Identify the Risks to Oneself, Others, and the Profession Resulting from Unethical Behavior

If you’re a practicing behavior analyst, clinic owner, or senior supervisor in ABA, you’ve likely faced a moment of ethical uncertainty. A colleague cuts corners on consent. A family requests something that doesn’t sit right. A trainee makes a mistake that could have caused harm. In these moments, many practitioners focus on the immediate situation—but unethical behavior creates a ripple effect far beyond the single act.

Unethical behavior in ABA practice creates risk at three distinct levels: to the practitioner themselves, to clients and families, and to the profession as a whole. A confidentiality breach on social media puts the individual therapist’s license at risk, violates the client’s privacy and trust, and chips away at public confidence in behavior analysis. A BCBA who implements a restrictive procedure without proper training or consent faces disciplinary action, exposes the client to potential harm, and raises questions about professional standards. Understanding these cascading risks is essential to preventing harm and protecting both your practice and your profession.

This article walks you through how to identify and understand the threefold nature of ethical risk in ABA—and what you can do to prevent it.

Understanding Unethical Behavior in ABA

Unethical behavior is any action that violates the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Ethics Code. This includes breaches of confidentiality, practicing beyond your competence, failing to obtain informed consent, dishonesty in documentation, improper relationships with clients or supervisees, inadequate supervision, and failure to report known violations.

Here’s a crucial distinction: unethical behavior isn’t always intentional. A therapist who forgets to obtain consent before trying a new intervention, or a BCBA whose supervision system has gaps due to rapid agency growth, may have no malicious intent—but the breach still creates real risk. Intent matters for understanding the roots of the problem, but it doesn’t erase the consequences.

The same is true for individual errors versus systemic issues. One therapist posting client photos without permission is an individual breach. But if an agency has no clear confidentiality policy and multiple staff members are doing this, the risk becomes organizational. Both situations require action.

The Three Domains of Risk

Risk to Yourself as a Practitioner

When you engage in unethical behavior, your credentials, employment, and mental health are on the line. The BACB can suspend or revoke your certification. Your employer may terminate you. You may face legal liability, civil suits, or penalties from insurance providers or funding agencies. Beyond the professional consequences, many practitioners report lasting stress, shame, and damaged reputation within their community.

Consider a BCBA who implements a restrictive behavior plan without documenting informed consent. If the client is injured or the family files a complaint, the practitioner faces disciplinary action from the BACB, potential job loss, legal costs, and the emotional burden of knowing they cut corners that harmed someone in their care.

Even unintentional violations carry these risks. A therapist who accidentally leaves session notes in a shared staff area has exposed client information and faces possible discipline, even though there was no malice.

Risk to Clients and Families

Clients and families are the most vulnerable stakeholders. Unethical behavior directly threatens their safety, privacy, and access to services. When confidentiality is breached, clients lose trust and may withdraw from treatment. When procedures are implemented without proper consent or training, clients can be harmed. When documentation is falsified or incomplete, clinical decisions become unsafe.

Beyond direct harm, there is indirect harm. Families may lose confidence in their child’s therapy if they discover a breach of trust. Other clients in the agency may lose access to services if the agency loses funding or referrals due to a scandal. A child who has made progress in ABA may be denied services elsewhere because ethical violations at one clinic have tainted the reputation of behavior analysis in that community.

Risk to the Profession as a Whole

Each unethical act chips away at public trust in behavior analysis. When a therapist is discovered to have falsified progress notes, or when an agency is known for harsh practices with weak oversight, the entire field suffers. Insurance companies and school districts become more skeptical of ABA. Families hesitate to enroll their children. Legislators propose stricter regulations. Credentials become less valued—both in job markets and in the eyes of the public.

Over time, profession-wide risk takes the form of reduced access to services for clients who need them, higher barriers to entry for new practitioners, and constant scrutiny from outside watchdogs. The reputation of ABA is fragile in many communities, especially given its complex history. One high-profile case of abuse or misconduct can set back the profession’s standing for years.

How a Single Unethical Act Cascades

The power of understanding these three risk domains is seeing how they interconnect. When a BCBA posts a client’s photo on social media without consent, the cascading effect looks like this:

Risk to self: The BCBA faces BACB discipline, employment termination, and potential civil liability from the family.

Risk to others: The client’s privacy is violated, the family’s trust is shattered, and other families at the agency may lose confidence in the organization’s commitment to confidentiality.

Risk to the profession: The public story becomes “ABA therapist exposes child’s photo online,” reinforcing negative stereotypes about behavior analysts and making families in that region more hesitant to seek services.

None of these risks existed before the post. One unethical act created all three. This is why early identification and prevention are so critical.

Intentional and Unintentional Violations Both Create Risk

Many practitioners assume that “real” ethical violations are the ones done on purpose. A therapist who deliberately falsifies data to hide that an intervention isn’t working is clearly unethical. But what about a BCBA whose training for new staff is so rushed that they can’t properly teach informed consent? What about a supervisor who doesn’t realize that storing session notes in an unlocked cabinet violates confidentiality?

These unintentional gaps create the same risks. Clients may still be harmed. Families may still lose trust. The profession’s credibility may still suffer. The difference is that unintentional violations often point to systemic gaps—weak training, unclear policies, insufficient supervision—that affect multiple people and require organizational fixes.

This doesn’t excuse the harm. But it does mean that prevention often requires building better systems, not just hiring more ethical people.

When to Use This Concept in Practice

You’ll encounter these risk domains at several key decision points.

Before implementing a new intervention or responding to a questionable request, pause and ask: Does this have informed consent? Am I competent to do this? Could this breach confidentiality or professional boundaries?

During supervision, hiring, and performance reviews, use these risk domains to evaluate whether your staff and systems are aligned with ethical standards. Is documentation complete and honest? Are restrictive procedures properly trained and overseen? Do families understand what’s happening in therapy?

When you observe potential misconduct in a colleague, these domains help you assess severity and decide whether to consult your supervisor, an ethics committee, or your licensing board. Is a single mistake a training gap, or is there a pattern of violations?

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

Many practitioners minimize ethical risk because they assume only intentional wrongdoing “counts.” This leads to overlooking systemic vulnerabilities and repeating mistakes. If you believe a minor breach is harmless because no one was hurt this time, you’re missing the real problem: one breach often predicts more.

Others confuse “unprofessional” with “unethical.” Showing up late to a meeting is unprofessional. Misrepresenting your qualifications on your resume is unethical. There’s overlap—both reflect poor judgment—but ethical violations have legal and professional consequences that unprofessional behavior may not. Knowing the difference helps you respond appropriately.

Finally, some practitioners believe that if something is legal, it must be ethical. But the BACB Ethics Code often sets a higher bar than the law. You might legally keep a client’s information in an unsecured file, but it violates professional ethics. You might legally implement a procedure without family consent in some jurisdictions, but the BACB Code requires it. Professional ethics and legal requirements are related but not identical.

How to Identify and Prevent Risk: A Practical Framework

When you identify a potential ethical risk, assess it carefully and take appropriate action. Start by documenting what you observe objectively—the facts, not your interpretation. Did the therapist actually post the photo, or did you see it secondhand? Was the family actually never asked for consent, or did you not see the consent form?

Next, consult with someone you trust: your supervisor, an ethics committee, your BACB mentor, or a lawyer if legal risk is involved. Don’t stay silent and hope the problem goes away. Don’t confront the person aggressively without knowing the facts. Consultation is a safeguard for everyone involved.

If the issue involves potential harm to a client, violation of law, or serious breach of professional standards, follow your organization’s reporting procedures and consider BACB Code-Enforcement reporting as needed. If it’s a training gap, ensure the person gets the education they need. If it’s systemic, advocate for policy changes.

Throughout this process, keep client safety and dignity at the center. Your goal is not to punish or shame anyone, but to prevent harm and strengthen professional practice.

What Organizations Can Do to Reduce Risk

Individual practitioners can do a lot to prevent ethical violations—staying current on ethics training, seeking supervision, maintaining clear policies, and being transparent with families. But organizations can do even more.

Establish and enforce clear ethics policies aligned with the BACB Code. Make sure every staff member gets annual ethics training and knows how to raise concerns safely. Create a robust supervision system with documented feedback and performance monitoring. Have clear procedures for informed consent, confidentiality, and reporting. Conduct regular risk audits to catch systemic vulnerabilities before they lead to harm.

Foster a culture where ethics is seen as a shared responsibility, not a compliance burden. When staff feel safe raising concerns without fear of retaliation, you catch problems early. When families understand how confidentiality is protected and why procedures are used, trust grows stronger.

Key Takeaways

Unethical behavior in ABA creates predictable harm at three levels: to the practitioner (through discipline, job loss, legal liability), to clients and families (through privacy breaches, loss of trust, potential harm), and to the profession (through eroded public confidence and increased regulation).

Both intentional and unintentional violations carry risk. Prevention requires competence, informed consent, confidentiality safeguards, and robust supervision. When you identify a potential violation, document objectively, consult with trusted advisors, and follow reporting procedures.

Your role as a practitioner is not only to avoid causing harm yourself, but to help build systems and cultures where ethical practice is the norm. When you do that, you protect your clients, your career, and the future of behavior analysis.