Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 3 | 2011 | Number 2 | Online ISSN: 2151-4704
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Terapii Behawioralnej
By Nina Zawidniak and Ewa Kuliga
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Terapii Behawioralnej (the Polish Behavioral Therapy Association; PBTA), is a countrywide nonprofit organization, consociating active practitioners of behavioral therapy. PBTA's mission is to provide multidirectional, comprehensive, and professional help to the disabled—in particular to persons suffering from emotional and intellectual disabilities—and to their families. Another vital purpose of PBTA is promoting behavioral therapy among therapists and academics.
Currently, PBTA has 140 registered members from every significant behavioral therapy center in Poland, as well as the parents of persons undergoing behavioral therapy and other concerned experts (physicians, academics, and students). It provides substantial patronage for and cooperates with a number of Polish centers and institutions (in Gdansk, Kielce, Krakow, Warsaw, Zabrze, etc.) focused on providing effective help to persons with autism and publishes the informational periodical Krok za krokiem (Step by Step), which contains articles by world-renowned experts on teaching persons with autism.
PBTA has promoted behavioral therapy by organizing specialist trainings for a wide range of attendees (mainly the teachers and parents of the emotionally and developmentally disabled). Over 700 participants attended such trainings in 2010.
The boards of Poland's two affiliated branches of the ABAI (i.e., PBTA and the Polish Society for Behavioral Psychology) have initiated a joint program aimed at unifying the formal requirements for behavioral therapists in Poland. The aim of these actions is to consolidate and formalize the occupational trainings for behavioral therapists that are currently in place in Poland and thus define the requirements for practicing therapists in order to make behavioral therapy clearly identifiable with the highest quality of therapeutic services. Therefore, in light of that common goal, the two associations have decided to create a registry of practicing behavioral therapists in Poland to integrate and regulate the existing system of trainings and occupational education that enables applicants to obtain the title of a behavioral therapist. As of this moment, 70 people in Poland have been granted the title of licensed behavioral therapist. A set of theoretical and practical trainings framed as five preparatory routes, as well as the appropriate examination criteria, have been prepared for persons applying for the granting of the occupational title of behavioral therapist:
- Route I (for practicing therapists) includes submitting an official application for the granting of the title of a behavioral therapist. The application shall include a confirmation of the applicant's qualifications, documents confirming no less than 3 years of professional practice under supervision, and a positive reference from the head of the relevant therapy center.
- Route II includes completion of a three-level course in behavioral therapy and at least five specialization courses, completion of no less than 30 days of internships at any of the collaborating centers, 2 years of professional practice under supervision (a minimum of 50 hours of supervision per year), and a positive reference from the supervisor.
- Route III includes completion of the following courses from the Institute of Psychology at Jagiellonian University: "Wprowadzenie do psychologii behawioralnej (Introduction to Behavioral Psychology)" and "Terapia behawioralna: teoria i praktyka (Behavioral Therapy: Theory and Practice)", completion of at least five specialization courses, no less than 20 days of internships at any of the collaborating centers, 2 years of professional practice under supervision, and a positive reference from the supervisor.
- Route IV includes completion of the postgraduate studies in applied behavior analysis at the Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, completion of no less than 20 days of internships at any of the collaborating centers, 2 years of professional practice under supervision (a minimum of 50 hours of supervision per year), and a positive reference from the supervisor.
- Route V includes completion of the postgraduate studies in applied behavior analysis at the Sopot School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1 day of work observation at no less than three collaborating centers, 2 years of professional practice under supervision (a minimum of 50 hours of supervision per year), and a positive reference from the supervisor.
PBTA has conducted practical trainings (training and observational internships) for pedagogy (The Pedagogical University of Cracow, Jagiellonian University) and psychology (Jagiellonian University) students and tutors from other educational institutions. It has published the book Czas na dialog! Materiały informacyjne z II, Ogólnopolskiej Konferencji Nauczycieli Szkolnictwa Specjalnego (Time to Talk! Informational Material From the Second Polish Conference of Special Education Teachers).
PBTA also organized the conference "Czas na dialog! Porozmawiajmy więc o integracji" (Time to Talk! Let's Talk About Integration) for special education teachers. The participants included 450 special education teachers and psychologists from all over the country who professionally help persons with a wide range of disorders and employ various methods of therapy. A goal of the 2011 conference is to produce a postconference book that is to collect the lectures and records of the discussions conducted during the event.
PTBA continues to fulfill statutory activities in forms focused on helping the disabled:
- The Behavioral Therapy Clinic (BTC) in Cracow and a local branch of the BTC in Wroclaw provides therapeutic support for the families of developmentally and emotionally challenged persons from all over Poland. The BTC's operations include diagnostic consultations for children with suspected developmental disorders (performed usually by a committee consisting of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a speech therapist, a special education teacher, and a rehabilitator) and conducting home therapy programs. The consultations are an opportunity to establish a program for therapy and the parents are instructed on its implementation; during subsequent visits, such a program undergoes the necessary modifications and the parents' skills are further improved. Currently PBTA's BTC oversees home therapy for 450 families throughout Poland.
- The Emergency Intervention Team (EIT) is a short-term (up to 2 weeks), intensive therapy for persons with developmental and behavioral disorders and their families facing material and other hardships. In 2010, around 20 families from all over Poland used this form of therapy.
- The integration classes (IC) are aimed at younger children with disabilities identified as belonging to the spectrum of autism, but possessing basic group-work skills. The classes are conducted on the basis of preschool teaching methodology and the principles of applied behavioral analysis. The objectives of the classes are to integrate the children within a group and develop their social competence. There are currently eight children participating in the classes.
- The social skills training (SST) are classes conducted in small groups and intended to develop positive social behaviors. The classes are aimed at older children with emotional disorders, Asperger's syndrome, and high functioning children with autism. Eight students currently attend these classes.
- PBTA works to obtain resources that allow further development of the organization and introduce new statutory activities (including research programs).
- One of the more important events of 2010 was a behavioral rehabilitation camp. Twenty families from across Poland participated in the event. The camp involved intensive therapy work aimed foremost at instructing and supervising parents and guardians of persons with developmental and emotional disorders under the care of the BTC. The camp also included theoretical trainings, the purpose of which was to broaden and deepen the scope of the parents' and guardians' knowledge of applied behavior analysis.
This year, PBTA intends to continue its work with the BTC, EIT, IC, and SST. Considering the enormous demand and the popularity of last year's rehabilitation camp, the PBTA plans to repeat a behavioral rehabilitation camp this summer. As in the previous year, the purpose of this camp shall be to aid the families of persons with emotional disorders from all over Poland, in particular the families of the patients of the behavioral therapy centers supervised by the PBTA, as well as the patients of the BTC and EIT.