You Can’t Save Everyone

podcast

Apr 26

with Jasmine Yepez

Jasmine is a white woman with glasses and dyed red hair

Behavior Bites Podcast - Ep13

Apr 26, 2023

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Do you ever feel like you have to save everyone?

Do you feel like you're burning the candle at both ends trying to support clients, families, staff, colleagues, and maybe even fixing a broken system?

During today’s meal — Jasmine and I chat about her start in behavior analysis, being a compassionate BCBA, and her journey through burnout.

Amuse-Bouche
- Why do you think labeling yourself as neurodivergent might detract from others?
Appetizers
- How did you get into Behavior Analysis?
- What’s a typical day look like for you?
- How do you combat burnout?
Palate Cleanser
- What is your go-to coffee order?
Entree
- What’s something you wish you could have told yourself when you were getting started?
- What does being a “compassionate BCBA” mean to you?
- What was your initial reason for wanting to start The ABA Lady page?
Dessert
- What is your favorite thing about what you do?
Nightcap
- What brought you joy this week?

Excerpts from the Episode

(*Paraphrased highlights)

When people experience burnout, I think a lot of blame is pushed on them, like, “You were taking your laptop home every day, and every weekend.” You could have not done that, but some of us are in situations like I was where it's like, the clinic will cease to function if I don’t do these things.
I'm trying to be better about setting boundaries, like, I’ve already worked all day, I can sit down and watch tv for a couple of hours.
I've been intentional about that. I'll go, “okay, I've done enough,” close my laptop and put it away. It's so easy to just be working constantly, whether that's scrolling through Instagram trying to get ideas, or reading research articles. It’s still an aspect of work and I need to not constantly be consuming ABA.
A mentor told me, “You can’t save everyone.”
I used to interpret that as you can't help every family. I think at the time I was struggling with a family accepting therapy and following through with our guidance.
Now, I realize that it really comes to mean you are not solely responsible to change an entire system as much as you might want to. I stayed on way too long at a company because I thought I could change things that I ultimately couldn’t.
I can be an advocate, but at the end of the day, I can’t let the burden of changing the insurance system or the unethical things people do in ABA, fall solely on me.
There's not one specific definition. On one hand, I'm continually seeking out continuing education on neurodiversity and trauma-informed ABA.
On the other hand, a big part of it for me is one of my favorite aspects of being a clinical director; clinical management and mentoring RBTs and supervisees.
I feel like RBTs are forgotten about in our field, and we do not give them the credit they deserve, especially the ones that don't want to pursue grad school or college.
I feel like we really overlook them, like, “oh, they're not gonna stay or stick around for long, so they're not worth investing in.”
Not all RBTs want to become BCBAs and that doesn't mean they're not excellent at what they do. So for me, it's about having compassion for those individuals as well, because I think a lot of companies just see them as dollar signs.
I think initially, I was seeking a community.
I believe, when I started my page I was a behavior consultant providing in-home service. There were other BCBAs, but we rarely saw each other. We didn't have meetings.
I was so alone and isolated. I was just seeking out other BCBAs to talk to and connect with, and to just share the fun stuff I was doing. I love putting together little sensory boxes with things like beans from the dollar store. So I would take pictures of that and share it.
My intent was never to make it what it has become today. It was really about connection, which ultimately it still is.

ABOUT Jasmine

Jasmine Yepez, M.Ed., BCBA (she/her)

Jasmine has been a BCBA since 2019. She has experience working as a behavior technician and BCBA in an in-home autism waiver program as well as in a private clinic. She served as a clinical director before experiencing extreme burnout and leaving the field to open her own wedding planning business in 2022.

Her interests include toilet learning, alternative and augmentative communication, and compassionate RBT and supervisee training. Jasmine is passionate about burnout care and prevention and is an advocate for BCBA and RBT mental health.

Jasmine posts about behavior analytic topics for those working in behavior analysis and special education on her Instagram. She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband, three cats, and 15-year-old chihuahua. Jasmine will soon be opening a consulting business offering toilet training services.

Connect with Jasmine