Working Toward Clinical Behavior Analysis: Practical Pathways for Behavior Analysts
By Angela Coreil, PhD, LP, BCBA
One of the most common questions I receive from behavior analysts is surprisingly straightforward:
“How do I get into clinical behavior analysis?”
Unlike becoming a BCBA, there is no universally recognized educational pathway, internship, or credential that makes someone a “clinical behavior analyst.” The route that makes sense for one clinician may not be appropriate—or even legally permissible—for another.
This article is intended as general educational information. It is not legal advice or individualized professional guidance.
Every clinician is responsible for understanding their professional scope of practice, state or national licensure laws, employer policies, insurance reimbursement rules, and the BACB Ethics Code.
The examples below represent common pathways that many clinicians have successfully followed. They are intended as starting points for exploration—not guarantees that a particular pathway is appropriate for your situation.
Path 1: Earn an Independent Mental Health License
If your long-term goal is to independently diagnose and treat a wide range of mental health concerns, obtaining an independent mental health license is usually the most straightforward path. Many behavior analysts choose to complete a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Others pursue graduate education in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical social work, or marriage and family therapy, depending on their interests and state requirements. After graduation, virtually every profession requires a substantial period of supervised post-graduate practice before independent licensure. The exact requirements differ considerably across jurisdictions, but most involve several thousand supervised clinical hours over approximately two to three years.
This pathway offers the greatest long-term flexibility.
Independent licensure generally allows clinicians to diagnose (where permitted by law), provide psychotherapy independently, contract with insurance companies, supervise trainees within their profession, and develop private practices without relying on another professional’s license.
It is also the longest route.
For clinicians who know they want to spend their careers treating a broad range of mental health concerns, however, it is often well worth the investment.
Path 2: Join a Higher Level of Care Program
For many behavior analysts, this is the pathway that receives the least attention—but may offer some of the richest learning opportunities. Higher levels of care include programs such like Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs), Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHPs), Residential treatment center, and inpatient psychiatric hospitals. These settings are designed around interdisciplinary teams.
Unlike outpatient psychotherapy, reimbursement is frequently based on levels of care rather than individual psychotherapy sessions. Programs bill for half-day services (IOP), full-day services (PHP), or twenty-four-hour treatment (residential and inpatient). Those services are typically billed under the supervision of the highest licensed clinician directing the program—often a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist—while the entire treatment team contributes to patient care. For behavior analysts, this creates opportunities to participate in behavioral assessment, exposure programming, behavioral consultation, skills training, treatment planning, family meetings, interdisciplinary case conferences, and direct patient care while learning alongside professionals from multiple disciplines.
One point cannot be emphasized enough: The supervising clinician should understand behavior analysis.
Working under a psychologist or psychiatrist who appreciates the scope and competencies of behavior analysts is invaluable. Good supervision helps protect patients while also protecting clinicians from gradual “scope creep.”
Like every career decision, this pathway comes with tradeoffs.
Many BCBAs will likely earn less than they could providing intensive autism services. If maximizing income is your primary objective, this may not be the optimal career path. On the other hand, many clinicians find the work environment very different. Because reimbursement supports the treatment team rather than a single therapist’s individual hour, there is often less emphasis on maximizing one person’s billable time. Behavioral observations, consultation, treatment planning, documentation, family work, and collaboration all contribute meaningfully to patient care.
Depending on the setting and population served, clinicians may also encounter fewer of the occupational hazards familiar to many autism providers. Physical aggression certainly exists in behavioral health settings, but many clinicians experience substantially fewer incidents of being hit, kicked, bitten, or scratched than they did in intensive developmental disability programs.
The work is also tends to be center-based. For behavior analysts accustomed to spending large portions of the day driving between homes, schools, and clinics, eliminating daily travel can significantly improve quality of life.
None of these advantages make this pathway universally “better.” They simply represent a different set of contingencies. Some clinicians prefer the earning potential available in autism services. Others value interdisciplinary teamwork, reduced travel, broader clinical exposure, and the opportunity to work with adults or complex psychiatric populations. Understanding those tradeoffs helps you choose intentionally rather than accidentally.
Path 3: Develop Expertise Within a Specialty Behavioral Clinic
Another excellent entry point is joining an established specialty clinic where behavior analysts already practice successfully. One area where this has become increasingly common is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. Behavior analysts possess strong backgrounds in learning theory, exposure, reinforcement, shaping, stimulus control, and functional assessment—all of which have obvious relevance to behavioral treatment for OCD.
Several specialty clinics now employ behavior analysts as members of interdisciplinary treatment teams. The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) includes many of these programs in its provider directory. Working within an established specialty clinic offers several advantages. First, clinicians learn from professionals who already understand the behavioral treatment of OCD and related conditions. Second, supervision occurs in the context of actual clinical cases rather than isolated continuing education workshops. Finally, clinicians become familiar with the unique ethical, diagnostic, and collaborative issues involved in treating psychiatric disorders while remaining within their own professional scope.
There Is No Single Right Path
One encouraging reality is that these pathways are not mutually exclusive. Many clinicians combine them throughout their careers. Someone may begin providing ABA services, later join an OCD specialty clinic, eventually pursue independent mental health licensure, and later direct an interdisciplinary behavioral health program.
Career development is rarely linear. The important question is not how quickly you arrive. It is whether each step increases your competence while protecting the people who trust you with their care. Clinical behavior analysis has tremendous potential to contribute to modern behavioral health. That future will depend on clinicians who are technically skilled, scientifically informed, ethically grounded, and willing to work collaboratively across disciplines.
If you’re interested in Clinical Behavior Analysis, please comment below the post. Let us know what you’re interested in or thinking about!
Career and Professional Information
- BACB Certificant Data
https://www.bacb.com/bacb-certificant-data/ - Employment Demand for Behavior Analysts
https://www.bacb.com/us-employment-demand-for-behavior-analysts-2010-2025/ - International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) https://iocdf.org/find-help/
Recommended Reading
Dougher, M. J. (Ed.). (2000). Clinical Behavior Analysis. Reno, NV: Context Press.
Goldiamond, I. (1974). Toward a constructional approach to social problems: Ethical and constitutional issues raised by applied behavior analysis. Behaviorism, 2(1), 1–84.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M. E. (2017). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a treatment for anxiety and depression: A review. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(4), 751–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.009
Abramowitz, J. S. (2006). The psychological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(7), 407–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370605100702
Angela Coreil, PhD, BCBA
Clinical Behavior Analyst, Methodologist & Trainer
Angela J. Coreil, PhD, is a professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, clinical behavior analyst, and methodologist. Formerly director of an OCD and anxiety IOP/PHP, she integrates behavior analysis, ACT, Interpersonal Behavior Therapy, CBT, and exposure-based treatment. Her work develops practical improvements in behavioral science, and she provides consultation, professional training, workshops, and continuing education across disciplines.
Views expressed are those of Dr. Coreil or the explicitly named author, not the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
