Learn to Deal Behaviorally With Stress Presenter: Briana Tingler

Agenda Why we get stressed The effects of stress The behavioral approach to dealing with stress ▫ Pinpoint behaviors ▫ Functional Analysis ▫ Short term plan ▫ Long term plan

Why do we get stressed out?

The Nature of Our Work Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Reasons #1, #2, and #3 Long hours Direct contact with clients May be un- predictable STRESS! Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Has anyone been… Bit? Scratched? Kicked? Punched? Had your hair pulled? Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Reason #4 We typically work in the public eye and are subject to criticism. ▫ Critics may be not well versed in our methodology, poorly trained, or lacking in any similar background. Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Reason #5 External factors that contribute to stress may be: ▫Traffic ▫Urgent phone calls ▫Clients that live in remote areas or in a less appealing environment ▫Getting lost while commuting ▫Parents expectations ▫Supervisor expectations Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Common Symptoms and Effects ProsCons Physical discomfort Anxiety/IrritabilityMood swingsBurnoutSharpen FocusAdrenaline boost Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Standard Solutions ExerciseRelaxingSleepingCounseling Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Standard Solutions ExerciseRelaxingSleepingCounseling Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The Big Three Factors Diet Healthy Sleep 8 Hours Exercise 3 times per week Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Organizational Change to Handle Stress Behavioral Perspective ▫ Review the tips from Chapter 17 on time management. ▫ Employ new methods that may be time savers.  Downloading new software, using the Premack Principle, better training methods using videos rather than in vivo models. Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The Behavioral Approach: Step 1 Pinpoint the stressful emotions, feelings, and behaviors. ▫ Are your symptoms medical? Get a check-up. ▫ Have you developed symptoms that could later interfere? Make data sheets. ▫ Analyze data using standard ABC analysis with the addition of “Setting Event.” Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Behavior Analysis of Stress Setting Events Not enough sleep Argued with boyfriend Migraine Antecedent Traffic congestion Public speaking Unhappy parents Behavior Racing to get to meeting Called on to describe case Deal with difficult parents Anxiety Food cravings Consequences Late to meeting, embarrassed by supervisor Not enough detail on the case Parents want to talk to supervisor More anxiety Bought ½ gallon of Haagen-Dazs Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The Behavioral Approach: Step 2 Perform a Functional Analysis ▫ Record instances of problematic behavior and troublesome emotional states  Scatter plots ▫ Once you think you have found the controlling variable, test your hypothesis  Change it up! “Apply what you know to solve your own personal problems.” Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The Behavioral Approach: Step 3 Develop a short term intervention ▫ Depending on the results of your functional analysis, it may be possible to develop a short term plan that results in relief.  Better time management  record TV shows, schedule phone calls  Be assertive  Say no to increasing work load, consult with a supervisor about dissatisfied parents. Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Step #1Step #2 & #3 Step #4

The Behavioral Approach: Step 4 Develop and adopt a long-term plan. ▫ This could involve major life changes that involve short term stress but long term relief.  Moving out of a noisy apartment.  Breaking up with an argumentative partner.  Setting up your own practice. Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

In Conclusion “Being a behavior analyst can be both a blessing and a curse.” ▫ We have a deep understanding of human behavior and everyone around you expects you to solve your own behavior problems. ▫ We should be able to analyze our own behavior and create positive changes by implementing appropriate interventions. Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

References Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills and strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.