of supervision	1	2	3	N/A
I provided positive and corrective feedback to my supervisee	1	2	3	N/A
I helped my supervisee set goals and established criteria to measure mastery	1	2	3	N/A
The topics discussed during supervision can be linked to the BACB 5th ed. task list	1	2	3	N/A
Notes:
Social Validity
Item	Score
I enjoyed the supervision meeting	1	2		3
I feel I have enough time in my schedule to allow for adequate supervision of my supervisee	1	2		3
I have good rapport with my supervisee	1	2		3
Notes:

1. Adapted from Turner et al. (2016)

Appendix 3

Recommendations Action Items Checklist

Recommended Practices for Individual Supervision: Considerations for the Behavior-Analytic

Trainee. Behavior Analysis in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00557-9