This is a Stronger Together follow-up post authored by board member Alec M. Bernstein, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
I, like many others, found behavior analysis by chance. It was empirical and experimental—I liked science. It was parsimonious—I am a simple man. Heck, it was deterministic—no way was I assuming all the blame for failing most of my first-year pre-med college courses. So, I serendipitously, and dare I say unconsciously, heeded Skinner’s (1956) recommendation to drop everything and study what I found interesting.
Fast forward some 15-plus years and my primary role is as a Senior Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) at Children’s Mercy Hospital (Kansas City, MO). I formalized the inpatient Behavior Consultation Team, direct a research laboratory, and support the hospital’s expansion of behavior-analytic services. I also am on faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.
But I am no lone wolf in whatever progress this is and whatever progress is to come. For one, I am a part of several organizations and committees. I use my knowledge of behavior analysis to influence the products of these systems and use products from these systems to influence my work. The relation is bidirectional.
Most organizations are mechanisms for easy, relevant information. The email listservs of the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior; History of Behavior Analysis; and Theoretical, Philosophical, and Conceptual Issues are great examples. I often save recurring newsletters and historical videos others post to consider for future trainings and courses. The Children’s Hospital Association rarely produces topics about behavior analysis in healthcare. I, however, often save its newsletters and commentaries as a measure of hospital needs nationwide. Trying to capitalize on establishing operations, we have several projects focusing on common themes throughout these publications including decreasing restraint, managing problem behavior, and expanding a systematic process for identifying a commercialized crisis-management program for pediatric hospitals.
I also serve on the Board of the Kansas Behavior Sciences Regulatory Board’s Behavior Analyst Advisory Committee and as Chair of the Kansas Hospital Association’s Behavioral Health Committee. With the former, I use my knowledge as a scientist to create systems to support other behavior analysts, including refining measures to identify practitioners’ needs. With the latter, I generally help hospital stakeholders state-wide re-conceptualize proposals, so they integrate ongoing data collection and analysis to inform a sustainable clinical practice and demonstrate effectiveness. The Committee’s members also are diverse. Their positions and perspectives have resulted in continued conversations helping shape the expansion of Children’s Mercy’s behavioral and mental health services.
Visiting the respective organization’s host website can lead those interested to directions for joining the organization. Many committees either spawn from joining organizations or are directly related to one’s profession. I joined listservs and signed up for email updates from many organizations and committees I now participate in. I applied for positions when the current leadership posted vacancies. Serving on hospital- and medical school-related committees are other avenues I have pursued. These help me understand how the systems function and what leaders find important, which directly impacts clinical programming, and what measures we report. I also help the committees define their outcomes, create feasible tracking systems, and promote a sustainable process.
Engaging with professional journals—specifically peer-reviewing—also involves bidirectional relationships. Reviewing for behavior-analytic journals allows me to stay current on research, which informs my clinical practice. I also help others strengthen the impact of their work while maintaining the rigors of science. Reviewing for nonbehavior-analytic journals allows me to suggest discussion points stimulated by and provide references from behavior-analytic research. Those interested might find success in seeking mentors on the Editorial Boards and contacting Editors to volunteer their expertise as ad hoc reviewers.
Here are other organizations, committees, and journals I currently am active with, along with my role and a brief description of my interaction with each:
| Entity | Role | My Interaction |
|---|---|---|
| Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (organization) | Member | Website and email updates (e.g., licensure, billing, references) inform practice. Disseminate hospital-based behavior-analytic research and practice and conference. Create professional relationships. |
| Association for Behavior Analysis International (organization) | Member | Track potential awards, potential research funding, and new publications. Website and email updates (e.g., accreditation) inform hiring and networking. Create professional relationships. Bring experience in less-populated subspecialty of behavior analysis. Disseminate our science and hospital-based work to members. |
| ABAI Practice Board (committee) | Board Member | Bring experience in a less-populated subspecialty of behavior analysis. Disseminate our science and hospital-based work to members. Create professional relationships. |
| ABAI Challenging Behavior SIG (organization/committee) | Board Member | Connect behavior analysts with resources to facilitate practice. Create professional relationships. |
| American Psychological Association, Division 25: Behavior Analysis (organization) | Member | Track potential awards, potential research funding, and new publications. |
| Behavior Analyst Certification Board (organization/committee) | Subject Matter Expert | Bring experience in a less-populated subspecialty of behavior analysis. Help shape the future of credentialing for the field. |
| Profound Autism Alliance Advocacy Network (organization) | Member | Website, email, and social media updates (e.g., blogs, references, caregiver resources, trainings, conferences) inform practice. |
| Various hospital- and medical school-related organizations and committees | Chair, Member | Identify how systems work and what leaders find important, informing clinical practice. Facilitate more systematic, objective processes. |
| Journals (behavior-analytic) | ||
| Behavior and Social Issues | Reviewer | Stay connected with literature to inform clinical practice. Help maintain rigorous, scientific standards. |
| The Bulletin | Reviewer | |
| Behavioral Interventions | Reviewer | |
| Behavior Modification | Reviewer | |
| Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice | Reviewer | |
| Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis | Editorial Board, Reviewer | |
| Behavior Analysis in Practice | Reviewer | |
| Education and Treatment of Children | Reviewer | |
| Journal of Behavioral Education | Reviewer | |
| Journals (nonbehavior-analytic) | ||
| International Journal of Developmental Disabilities | Reviewer | Provide discussion points that integrate behavior-analytic principles and procedures. Integrate behavior-analytic research as references. Create professional relationships outside of behavior analysis. |
| Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities | Reviewer | |
| Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | Reviewer | |
| Journal of Intellectual Disability Research | Reviewer | |
| Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities | Reviewer | |
| Child and Family Behavior Therapy | Reviewer | |
Yes. Yes. Yes. We won’t be treated as valuable to the bigger world unless we act as a constructive part of it. More cynically, though just as practically, the best way to understand when and why the bigger world has a problem with us is to be part of their conversations. And, by the way, if you want to counter misconceptions about behavior analysis, you’ll have an audience only if non-behavior-analysts know and trust you, which can only happen when you’re a member of a broader community. THANK YOU for this timely and astute commentary!