7 Things I wish I knew my first year as a BCBA
1. Your profession does not define you.
When you first get your Master’s degree and then become a BCBA, it can be very tempting to make your whole life about the work you do as a behavior analyst. Over the years, you may quickly find that you start to view yourself or your self-worth as defined by how well or detailed you can write a behavior plan, or an FBA. Your conversations with people might become more and more scientific, or about work and accomplishments within the field. While its certainly nice to be excited about being a BCBA, it’s also important to remember that you are so much more than you job title and your ability to conduct assessments, trainings, or meetings with clients. You are a whole human with family members, friends, and probably a nice list of hobbies that deserve your attention too. All of these things have a much longer history than your professional career and for many of us were a big part of the journey into our career. So, its okay to have less than scientific jargon-y conversations once in a while ( yes- even with other professionals), continue to remind yourself of all the other parts of who you are. Also, keep those joyous & personal tasks on you schedule.
2. Your expertise lies in your ability to begin.
An often overlooked but really powerful skill in behavior analysis is the art and practice of being a beginner. Sometimes we think that what makes a good BCBA is someone who has a wealth knowledge of technical terms and explanations down and can very effectively train and teach others about them. But what if we challenged this idea and saw expertise in terms of how consistent you can remain curious about what you’re doing, including the challenges that often come along. You will always have more to learn in this field and that’s a beautiful thing-no matter where you are in your BCBA journey or how long you have been certified. The reality is that its not always a straight line from A to Z. This work often requires unexpected troubleshooting, learning, and many times difficult thoughts and emotions that can make sticking to our goals & values more difficult. Instead of thinking you know it all or wanting to know it all: stay open, curious, and flexible-especially in the midst of a new or difficult situation with a client or supervisor. See how this might transform your experience.
3. Your professional community(or lack thereof) matters.
The people you have around you can really make you or break you and in my experience, graduate school didn’t prepare me for this. Pay attention to the community of colleagues around you. Is there a sense of genuine support? Do you feel like you can reach out to them if you’re struggling? Are they willing to share helpful tips and resources if you need them? If the answers to these questions are “No”, you may want to consider restructuring your professional circle. Seek out a trusted mentor and a group of people who share and relate to your experiences, and are interested in navigating them and growing together. Consistent time with the wrong group of professionals often leads to isolation, discrimination, lack of professional growth, and overall stress on your mental and emotional health.
4. Prioritize self-compassion over BCBA perfectionism.
Becoming overly concerned with how well your FBA or treatment plan turned out is another sure way to negatively impact your mental health in professional spaces. We all mess these things up sometimes! I can’t tell you how many times I have sent a report or shared something on social media only to later find a typo or something that could have been said a little better or more clearly. Were human-your writing can’t be perfect all the time. Be kind to yourself about it- and later you can add in some steps that might prevent errors in the future- but even after doing that you might still find a less than perfect report, training, or presentation…. So, what can you do? Say that you’re no good at this, and suck at your job? No. Remind yourself that you are doing your best, that you are human, that you care deeply about your job and that’s probably why you’re so hard on yourself for messing up in the first place. Self-compassion is a muscle that needs to strengthened just like curiosity. It will make our journey as behavior analysts a little easier, more loving, and also help us to show up for our clients.
5. You may feel unenthusiastic sometimes & that’s okay.
I have gone through many phases in this field from being head over heels for all things ABA…. to wanting to leave the field altogether. I was surprised to learn that I was not alone and many other professionals have also experienced this. Depending on the specific nature of your work, it can feel repetitive, boring, or like you’re just no longer excited about ABA sometimes. I have been in this situation too many times to count. Those feelings came mostly from being constantly surrounded by the wrong community of professionals, and/or being a part of the wrong organization. It also came from failure to explore the vast variety of what ABA has to offer and how it can be applied. Now, I am in a place where I do love ABA again. I was able to make more connections between things I love like yoga, ACT and RFT. I am in a position where I can be my whole self every day while also doing work that really matters to me. Getting clear on your values is so important. Ask yourself questions like: What do I love about ABA and being a BCBA? What kind of people do I want to help? What problems do I want to help solve? What community and resources should I seek out in order to get closer to all of the above? If after answering these questions you realize that what you’re doing now, or the people you work with now have little to do with your values…. you’ll realize that it makes perfect sense why you feel as if you are no longer in love with the field. There was nothing wrong with you all along. You just need to find your places, find your people, and find the stuff you love. And if at the end of the day that means a career switch, that’s perfectly okay too.
6. It is healthy to regularly invite different ways of thinking.
Not everyone will think, say, or do things just like a behavior analyst and that doesn’t mean that they are wrong either. Regularly inviting ideas from other disciplines or areas of psychology will only help you grow and evolve in your career and in life. Assuming you are always right and no one else except behavior analysts can contribute to what you know leads to really rigid and inflexible patterns in your professional career. Instead always assume that your clients, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and anyone else whom you might come into contact with may have something valuable to share that you don’t know. This also doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to agree with everyone you meet, it just means that you commit to remaining open to learn-no matter who it’s coming from.
7. Advocate for yourself and what you believe even when it’s scary.
Finally, if you find yourself in a situation that is not leading to professional growth and learning opportunities and you do not feel welcomed or included by your environment: its time to practice self-advocacy. For some of us this could mean potentially losing a job or making the difficult decision to leave a job but honestly, after clarifying your values-it may not be the best place for you anyway. It can feel really hard to stand up for yourself-I personally have gotten much better at it now than I was 3 or 4 years ago. It was all after realizing I’m not defined by my work, not getting fulfilled in certain environments, practicing self-compassion, and finding trusted colleagues for support and accountability. The same goes for speaking up on behalf of a client, or an idea that you believe is useful to someone. Knowing your values is one thing and learning to take a stance on them by communicating them verbally is another one- and it is really hard…but worth it. Feel the fear, do it anyway, get support.