What you say publicly about your work
Honest, and never at a client's expense
- RBT
- BCaBA
- BCBA
What the obligation is
Anything you communicate to the public about your professional activities is covered: advertising, a website, a conference talk, a comment to a reporter, and — the one that catches people — social media. Two obligations run through all of it. First, be truthful: do not overstate your credentials, do not describe yourself in a way that implies a certification you do not hold, and do not claim outcomes the evidence does not support. Second, protect the people you serve: client information is not content, images and stories need consent, and the analyst code additionally restricts soliciting testimonials from current clients, because someone currently depending on you for services is not in a position to say no.
In plain language
Be honest about what you are and what your work achieves. Do not post about clients. A story with no name can still identify a child in a small town.
What this looks like
- Your profile says exactly which certification you hold, and does not imply a higher one.
- No session photos, no "today a kid I work with..." posts, however affectionate.
- Marketing claims that match what the evidence supports, not what sells.
- Testimonials, if used at all, from former clients who gave informed consent.
Where people get caught
- Believing a post is anonymous because no name appears; setting, timing and detail identify people.
- Asking current families for reviews, sometimes with an incentive attached.
- Describing the profession or a procedure in a way that implies guaranteed outcomes.
- Letting an employer's marketing describe your credentials inaccurately without correcting it.
If you are not sure
Assume the family will read it, because eventually someone will. If a post needs a detail removed to be safe, it usually needs not to exist. Check your employer's media policy, and ask your supervisor before anything public involving a client.
In the codes
- RBT Ethics Code (2.0) Section 2 — How you deliver services
- 2.08 Protect confidentiality and privacy
- 2.09 Never put identifying client information online
- Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts Section 5 — What you say in public
- 5.01 Protect people's rights in everything you say publicly
- 5.02 Keep confidentiality in public statements
- 5.03 Make public statements that are true and not misleading
- 5.10 Treat professional and personal accounts differently online
- 5.11 Get consent before sharing digital content about a client
On the exam
Terms used here
Situations where this comes up
Related topics
Written from
- bacb-rbt-ethics-code-2 — Public statements
- bacb-ethics-code-2022 — Public statements
- bacb-rbt-tco-3 — Task F.6
Written from both codes' public-statement standards and the RBT outline's ethics task, 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.