Why Social Workers Make Great Behaviour Support Practitioners
Social work is a highly translatable profession in its own right, especially when it comes to health and health-adjacent industries and positions. As a result, social workers can transition into related roles or specialties like counselling, mental health support coordinators, community development officers and behaviour support practitioners. This is because it’s grounded in understanding human behaviour, relies on applied community settings and addresses real social issues.
In the context of the NDIS, behaviour support is not just something that social workers can do, but it’s something they actually often exceed in. Through combining their trained way of thinking with a focus on human rights and person-centred care, social workers can thrive in bringing the best level of care to participants’ lives, and that’s one of the foundations Ark Support Coordination is built on.
In 2024, a Flinders University study revealed that there’s actually a limited understanding of the characteristics of the behaviour support workforce in Australia, with psychologists being the largest single professional group that makes up the profession. While we expect this understanding to improve over time, we also know from first-hand experience that practitioners with a background in social work are able to make a real, positive difference to the lives of NDIS participants, and there are a few reasons that stand out to us.
#1 A Holistic View of a Participant’s Environment
Behaviour support practitioners with a background in social work naturally bring a holistic view to the table when assessing and advising participants, which allows them to provide effective positive behaviour support. This is extremely important when it comes to implementing practices or support plans because it allows them to analyse each participant’s whole environment, such as their housing, their support network, occupation, community access and more.
Nurturing this approach can help take a good behaviour support practitioner and make them great, through being able to tailor a positive behaviour support plan to a participant that is specific and relevant to that person as an individual.
#2 Strong Collaboration with Participants, Family, Friends and Supports
Social workers who have moved into a behaviour support role also highly value the input of and collaboration with NDIS participants themselves (also known as co-production), as well as family members, friends and other supports or healthcare professionals.
A recent Australian study revealed that co-production in particular is a method that is gaining traction and support among positive behaviour support practitioners in the delivery of accessible behaviour support plans, relationship building and more.
More broadly though, collaboration with everyone involved is a way for behaviour support practitioners to ensure consistency, to help themselves build accurate and functional insights, and create shared accountability across the entire care team. This collaboration can also help to uncover root causes of certain behaviours and address them with meaningful plans.
#3 Decision-Making Guided By Ethics
The social work profession is built on core ethical values that carry through to day-to-day work and influence decision-making. This remains at the forefront for behaviour support practitioners that have a background in social work.
Being guided by ethics allows behaviour support practitioners to make recommendations or decisions based on human rights, professional standards and more, though the rationale or approach will differ based on the needs of NDIS participants, their environment and the specific situation.
What Great Behaviour Support Means for NDIS Participants
The difference between good and great behaviour support is not always clear, but knowing what to look for can be what transforms an NDIS participant’s quality of life. Over time, this difference will become clear, and will justify your decision to engage a practitioner who prepares plans that are tailored to the participant based on their environment and situation. This approach helps get to the root causes of challenging behaviours and formulate the right strategies that go beyond the standard.
When behaviour support practitioners have a background in social work, like the practitioners on our team at Ark, NDIS participants will receive supports that are holistic, human rights-focused, and considerate of the many facets and moving parts of a person’s environment and community.
If you’re looking for meaningful, considered and effective positive behaviour support services that make a real impact, reach out to the team at Ark Support Coordination online, or call us on (08) 6373 7500.