Tip #101- Caregiver Support: Look at the Problem NOT the Person
We've all been there right, you have a family member who cares. I mean cares, they are at every meeting, every appointment, and go to the group home to take their loved one out every week. Always wants to be in the loop to know the quality of care and the details of what is going on.
Then you have some extremes where there is the parent who comes into the group home during visits but instead uses the visit to critic staff and file ongoing complaints. Or utilize BCBA contacts or care team meetings as a platform to vent about how "No one is doing their job right" or read through a list of "What everyone is doing wrong".
When problems like this arise immediately the entire care team feels they are under a microscope and do what they can to meditate. When you look at it from an Applied Behavior Analytic standpoint, most organizations will respond by engaging in ESCAPE or AVOIDANCE Behaviors.
ESCAPE: From an organizational standpoint, leadership will engage in escape-maintained behaviors by advising the BCBA to give the family everything they want at the moment to minimize the escalation of events. Over time, this response will result in the BCBA having no boundaries and just giving the family absolutely everything they want to resolve the issues. But in all actuality, this will also result in the family having no clear boundaries, too much control, and over-reinforcing the behavior of micromanaging or bullying care team members or support staff.
AVOIDANCE: From an organizational standpoint, there are some cases where leadership will avoid the family member. Leaving the BCBA to take the heat and mitigate the problem to the best of their ability. This can be a good or bad thing, based on the BCBA's area of expertise in demonstrating compassion care, or soft skills during social interactions with others.
Based on the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, code 1.10 Awareness of Personal Biases.
"Behavior analysts maintain awareness that their personal biases interfere with the quality of their work. The individual takes the appropriate steps to mitigate the issue to ensure their work is not compromised and document all actions taken (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2024).
If you feel your employer is engaging in escape or avoidance-maintained behaviors. It is up to you as a Behavior Analyst to uphold the ethical standard on how to address the issue with the challenges faced with highly involved or intense family involvement.
Always remember to look at the problem, not the person.
To abide by the ethics Code I want to encourage you to keep in mind these three things: Emotional Regulation, Professional Development, and the Importance of Documentation.
- Emotional Regulation: Always remember not to take it personally. A lot of times families have experienced a lot of trauma with their loved ones being supported in group home settings. So they may engage in fight or flight responses if they experience triggers or red flags. For some families, it is a control issue, where I cannot physically control the needs of my loved one. So I am going to try to control as much of the environment as I can such as, staffing, plan development, and policies and procedures. But, most families do not realize they come off too strong to the point where they are more aversive than helpful. As opposed to becoming more combative next time consider the factors above and have more compassion. Spread love not hate my friend.
- Professional Development. This can consist of researching online videos, CEU events, books, peer review literature, or even mentorship in addressing the following key terms "Soft Skills", "Compassion Care", "Emotional Regulations", "How to handle difficult customers" or "How to handle difficult conversations". A lot of time our personal bias will override the situation due to the intensity of events with the family. When you take the initiative to seek out additional guidance and support. This will enhance your work ethic but also give you additional tips on how to mitigate the situation. Now do not get me wrong there is no one-size-fits-all response when it comes to handling a family that may be a little challenging. But the first step is getting the necessary tools so you know how to mitigate similar situations moving forward. (You reading this is the first step). Below are some tools to look into:
- Peer Review Article on Soft Skills:
- Podcast Compassion Care:
- Youtube Video How to Deal with Difficult Customers
- Importance of Documentation: After every contact with the family whether in person, via phone, or video. Always document EVERYTHING. Document what was discussed or observed and the outcome of events. Always document based on facts, not emotion. Avoid key terms in your documentation such as "I think", " I believe" or "I feel". You want to document everything verbatim that you observed directly in that moment. This way if events do escalate to the point of being reprimanded or receiving a citation. As a professional, you have the documentation of events and your efforts on how you tried to resolve the problem.
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