Ethically Speaking: Know the Difference Between Supervisee and Trainee for the BCBA® Exam

Supervise? traininee? What’s the difference? And does it even matter?

The term supervisee and trainee are often used interchangeably. That is fine in practice, but for those prepping to sit for the Big exam, the difference actually might matter.

According to the BACB®, a trainee is someone who is actively gathering fieldwork experience hours towards meeting the outlined requirements for applying to sit for the Big exam. The supervisor and the trainee have specific requirements that they both must meet in order for those hours to count.

The definition of supervisee is a bit more involved. A supervisee is anyone delivering behavioral services under the direction and oversight of a behavior analyst within a formal supervisory relationship. This means that RBTs are supervisees as they can only practice under the close and continual supervision of a supervisor who is qualified. But this definition also means that other direct service professional — like paraprofessionals in schools, job coaches in vocational settings, and other non-certified technicians — fall under the definition of a supervisee, as long as they’re providing behavioral services overseen by a behavior analyst. It also means that a BCaBA® and even a BCBA® could be a supervisee if they are providing services under the direct supervision of a behavior analyst. So might other professionals who could be implementing some direct behavioral services on a team under the direction of a behavior analyst.

Why does this matter? You might be tempted to think that a BCBA does not have an ethical obligation to non-certified individuals like paraprofessionals who are implementing maybe services in a school. But you would be incorrect if you made that assumption. Why? Well, all of the standards in Section 4: Responsibilities to supervisees and trainees in the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts applies to anyone who meets the definition of trainee or supervisee. So on exam questions, a BCBA has ethical obligations to trainees who are gathering their hours and anyone delivering behavioral services under their direction.

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