A Family-Centered Care Approach to Behavior-Analytic Assessment and Intervention

An essential aspect of behavior-analytic services is collaborating with stakeholders to develop interventions that incorporate stakeholder preferences, needs, and contextual variables in addition to those of the client. Recent research has illuminated a gap in practitioners' use of compassionate care to develop interventions that take into account family values and dynamics. Family-centered care is an approach that emphasizes the client as part of a larger family system and is used in a variety of medical and mental health services to promote family-provider collaboration and improve care. Given the importance of collaboration, shared decision making, and consideration of contextual variables when implementing behavior-analytic services, we introduce an adaptation of the family-centered care approach for behavior analysis. We provide practical resources for behavior analysts to assess and address family contextual variables, tools for promoting collaboration throughout service delivery, and a framework for navigating misalignment among client, family, and practitioner preference.