Using a Training Package to Increase Compassionate Care Skills: A Preliminary Analysis of Two Case Studies

Engaging in compassionate communication with caregivers is necessary for behavior-analytic practitioners. There are only a few studies focused on training graduate students to perform behavior-analytic activities with compassion. We present two case studies in which we evaluated the effectiveness of a training package on two participants' level of compassionate care and interpersonal skills when conducting three behavior-analytic tasks: intake interviews, functional analysis interviews, and progress updates. Participants experienced various caregiver behavioral profiles ranging from cooperative, neutral, and uncooperative. Following the training package, participants scored higher on a compassionate care checklist and interpersonal skills data collection system when conducting intake interviews. Implications of the effectiveness of these training procedures and future research directions are discussed.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-023-00897-8.