Table 3.
Importance of the topics of compassion, empathy, and skills for developing therapeutic relationships with families
| Question and Response Options | % Endorsed |
|---|---|
| As a practicing behavior analyst, have you ever been in a professional situation where you felt unprepared or not trained to respond to the emotional responses (e.g., anger, sadness) of a family member (e.g., parent) of a client? | |
| Yes, often | 9 |
| Sometimes | 74 |
| Never | 18 |
| As a practicing behavior analyst, are you ever concerned that your colleagues lack skills in the area of compassion, empathy, and building therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Yes, often | 47 |
| Sometimes | 48 |
| Never | 5 |
| As a supervisor of behavior analysts in training, are you ever concerned that those whom you are supervising lack skills in the area of compassion, empathy, and building therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Yes, often | 19 |
| Sometimes | 52 |
| Never | 7 |
| I don’t supervise. | 22 |
| As a practicing behavior analyst, how important do you view skills in the area of compassion, empathy, and developing therapeutic relationships with caregivers? | |
| Extremely | 58 |
| Very | 33 |
| Somewhat | 9 |
| Not very | 0 |
| Not at all | 1 |
| How important is it that professional training programs in ABA develop formal training in the area of compassion, empathy, and building therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Extremely | 50 |
| Very | 33 |
| Somewhat | 15 |
| Not very | 2 |
| Not at all | 1 |
| How likely would you be to seek out training and/or mentoring in the area of compassion, empathy, and building and sustaining therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Very likely | 34 |
| Likely | 41 |
| Neither likely nor unlikely | 14 |
| Unlikely | 8 |
| Very unlikely | 2 |
| Do you agree that you would professionally benefit from training and/or mentoring in the area of compassion, empathy, and building and sustaining therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Strongly agree | 42 |
| Agree | 39 |
| Neither/neutral | 13 |
| Disagree | 4 |
| Strongly disagree | 1 |
| Do you agree that your colleagues would benefit from training and/or mentoring in the area of compassion, empathy, and building and sustaining therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Strongly agree | 50 |
| Agree | 44 |
| Neither/neutral | 6 |
| Disagree | below 1 |
| Strongly disagree | below 1 |
| Do agree that the behavior analysts whom you are supervising would benefit from training and/or mentoring in the area of compassion, empathy, and building and sustaining therapeutic relationships with families? | |
| Strongly agree | 45 |
| Agree | 33 |
| Neither/neutral | 3 |
| Disagree | 1 |
| Strongly disagree | below 1 |
| I don’t supervise. | 18 |