What’s it like to be a Behaviour Support Practitioner?
Introduction
I imagine since you’ve found yourself on this page, you must have a curiosity around becoming a Behaviour Support Practitioner (BSP). From the outside, the role looks pretty straightforward, however almost every BSP I’ve trained has felt as if they were out of their depth for at least the first 6-12 months. This even goes for BSPs who receive a great deal of support through working as an employee with an in-house Supervisor and a plethora of resources and support.
Overall, I think this might be because the depth and spread of the role comes as a surprise to most people once they start. My perspective here comes from my experience working as a Behaviour Support Practitioner and training and supervising practitioners across different organisations and settings.
Before you start, it can feel like being a BSP is simply having appointments with a participant experiencing emotional dysregulation and engaging in risks, and then eventually writing a report about it which everyone has to follow. However, in reality, the BSP role requires so much more. Of course you have to do the appointments and the big reports (the Interim and Comprehensive Positive Behaviour Support Plans), but you also have to do a lot of other stuff.
What does a Behaviour Support Practitioner actually do?
In short, being a Behaviour Support Practitioner involves much more than writing Behaviour Support Plans. A BSP may spend their time gathering information, completing assessments, analysing behaviour and risk, working with families and support teams, developing and reviewing strategies, providing training, attending meetings, documenting their work and engaging in ongoing supervision and professional development.
The exact role varies depending on the participant, organisation and practitioner, but common BSP tasks include:
Initial onboarding and reaching out to the participant, their families/guardian, and all their service providers
Gathering information from each of the above which can feel like an interrogation if you’re not careful
Setting up Behaviour Recording and collecting all the documentation/data you can get your hands on
Doing risk assessments and checking for restrictive practices
Writing the first major report, called an Interim Positive Behaviour Support Plan (PBSP)
Training out your PBSP and its strategies to all the people who are going to be using them
Monitoring the data and checking in to see how your strategies are working (or not working)
Attending team meetings and stakeholder meetings to discuss concerns and progress
Administering functional behaviour and other assessments, and analysing your data
Completion of your Functional Behaviour Assessment to inform your next, even bigger, report
Writing said report, this time called the Comprehensive PBSP and involving more analysis and skills building components
Doing all the training and monitoring all over again
Writing the Behaviour Assessment Report/NDIS Report/Funding Report or whatever your organisation will call it; essentially the one due at NDIS Plan renewal time where you make recommendations and outline funding needs
Rinse and repeat every 12 months, or sooner if things change for your participant
What Makes the Role More Complex than it Looks?
Looking at it like this, it seems there’s actually quite a bit to this job! Each step might also take longer, or be more complex, than you expect. You might run into a team who’re quite stuck in their ways, navigate a limited amount of funding for a complex participant, or support a parent who’s going through so much carer burnout that they simply can’t fathom trying anything new. In these times, you’ll need to find ways to professionally pivot and try a different approach as one size never fits all in our space. This doesn't mean abandoning the principles of positive behaviour support; it means adjusting how you apply them to the person, their environment and the circumstances you are working within.
These situations are where the role becomes much more than following a Behaviour Support Plan template. A BSP has to consider the individual circumstances, relationships, available resources, risks, preferences and capacity of the people supporting the participant, and then work out what is realistically achievable.
And don’t forget, throughout your time as a BSP, you must also be receiving regular Supervision, achieving any KPIs (Key Performance Indicators or AKA Work Goals), and working on your learning goals and professional development plan. Not making time to do this means you never prepare your evidence portfolio to reach the next level on the PBS Capability Framework.
What is Rewarding about Being a BSP?
Despite all these pressures, working as a BSP is incredibly rewarding, otherwise I for one wouldn’t still be here! Being able to be part of a positive change for someone, seeing their lives and skills improve before your eyes, empowering others to take initiative and make their own strategies for change - each of these experiences must be held onto tightly. This is partly as the positives can be less than in other fields, purely because of the nature of our work. People tend to reach out to us when things are going wrong, so you must make a conscious effort to acknowledge and champion the good things, of which there are many - but only if you’re looking for them. For me, learning to notice these wins is part of becoming an experienced practitioner too.
I’m not trying to scare you off becoming a BSP, as I dearly do love this role and training others to do it, I’m just trying to make sure you have a clear idea of the role so you can be prepared for this before you make the decision to start. Expect to feel like you’re drowning once you wade in and find it’s much deeper than it looks, and if you can, embrace that time and the steep learning curve and reject that it’s a sign you can’t do this. Know that you’re becoming a better practitioner with each new report done, feedback digested, and challenge met.
In a year’s time, you’ll be laughing at yourself remembering you thought you wouldn’t make it. I’ve seen this moment happen for almost every practitioner I’ve trained.
Who Might Enjoy Being a BSP?
I would say there tends to be some common traits or values that long-term BSPs tend to have. I’ve seen them within my own team, my Supervisors, and myself too. I’ve already mentioned a few personality traits in my other article ‘What is a BSP?’, but there’s specific values here I want to mention as being linked to doing well.
Curiosity - this might be further study or research, or maybe it’s always trying to look deeper into your participant’s motivations
Contribution/Meaningful Work - wanting to contribute in a meaningful and positive way to improve people’s lives
Adaptability - being able to roll with the punches in the role and the unexpected and reactive work that often changes all your plans (e.g. getting a call from a Service Provider about your participant suddenly doing something dangerous and new!)
Integrity - being able to stand up for what you know is right, even when it’s not the easiest path, e.g. pushing back against unethical or non-compliant practices
Creativity - this one helps as you think outside the box to make something tailored to your participant rather than offering just the same old strategies or resources
Kindness/Empathy - we must be able to operate with Unconditional Positive Regard. We can sometimes be the only one trying to explore the perspective of our participants and we must give them as much kindness as possible while doing it. It’s always deeper than ‘they’re being naughty’ or ‘they’re annoying staff on purpose’ and we must be able to view them with kindness to see the truth underneath
If you’ve read through this list and felt it resonated with who you are as a person, then this role might really suit you.
Though, it’s important to know that if you are looking for a role where there is a clear answer for every situation, or that you’ll always get listened to or immediately respected, BSP work may be frustrating. Much of the role involves working through uncertainty, weighing different pieces of information, finding new ways of engaging with others, and making professional decisions. This includes decisions around your participant’s quality of life and human rights, so you must be able to think critically about safety while still maintaining your person-centered and compassionate side.
Conclusion
In the end, we need great BSPs in this field. I think being prepared for the ups and downs that aren’t obvious from the outside will make it maybe not easier, but tolerable, so I hope the time you spent to read this and consider what life will look like as a BSP has helped you feel more prepared. And, of course to make a shameless plug, we’d be honoured if you chose us to work with you as you start your new career. And if not, we’re all in this together so we wish you the best of luck - come back any time for our free resources!
Still Have Questions?
If you'd like to ask an active BSP some specific questions about the role, you can book a free 20-minute chat with Rebecca.
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