So, You’re Ready to Become a Supervisor!

A young woman proud to become a supervisor

First of all, congratulations! This is such an exciting step in your professional journey. I’m sure you’re experiencing a whirlwind of emotions—everything from excitement to a little bit of nervousness. And guess what? That’s completely normal! It’s thrilling to think about supporting others in their roles, whether they’re behavior technicians, paraprofessionals, trainees working toward certification, or any other supervisees under your guidance. It's also exciting to think about the role you’ll play in helping others move closer to their professional groups and to help the profession grow too! Feeling nervous is actually a good sign—it means you recognize the significance of this new responsibility. After all, being a supervisor is a big deal!

As a supervisor, you’ll guide your supervisees in understanding the principles of behavior, implementing programming, maintaining treatment integrity, and developing other essential skills necessary for delivering high-quality services. That’s a lot to handle, right? Right! And you are prepared to help develop and maintain their knowledge and skills; you’re a behavior analyst, after all! Hang on, though; it’s not just about the technical skills. You’ll need to stay on top of many other important aspects as you step into this role. It’s crucial to keep these in mind as you prepare and throughout your time as a supervisor.

Things to Consider Before Taking on Supervisees

A young woman supervising one of her supervisees Before you take on supervisees, it’s crucial to make sure you’re genuinely prepared to commit the time and energy required to provide high-quality supervision (Sellers, et al., 2019). It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of mentoring someone new, but it’s essential to regularly assess your capacity to handle your supervision caseload—just as you would with your client caseload.

Remember, just because you’re eager to take on a supervisee doesn’t necessarily mean you should. You need to ensure you have the bandwidth to give them the attention and support they truly need. As you’re assessing your capacity, make sure to consider things like your supervision experience, current client caseload (e.g., number of clients, level of intensity for each client, amount of supervision needed), supervision caseload (e.g., number of supervisees, amount of supervision needed, preparation for supervision), administrative tasks, and professional development activities (BACB®, 2020). Don’t forget to include the potential for emergencies in work that you might have to attend to and other life factors that could impact your ability to provide high-quality supervision.

So, what else should you focus on to set yourself up for success? First and foremost, you need to be crystal clear about your ethical obligations as a supervisor. A great way to do this is by thoroughly understanding both your own requirements and those of your supervisees. For example, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB) outlines specific ethics requirements not just for behavior analysts, but also for technicians and trainees (BACB, 2020a; BACB, 2021). As a supervisor, your responsibility is to ensure that your supervisees are fully aware of these requirements. You need to support them in adhering to these requirements by doing things like helping them evaluate their scope of competence and biases and addressing their concerns about someone’s possible misconduct or their own possible misconduct.

A young supervisor helping one of her supervisees. Another key aspect of your role is understanding the requirements for supervision—how much supervision is needed, how often it should occur, and the best ways to provide it. It’s also crucial to document this supervision accurately and to teach your supervisees how to do the same (BACB, 2024). Documentation isn’t just about creating records; but also about knowing when to update, audit, and maintain those records (both yours and your supervisees!). These are skills you’ll want to pass on to your supervisees too. And keep in mind that it will be important to address mistakes in documentation in a timely manner—both yours and your supervisees’. You need to be knowledgeable of the requirements to be a supervisor, too—things like completing the 8-hour supervisor training, uploading the certificate into your account, and completing continuing education requirements, among others (BACB, 2024).

As a supervisor, you’re not just responsible for the supervision you provide; you’re also accountable for the actions your supervisees take in their professional roles (BACB, 2020a). For example, you are responsible for teaching them how to appropriately interact with clients, how to navigate situations when caregivers ask them questions (either personal or about the services provided) and even how to discuss things like posting on social media about their work.

Making sure you have the capacity to deliver the appropriate training, supervision, and support will help you ensure that your supervisees are set up for success—and, in turn, that your clients are too. And remember, you don’t have to do this alone. Reach out to your colleagues, mentors, and your own supervisors for support as you embark on your journey as a supervisor. Plenty of fantastic resources are also available to help guide you along the way.

A Few Resources

Hopefully, these tips and resources help you on your journey to becoming the best supervisor you can be. If you’re looking for even more helpful information, check out The Dynamic Supervisor: An 8-Hour Immersion in Contemporary Standards and Skills.

The Dynamic Supervisor course (click for more info)

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References

Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2024). BCBA handbook. Retrieved October 2, 2024, from https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BCBAHandbook_240426-a.p…
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020a). Ethics code for behavior analysts. Retrieved August 6, 2024, from https://www.bacb.com/ethics-information/ethics-codes/
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020b). Taking supervision seriously. BACB Newsletter. Retrieved October 2, 2024, 2024, from https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BACB_August2020_Newslet…
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2021). RBT ethics code (2.0). Retrieved October 2, 2024, from https://www.bacb.com/ethics-information/ethics-codes/
Sellers, T. P., Valentino, A. L., Landon, T. J., & Aiello, S. (2019). Board certified behavior analysts’ supervisory practices of trainees: Survey results and recommendations. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 536-546. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6743523/

Publication date

Fri, 11/15/2024 - 12:00