BCBA outside of doctoral program

[_Sunny]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone! I'm trying to explore my options about getting a BCBA in addition to my doctoral degree in clinical psych, since this is not something my current program offers.

If you got your BCBA (or BCBA-D) outside of your doctoral program, I want to hear from you! More specifically:
What were your reasons for getting it?
Did you feel like it paid off/you reached your goals/it given you access to the types of work your colleagues who do not have it are not able to do?
Did you do it while in grad school or after?
Did you do it through in-person classes, or through an online program? If online, how did you go about getting supervised hours, and do you feel like getting it online has mattered to your employers/in your work?

If you employ clinicians who have a BCBA, I would be happy to hear from you as well. Do you feel that it sets potential employees apart? Does it matter to you whether they went the online route or attended in-person classes?

 

[singasongofjoy]

I thought about it; I got some experiences/classes during my PhD program that would count towards it. But ultimately I got a job doing what I want to do and I don't need it, so I'm not going to go through the hassle. Several of my labmates have come to the same conclusion (although a few did continue to pursue it after graduation,mostly because they were already so close).

 

[_Sunny]

I thought about it; I got some experiences/classes during my PhD program that would count towards it. But ultimately I got a job doing what I want to do and I don't need it, so I'm not going to go through the hassle. Several of my labmates have come to the same conclusion (although a few did continue to pursue it after graduation,mostly because they were already so close).

Thanks for sharing! What were your reasons for considering it, and what kind of work are you doing now?

 

[singasongofjoy]

Considering it because I work in ASD and it seems to be a a thing some people do, and it was easy to get hours towards it while in my program. considered continuing I guess just because of momentum and "everyone else is doing it" mentality since others in my lab were. Now I do autism research and clinical work (diagnostics and some therapy).

 

[_Sunny]

Considering it because I work in ASD and it seems to be a a thing some people do, and it was easy to get hours towards it while in my program. considered continuing I guess just because of momentum and "everyone else is doing it" mentality since others in my lab were. Now I do autism research and clinical work (diagnostics and some therapy).

Do you feel like not having the BCBA holds you back from doing therapy in any way? Not sure what setting you work in, but if there are other clinicians who have the BCBA who work with you, are they doing more therapy or different kinds of therapy?