Why BCBA Programs Never Taught You How to Work With Adults — And What to Do About It

Go back to your BCBA coursework for a second.Data collection. Behavior analysis. Program design. Ethics. Verbal behavior. The hours were real. The training was rigorous. And it prepared you to be an exceptional clinician for the children you work with.Now answer this honestly: how many of those hours were dedicated to sitting across from a parent who's heard your advice a hundred times — who is ambivalent, resistant, overwhelmed, and has fears that have nothing to do with your program — and actually knowing what to do?For most BCBAs, the answer is zero.And yet that conversation is the hardest part of the job. It's the part that drives burnout. It's the part that determines whether the work you're doing in session ever generalizes. And nobody taught it.What you'll hear in this episode:Why the BCBA curriculum was built entirely around child behavior — and what got left outThe Toys R Us story: a real session, a real mom, ambivalence playing out in real time in the middle of a toy aisle — and what it revealed about everything we weren't taughtWhat ambivalence actually is, why it's normal, and why pushing harder against it always makes it worseThe difference between a non-compliant parent and an ambivalent one — and why that distinction changes everything about how you show up in sessionsThe first introduction to Motivational Interviewing: what it is, where it came from, and why it maps so cleanly onto the exact problems BCBAs face with parentsWhy MI isn't soft skills or intuition — it's an evidence-based method built specifically for working with ambivalent humansA direct message to every BCBA who has ever left a parent session feeling like they failed🔗 Free Resource: The AOA Approach — One-Page GuideThe AOA approach is one of the most praised techniques from Monica's MI Bootcamp. It stands for:Ask what they already knowOffer information with permissionAsk what they understoodIt's a structured way to give feedback and recommendations that protects your relationship with the parent, respects their autonomy, and actually lands.Download the free one-pager in the link below. You can use it in your next parent session.Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.comJoin the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout.📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert