This recording was a fun and way-overdue Patreon member hangout with the incomparable Dr. Merrill Winston. In this episode, we discussed how Greg Hanley influenced Merrill's departure from his previous employer, how he wanted to do more than be considered as the restrain and seclusion guru, his new enterprise, Winston Behavioral Solutions, when it's OK to break the rules, and much more. 

As a matter of fact, we spent the most amount the hangout discussing what makes a good behavior plan (and conversely, why some of them stink!). 

This session started out in an interview format, but we quickly transitioned to Q and A with the attendees, and what resulted was a genuinely enjoyable conversation amongst several experienced Behavior Analysts.

And if you don't listen to anything else, you have to listen to the hilarious story that Merrill closes the hangout with. While I'd love it if you listened to the podcast in its entirety, you could be forgiven for skipping to the end to hear it. 

Here are some links to things that came up in Session 180:

• Merrill's new company/website.
• Callahan et al. (2019). Behavioral Artistry: Examining the Relationship Between the Interpersonal Skills and Effective Practice Repertoires of Applied Behavior Analysis Practitioners.
• Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin.
• The Patreon Group!
• Merrill's first and second appearances on the show.
• Shoutout to Dr. Paulie Gavoni (grab his latest book here).
• Correlation between self-reported rigidity and rule-governed insensitivity to operant contingencies (Wulfert, Greenway, Farkas, Hayes, and Dougher, 1994).
• Who was Troy McClure?

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  With a sophisticated digital health platform now at the heart of the program, you can deliver groups face-to-face, with telehealth, or a combination of formats. Follow this link to book a live demo from anywhere around the world. Also, don’t forget to mention that “Matt sent you” to have your SAS Provider establishment fee waived (a minimum $500 USD value)!
• The 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference! The 2022 event will be taking place both in-person and virtually over April 7th and 8th. If you can't make it to Austin, Texas, then head over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for info on how to tune in from afar. The conference itself will feature Vince Carbone, Francesca Degli Espinosa, Tamara Kasper, Pat McGreevy, Sarah Lechago, Kevin Luczynski, Kelle Rich, David Roth, Mark Sundberg, and Hank Schlinger. I will be there too to host the 2022 Panel Discussion, so again, if you’re interested in learning more, head on over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for more details.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• Yours Truly... If you're in need of BACB Continuing Education, get some credit for the shows you're already listening to, because the Behavioral Observations Podcast is an Approved Continuing Education provider. That's right, learn on-the-go with some of your favorite podcasts guests. Click here to learn about not only the variety of topics offered, but also the significant discounts for bulk purchases!

Dr. John Michael Guercio joins me again to discuss a topic that we briefly covered in his last appearance; Behavioral Relaxation Training.

In this show, John does a deep dive into this work, drawing on the research of Drs. Roger Poppen, Duane Lundervold, and of course John himself. 

Along with the aforementioned Drs. Poppen and Lundervold, John is the co-author of the third edition of the text, Behavioral Relaxation Training. He is also the author of Assessment of Adult Core Competencies: Teaching Skills to Adults with Autism and Severe Behavioral Challenges, which we discussed at length in his earlier appearance in Session 140. 

We discuss how BRT was developed, its current applications, and the training required to do it. We also spent a good deal of time talking about becoming trained to implement BRT, scope of practice issues, and protecting client safety. So in case we were not clear in the discussion, if this is something you'd like to do, please seek out the appropriate training and supervision.

For Patreon Subscribers, there is an additional 10 minutes or so where John tells a fun story about meeting his childhood football hero, and how said hero invited him to his house for wings and beer. How cool is that!?!? I hope Tom Brady hears this so I can have a similar experience in the next 10 or 15 years, lol. 

Here are links to resourced mentioned in the show:

• The movie, Paper Tigers
• Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle
• NADD Accreditation Programs
• Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Emotion: the example of anxiety. (Friman, Hayes, and Wilson, 1998)
• John's ABAI bio sketch (with email contact link)

This podcast is brought to you by:

1. Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
2. Tate Behavioral, a progressive ABA provider located in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. If you’re a BCBA looking to work for a supportive and innovative team, and live in the heart of charming New England, visit their jobs page by clicking here!
3. The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  With a sophisticated digital health platform now at the heart of the program, you can deliver groups face-to-face, with telehealth, or a combination of formats. Follow this link to book a live demo from anywhere around the world. Also, don’t forget to mention that “Matt sent you” to have your SAS Provider establishment fee waived (a minimum $500 USD value)!
4. The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for over a year now, and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!

In Session 178, we're going to hop in the time machine and take a trip back to April 2021. That's correct. 

This episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast comes from the recorded panel discussion at last year's Verbal Behavior Conference. The panel consisted of Drs. Pat McGreevy, April Kisamore, Nicole Rodriguez, Alice Shillingsburg, Hank Schlinger, and Vince Carbone. With regard to Vince's appearance on the panel, I'm told that he really never does them, so our hosts at the Central Texas Autism Center must have been incredibly persuasive to get him to participate!

Here are just a few things we covered in this panel event:

• Prompts and prompt dependence
• Training, supervision, and burnout issues for direct service providers
• How to think about the concept of ‘behavioral artistry’
• How the behavior of the client informs and influences the behavior of the therapist
• How to advocate teaching functional skills instead of academic ones
• How three BCBAs hired an OBM consultant to assess their practice
• Why some of the panelists feel teaching to the BACB task list is not good for the field

One of the reasons I held back on publishing this until now is that the 2022 VBC is coming up soon, and I thought that this would be a great way to get folks adequately prepared for it. 

The 2022 event will be taking place both in-person and virtually over April 7th and 8th. If you can't make it to Austin, Texas, then head over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for info on how to tune in from afar. 

One of the unique things about the 2022 event is that Dr. Hank Schlinger will be teaching a four-part Verbal Behavior master class to get you prepared for the conference. These will occur in four, 2-hour sessions that will take place on February 16th, February 23rd, March 2nd, and March 9th. 

The conference itself will feature Vince Carbone, Francesca Degli Espinosa, Tamara Kasper, Pat McGreevy, Sarah Lechago, Kevin Luczynski, Kelle Rich, David Roth, Mark Sundberg, and Hank Schlinger. I will be there too to host the 2022 Panel Discussion, so again, if you’re interested in learning more, head on over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for more details.

This episode is brought to you by Tate Behavioral, a progressive ABA provider located in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. If you’re a BCBA looking to work for a supportive and innovative team, and live in the heart of charming New England, visit tatebehavioral.com

We are also brought to you by HRIC Recruiting. If you’re a new BCBA – or a BCBA of any experience level for that matter – and you need an independent person to advise you on today’s job market, go to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential appointment with Barbara Voss.