Second relationships with the people you serve
When being more than one thing to someone becomes a problem
- RBT
- BCaBA
- BCBA
What the obligation is
A multiple relationship is any second connection with a client, a family or a supervisee on top of the professional one: friend, employee, babysitter, business partner, romantic partner, fellow member of a small community. They matter because they make it harder to judge clearly and harder for the other person to say no, and the power sits with you. Some are outright prohibited. Others are unavoidable — in a small town your client's parent may coach your child's team — and there the obligation is to recognise it, be open about it, and manage or hand over the professional relationship rather than pretend the overlap is not there. The technician outline asks specifically about identifying the risks and mitigating them when they cannot be avoided.
In plain language
Being more than one thing to a client or their family clouds your judgement and makes it hard for them to refuse you. Avoid it where you can. Where you cannot, say so and get it managed.
What this looks like
- Declining private paid work, babysitting or social invitations with a client's family.
- Telling your supervisor as soon as you realise you already know a new client's family.
- An analyst handing a case to a colleague because of an overlap they cannot undo.
- Keeping social media accounts separate from the families you work with.
Where people get caught
- Thinking the rule is only about romance, when money and favours cause more cases.
- Treating an unavoidable overlap as therefore acceptable, without disclosing or managing it.
- Agreeing to something small for a family because refusing feels rude.
- Forgetting that supervisees are covered too, not just clients.
If you are not sure
Ask whether the second relationship would make it harder for you to make an unpopular clinical call, or harder for the other person to refuse you. If either answer is yes, take it to your supervisor before it develops further.
In the codes
- RBT Ethics Code (2.0) Section 1 — How you conduct yourself
- 1.04 Never be your supervisor's employer
- 1.10 Avoid mixing roles with clients, coworkers and supervisors
- 1.12 No romantic or sexual relationships inside the professional ones
- Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts Section 1 — Your conduct as a professional
- 1.11 Avoid multiple relationships, and manage the ones you cannot avoid
- 1.13 Do not coerce or exploit anyone you hold power over
- 1.14 No romantic or sexual relationships inside professional ones
On the exam
Terms used here
Situations where this comes up
Related topics
Written from
- bacb-rbt-ethics-code-2 — Multiple relationships
- bacb-ethics-code-2022 — Multiple relationships
Written from both codes' standards on multiple relationships and conflicts of interest, in our own words.
This entry has not yet been through independent review. Treat it as a draft, and read the official code for anything that matters.