Association for Behavior Analysis International

This international panel will describe how a group of colleagues maintained and strengthened relationships, sustained mental health, and perpetuated optimism via scheduled zoom meetings during the pandemic. The panel will describe the specific strategies used, including the use of behavior analytic themed assignments, the discussion of empowering stories (incorporating the inclusion of current events), the establishment of systems supports, and the sharing of the individual impacts of the pandemic. Regular meetings were structured around affirming principles and positive supports related to the pandemic, with meetings scheduled to best accommodate the timetables of those participating. Among the assignments were discussions of seminal presentations and personally relevant articles that each participant felt were meaningful in shaping their careers, including stories of how important factors and/or mentors impacted lives and practices. Participants discussed how they coped with the of challenges posed by the restrictive isolation, significant and stressful changes in working conditions, as well as new requirements that dramatically altered the practice of behavior analysis during the Covid-19 crisis. The importance of collaborative self-care and relationship maintenance will be emphasized, along with the focus on the other ethical requirements related to one’s responsibility as a general professional, practitioner, supervisor, researcher, colleague etc.

All behavior analysts particularly those who provide or will be providing supervision.