Supporting Parents
with Jenny Owens
Have you ever complained that parents are the hardest part of your job?
What if you looked at the competing contingencies that have maintained the parents’ behaviors?
During today’s meal — I talk to fellow behavior analyst, Jenny Owens, who believes we need to stop treating parents like a burden and instead treat them like a key member of the treatment team. We also discuss how labeling clients and parents can skew how practitioners interact with them.
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Amuse-Bouche
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Appetizers
How did you get into Behavior Analysis?
What’s an “insult” you’ve received that you’re proud of? / What is the best compliment you have ever received?
Palate Cleanser
What’s your go-to coffee order?
Entree
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
If there were no barriers or constraints, what would be your dream project?
Dessert
How do you practice self-care?
Excerpts from the Episode
(*Paraphrased highlights)-
I just love what we do! For a long time, my favorite thing was just being with, and teaching clients. As my career shifted and skill set changed, it was training others—first RBTs, then masters students, then other BCBAs. Then my favorite thing became finding ways to wholly support parents.
I've realized that our job is no longer strictly clinical work. We are also advocates. We are advocating for ethical treatment, compassionate use of behavioral strategies, we are advocating for fair treatment of BCBAs—-both advocating on behalf of ABA, and against it when deserved. Now, my favorite part of what we do is being a part of that change.
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My favorite compliment is like, “No one's done that with me before,” or when a parent says, “You just get my kid.” That, to me, is the coolest thing.
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Make my work match what I believe in! I spent years thinking that distraction was the key to self care, and now I arguably work more than ever but I feel so invigorated by it, that it's one of the best parts of my day. This also comes from a place of privilege having been in our field for so long and being able to be choosy about my work.
I also think self advocacy is so important. Asking for help when a client's needs don't match your skill set, reaching out for support when a deadline feels unreasonable, and recognizing if the billable requirements of your position don't feel doable are all easy examples.
There are a lot of ways that an agency can help support you, but they need to know what you need first. If you are employed somewhere that doesn't seem interested in providing that support, there are so many organizations looking for talented clinicians.
ABOUT Jenny
Jenny Owens, M.S., BCBA-LBA
“After studying psychology with the intention of becoming a therapist, I started interning at an adult mental health facility my senior year of college. I was struck by how many people had been receiving treatment for 10, 20, 30 years and didn't seem to feel better. I had a total identity crisis when I realized I didn't think the traditional therapy model was fulfilling its promise to clients. As a "what the heck do I do now" move, I answered an ad on craigslist and got a job in ABA in 2010.
I got my masters in Behavior Analysis from the Chicago School in 2014 and became a BCBA in 2015. I've supervised home, clinic, and school services. I've had the most incredible mentors in our field and spent years learning how to incorporate ACT into our clinical practice to help address our own burnout and that of RBTs, and how to implement ACT based programs to better serve our clients and their parents.
A little over a year ago, after 5 years as a clinical director I started to feel the "are we really doing our best for our clients" itch again. I made the decision to re-approach how I program, how I interact with my clients, how I teach, how I work with parents, and how I structure my life as a BCBA. It became very clear to me that in order to practice ethically and effectively I had to be choosy about how to spend my time. For me that means only doing clinical work that feels really meaningful.
I consult with agencies, work part time for companies that share my values, teach ethics in behavior analysis as an adjunct professor at St. Edwards university, supervise a small number of BCBA candidates, run social skills groups that go beyond teaching simple observable prosocial behaviors, and work privately with parents seeking support whose children don't have a diagnosis or no longer qualify for traditional ABA. I also have a few clients doing ACT based health and fitness coaching, though this isn't something I really advertise anymore.”
Connect with Jenny
* Instagram— @jenny_owens_bcba* Facebook— facebook.com/jensilver
Visit my Podcast page to learn more about Behavior Bites!
