MAY 8, 2025
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Practitioner Identity in Behaviour Support
Ally, Advocate, or Agent of the System?
Reflections on Practice – Entry #3
Who are we, really, when we step into a behaviour support role?
Are we clinicians? Advocates? Partners in care? Or are we, sometimes unknowingly, agents of systems that prioritise compliance over connection?
In Therapeutic Behaviour Support, the question of identity is more than philosophical—it’s central to practice.
Our stance shapes our plans. Our posture influences outcomes. And our role determines whether we support change or sustain the status quo.
🧭 Three Practitioner Postures
Most of us move between different roles in our work—often without realising it. Let’s reflect on three common postures practitioners may adopt:
1. The System Navigator
This posture often emerges when practitioners feel bound by reporting requirements, risk frameworks, or pressure from funding bodies.
The focus becomes:
- Meeting plan deadlines
- Addressing incidents quickly
- Satisfying compliance criteria
While understandable, this stance risks centring service needs over personal meaning, leading to plans that focus more on measurable outputs than relational outcomes.
2. The Advocate
The advocate stands in solidarity with the person. They are values-driven and deeply committed to:
- Elevating voice and choice
- Challenging injustice in systems
- Protecting rights and dignity
This posture is critical, but can also be emotionally taxing. Advocates can become frustrated when systems resist change or when lived experience is marginalised.
Advocacy is essential, but it requires sustainability through reflection and support.
3. The Ally
The ally centres the relationship, staying attuned to both the person and the broader context. Their work is:
- Collaborative
- Curious
- Grounded in co-regulation and trust
They understand that behaviour support isn’t about managing behaviour, it’s about understanding it, in all its emotional, systemic, and relational complexity.
Allies prioritise presence over prescription and growth over compliance.
🧠 The BMT Perspective
In the BASIC System Model of Therapeutics (BMT), we recognise that practitioners operate within systems, but don’t have to be defined by them.
The BMT approach supports:
- Critical reflection on role and impact
- Awareness of power dynamics
- Designing support plans that are co-created and contextually grounded
It reminds us that identity in behaviour support isn’t fixed, it’s practiced.
🔍 Reflective Questions
- How do I experience my role in different contexts: home, school, team meetings?
- When do I feel most aligned with my values? When do I feel furthest from them?
- Whose expectations am I responding to, and at what cost?
- How can I strengthen my identity as an ally in this work?
🌱 Final Reflection
We all shift between roles. But in Therapeutic Behaviour Support, the posture of allyship is the one we are most called to return to.
Not to rescue. Not to rebel. But to stand alongside, in the discomfort, the complexity, and the care.
Because the most powerful behaviour support plans don’t start with a strategy. They start with how we show up.
Subscribe to stay up to date with all things CBChange
Keep updated with CBChange! Subscribe for news on our impactful Therapeutic Behaviour Support, inspiring stories, events, and insights from Inclusive Therapeutics. Stay ahead with our latest initiatives and opportunities to engage. Join our community and contribute to the positive change!
