Association for Behavior Analysis International

The symposium will present the way Italian behavior analysis associations have spread ABA in Italy, a country with a strong background and consensus on psychoanalysis. The symposium will present how it has done both in psychological and non-psychological field, by trying to involve end-users and professionals in our dissemination. The symposium will be an opportunity to discuss on how to go beyond national formal and cultural barriers in any country, on how to build up an efficient Behavior Analysis educational path, and on how to help of many different professional figures committed in non-psychological fields.

To become a psychotherapist in Italy first you must get a degree in medicine or in psychology. Second, you have to attend a four-year post-graduation course (public or private) recognized by the Italian State. To obtain the recognition of such post-graduation course in psychotherapy it isonly necessary to have qualified teachers and sufficient spaces (classrooms). It is not important to teach evidence-based therapies whose effectiveness is scientifically proven. This is valid both for behavior analysis and for any other kind of psychological intervention. The Italian Association for Behavior Analysis and Modification (AIAMC) has recently included in its Statute and Regulationsa commitment to teach only evidence-based therapeutic interventions to protect both patients and therapists. AIAMC currently has 10 post-graduation training schools in Italy recognized by the Italian government. These four-years schools have the following structure: 2000 hours of training in the four-year period of which 1,100 hours of lectures, 700 hours of internship and 200 hours of individual and group supervision. Our association developed and implemented a marketing strategy of science and educational programs, in order to take advantage of the very unfavorable academic environment for the benefit of behavioral psychology, to attract new generations of psychologists, and to involve them in our scientific perspective. In conclusion, we will provide information on such strategies for the dissemination of Applied Behavior Analysis technologies in our country.

As professionals and members of the ABA community, AARBA tried many ways before getting partially successful in disseminating ABA: in a first attempt, AARBA tried to teach principles and practice of both OBM and Fluency-based training to psychologists and institutions, but Behavior Analysis expiates unfair preconceptions in Italy because of the lack of scientific culture and the psychoanalytic approach. Further, there are common misconceptions of our principles themselves and their applications. Since 2006, AARBA followed the suggestion of the departed professor Bill Hopkins ("Teach ABA to engineers, not to psychologists") and changed its main target: AARBA established a training path for those professionals as engineers, business consultants, managers interested in OBM, and especially Behavior-Based Safety. First, AARBA introduced to BA and BBS with an 80-hours course with a final exam. Second, they committed to follow a supervised practice by underwriting an AARBA ethical code. Third, some experienced OBM consultants constituted a network for coaching junior profiles and make them autonomous in BBS application. Fourth, AARBA instituted a BBS Process certification and BBS Professional certification, based on both injuries reduction and correctness of BA principles applications. In these ten years, more than 400 people belong to AARBA BBS experts list, more than 20 have been coached, few have achieved certification. AARBA carried forward other scientific and disseminating activities, considers this path a success because now state institutions consider our chapter as referent for behavioral safety.