Elizabeth is a recently certified BCaBA who has a new client who she works with after school in the client’s home. Before practicing as a BCaBA, Elizabeth worked part time as an RBT. She also enjoyed a successful career as a massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. Elizabeth’s new client Nina is 12 years old and has been referred for ABA services for difficulty with compliance and task completion. Nina is sensitive to demands and her teachers note that when she’s presented with new academic materials or otherwise overwhelmed by the demands of the school day, she “shuts down,” covers her ears and begins rocking and crying.
Elizabeth has reviewed Nina’s plan and sees that the supervising BCBA has included many programs that pertain to compliance, task completion, and desensitization. Elizabeth agrees that these programs will all help Nina with the problems she’s having at school. However, she also feels that Nina should be practicing relaxation and grounding techniques and believes she can use her experience with Reiki to speed up the desensitization process. Now, Elizabeth begins each session with Nina by devoting 30 minutes to deep relaxation and Reiki techniques before moving on to ABA programming.
Discussion
Discuss the relevant ethical issues in this scenario. Identify all of the applicable codes by number and explain why each is relevant in the case. Utilize only the codes covered in Section 2. Discuss Elizabeth’s decision to give this additional service to Nina and whether or not this is in-line with conceptually consistent practice.