The Life of a Showgirl (BCBA’s Version)

Why the Ethics Code Works Better as a Compass Than a Fact-Check

Most of us open the ethics code only after something already feels off, or when we are fact-checking ourselves. Amber Feick made a case for the other use of the code. Open it on the good days too.

Her talk follows one album, track by track, with each song tied to a duty we carry. The frame is playful, but the point is not. You do not get to turn ethics on and off. We have to be ethical in everything we do, whether we work directly with clients or with our supervisees. That means being honest, holding ourselves accountable, and keeping our documentation accurate.

She also named the first safeguard, and it is you. Know your own bias (the leanings we bring in) and know your limits. Notice when you are stretched too thin to do good work. A company may back you up, and other entities may help. But you are the one who signs the plan and owns the call.

we really should be using our ethics code as a compass to guide our everyday decisions

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

Your Professional Footprint Lasts Longer Than the Case

People hold on to how you treated them. Feick put it plainly: what you do and say stays with people forever. Everyone's perception becomes their own reality. That is true for clients and for supervisees alike.

Her fix starts at the front end. Be clear about expectations with clients and supervisees from day one. Say what you will do, how often, and what you cannot do. Then do what you said you would do. The goal is work you can stand behind later.

She offered a blunt gut check for the gray moments. If part of you thinks you should not be doing this, you probably should not. That may mean stopping, or it may mean doing it a different way.

She tied the same idea to the field itself. Look back ten or fifteen years in ABA (applied behavior analysis), and some of it makes us wince. That is not a reason to look away from it. It is a reason to keep changing the work.

everything that we do leaves a footprint. So we need to be keeping that in mind with anything that we are doing now and in the future.

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

Bring Clients Into the Plan, Not Just the Consent Form

One way to avoid a bad ending is to share control early. Feick pointed to Code 2.09 (the code on involving clients). It names goal choice and treatment choice as two places to bring people in.

She pushed the idea smaller than most of us do. Ask which materials a client wants to use today. Ask where the session should happen. These are small calls, and they come up all day long.

Informed consent (clear agreement before services begin) does the same job at the start. Everyone should hear what the service is and what it is not. If a family asks for something you cannot give, say so clearly. Then tell them what you can give instead.

Feick works as a clinical BCBA, and she said so during the talk. Most of her examples involve kids and families for that reason. The same code sections still apply in schools, in companies, and in work with adults.

Code 2.09 gives examples such as involving them in goal selection, in intervention selection.

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

The Feedback a Supervisee Never Saw Coming

Feick shared a story from her first years in the field. She worked with two providers at once, each with its own supervisor. With one supervisor, the work felt great, and she liked the relationship. She thought her clients were making real progress.

With the second supervisor, the feedback felt harsh and nothing meshed. She could not work out why one person was getting two very different reviews. So she sat down with the first supervisor and asked for help.

The answer landed hard. That supervisor had seen the same problems, because the two supervision schedules overlapped. She had simply never said any of it out loud. Feick was mortified. She had assumed the two experiences were unrelated, when the first supervisor had seen the same issues all along and never said so.

That is the ethics lesson behind performance monitoring and feedback (watching work and saying what you see). Silence is not kindness, and a good relationship is not a reason to hold back. If you share a trainee with another supervisor, compare notes early. Small corrections given often will beat one hard review later.

our supervisees or trainees should never be surprised by the feedback that they're getting

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

Dissemination, Social Media, and Who Carries the Risk

Search ABA on any platform and you will find pages making claims. Some of it is built on research, and some of it is not. Feick is firmly for dissemination (sharing our science in public). She believes ABA could help with many problems in the world.

The limit she drew is about who pays for the post. A story that gets clicks can still expose a client. A clip of a hard moment can follow a client for years. The same holds for supervisees and trainees, whose rough day is not your content.

A short check works before you hit post on anything. Ask who gains from this and who carries the risk. If the client carries the risk, the post is not worth it. Dissemination can wait, but dignity and privacy cannot.

dissemination cannot be done at the expense of the clients or the supervisees or the trainees that we have

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

What To Do When You Are Not the Right Provider

Feick spent real time on power, and she kept the frame simple. The work is not about us; it is about the people we serve. She was open about her own limits too. Being good at this job does not mean knowing everything.

The wrong answer is the reflex one: I am a BCBA and I can take anything. That reflex shows up as fieldwork supervision (supervised hours before you certify) you have no time to give. It shows up as a case you cannot treat well. The better answer is almost always more help. Consult with peers, or call another BCBA for a second read. Bring in SLPs and OTs (speech and occupational therapists) when the client needs them. Sometimes the right move is handing the case to someone else.

The code also keeps us inside our scope of competence (the work we are trained for). We are not guessing, and we are not crossing our fingers and hoping. Feick asked a sharper version of that question. Can you even track whether you did what you said you would do? If you cannot, that is the first gap to close.

An attendee asked what to do the moment you realize your services are not working. The answer from the discussion came in two parts. First, sort out whether the gap is your skill or the fit of the service. If it is your skill, get mentorship inside your agency or transfer the case. If you practice alone, find a mentor or refer the client out. And ask whether the client needs more than ABA, such as medical or psychiatric support alongside it.

just because you start with that person doesn't mean that their experience needs to necessarily end with you, especially if you are not the provider that can give them what they need.

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

Boundaries Get Decided Before They Get Tested

Feick was direct here. You already made the choice to be ethical when you certified. After that, it is not a fresh decision every time. So do not put yourself in a spot where a relationship competes with the code.

If lines do start to blur, do not keep blurring them. Say something, even if you are the awkward person in the room. She warned about the softer version of this too. You want a supervisee to feel fully supported. But not through a dual relationship (a second role with one person).

The harder boundary is with other professionals. Our job is not to claim that ABA is everything. Our job is to push for the treatment the client actually needs. That can upset another provider, and that is sometimes the cost.

Her risk benefit analysis (weighing the harm against the gain) was short. Say the thing and risk getting canceled. Or keep the peace and let the client absorb the difference. Keeping the peace is not a neutral choice. Stay professional, stay honest from the start, and then say the thing. The host added one more warning. Some people now use the code as a weapon in arguments. That is different from using it as the standard for their own conduct.

Codes 1.11 and 1.14 are in section one for a reason. Be professional from the beginning.

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA

Assent, Ending Services Well, and the Showgirl Theory

Feick's take on assent (a willing yes from the client) came with some history. When she certified about ten years ago, nobody asked her about assent. It was not modeled, and it was barely part of the conversation. She counts that change as real progress for the field.

Assent sits right next to neurodiversity affirming practice (respecting how different brains work). Both ask the same question about the service in front of you. What is this doing for this person right now? Sometimes the honest answer is more support, and sometimes it is a different provider.

She said the hardest parts of the job are discontinuing and transitioning care. We talk a lot about starting a case and very little about ending one. Funders are already asking the blunt question about whether you did what you promised. If the service is not right, end it or move it with care.

She closed with two theories. She credited Tyra Sellers with the zombie theory: one careless supervisor trains others, and poor practice spreads. Feick offered a better version and called it the showgirl theory. Seasoned people pass down good habits, and the field grows like a garden. The host added the reason this matters so much. Trainees copy what they see, because the person modeling it has more years in the field.

we are the seasoned professionals, um, and we can continue to pass along our ethical guidelines to support the growth of really amazing, amazing BCBAs.

From the talk — Amber Feick, BCBA