PSY FPX 5002 Assessment 1

Abstract

My vision is to serve children, adolescents, and their families suffering from various mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, such as but not restricted to intellectual disabilities, developmental disorders, autism, ADHD, and behavior difficulties, with an aim to improve their behaviors and quality of life. My ultimate vision is to be a board-certified behavior analyst part-owning my own behavioral health business. Short-term goals are aligned with the practitioner-scholar model. As discussed in the model, I will be conducting research to study ABA and non-ABA interventions and how effective they prove to be. I will then be implementing these interventions in my own clients, as well as working with colleagues to ensure interventions are being implemented effectively in their cases. I will also naturally acquire the able multicultural vision necessary to meet diverse client and family problems.

Your Vision as a Multicultural Practitioner-Scholar: Intellectual disability children and their families, behavioral health practice.

Intellectual disability Children and youth with multiple mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders are far too often ignored and not provided or do not receive the actual care they need. My future aspiration is to be a BCBA and establish a behavioral health company with my sister, who is also a BCBA. As a practitioner-scholar, I will be acquiring a vast array of behavior interventions utilized in current ABA and non-ABA treatment plans for the treatment of children on the autism spectrum and children suffering from other mental illnesses.

I will work together with others to study the effectiveness of different interventions and transfer skills to clients, as well as their families, in an effort to change their behavior and live a normal life. In the future when our business grows, we will have a multicultural practice where families of all social classes as well as racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds are treated equally and are receiving the best unbiased care that we can offer.

Role as a Multicultural-Practitioner Scholar

Background

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) reduces challenging behavior in people with intellectual disabilities (Hassiotis et al., 2012). The theoretical and conceptual basis of behavior analysis came from experimental psychology, physiology, and philosophy, having successfully integrated theory with scientific sophistication, which has now been applied to the applied setting, e.g., hospitals, clinics, schools, family residences, and communities (Harvey et al., 2009). As a student of psychology, I am very curious about learning more about ABA therapy and the different techniques that are included under it.

My hope is to be able to see all children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities get the treatment they need in order to lead a normal functioning life. My long-term goal is to become a BCBA and open up my own mental health business. My short-term objectives are in relation to the practitioner-scholar model, which means that I will be dedicated to the welfare and comfort of my clients and colleagues, to being adequate while learning, and to knowing and applying my work in relation to broader organizational, community, political, and cultural contexts (Distefano et al., 2004).

Vision as a Multicultural Practitioner-Scholar

Scholar practitioners are those who are motivated by so many things, such as their ethical practice. They are concerned with having an ethics code and treating all their clients on equal terms despite the differences in cultures. Scholar practitioners are also motivated by personal values. This means that they know how one sees oneself, and this could influence the care that they are giving. Scholar practitioners also apply research and theory. In doing this, they must remain committed to understanding new learning as well as aiding individuals and organizations in developing knowledge and effectiveness (Wasserman and Kram, 2009).

Scholar practitioners hold the relationship with their clients in high esteem and the type of relationship they possess with clients. As a practitioner-scholar, I will be learning about different kinds of interventions that are utilized to address behavior problems caused by intellectual disabilities, with special focus on applied behavior analysis. “Behavior analysis, including advanced methods for teaching and reinforcing adaptive behavior, should be part of a multidisciplinary approach to mental health services” (Harvey et al., 2009, p. 212). While doing my master’s course, I will learn about the results witnessed on different individuals who have been subjected to ABA therapy.

Vision as a Multicultural Practitioner-Scholar

I will see how the effect of ABA therapy has helped in integrating them into a normal working life. As far as mental health diagnosis and treatment are concerned, “racial and ethnic disparities are as widespread in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness as they are in other areas of health” (Snowden, 2003, p. 239). Because of this, it is important when working with clients to be multiculturally competent. As I work with clients now, I will have firsthand experience in applying ABA therapy in the real world while learning and knowing more about ABA from my master’s studies. The practitioner-scholar model can be a model for me to follow in treating children and young people with intellectual disabilities.

Vision

Treating children and youth and enhancing their lives has always been something that I have wanted to accomplish. My entire career has been working with children and youth in some capacity in different settings. To get to observe the way that a child can change with proper intervention is something I think is uplifting. My aspiration is that all children and youth with intellectual disabilities have access to the treatment that they need, and I’d like to be a part of providing that treatment.

In running my own mental health practice, I can ensure that no prospective clients are discriminated against due to any cultural differences. My master’s degree has an applied behavior analysis emphasis, and this teaches us about three things: how behavior works, how the environment affects behavior, and how learning takes place (Autism Speaks, n.d.). In understanding these three, I can help a child or young person with intellectual disabilities envision a better functioning way of life.

PSY FPX 5002 Assessment 1: Your Vision as a Multicultural Practitioner-Scholar

I have witnessed children from every kind of different culture overcome challenges in front of them throughout my lifetime. I want to play a more active role in helping culturally diverse clients who have intellectual disabilities to eradicate their behavior deficits. Access to care is not always distributed in a manner that is equal to everyone. “Epidemiological research consistently reveals that African, Asian, Native, and Latino Americans requiring outpatient care are unlikely to receive it” (Snowden, 2003, p. 239). In wanting to be a BCBA and have a business of my own, cultural competencies are essential to acquire and maintain. While one has to notice other people’s cultural differences, one also has to notice one’s own cultural background.

As a multicultural practitioner-scholar, I will study about my own cultural background and how it may affect the treatment I am administering. I am currently a behavior health technician with clients that are extremely culturally diverse, and I have a BCBA who works on all of my cases. My BCBA is wonderful, and she is a big support system whom I constantly ask questions. Through interactions with her and working with ethnically diverse clients, I am able to learn the multicultural competencies necessary to become a BCBA running my own mental health practice after graduation from my master’s program.

Conclusion

We know that we have disparities in access, treatment, and quality of mental health care (Snowden, 2003). As professionals working in the psychology field, it is our duty to make sure that we possess a good set of cultural competencies. My aspiration is to be able to give children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities from all races access and be treated in a way that allows them to become successful contributing citizens. To start making and embracing that vision come true, I want to have my own behavioral health practice in an effort to provide quality intervention to those in need.