Which term describes any ongoing relationship between an RBT and a client that falls outside providing ABA therapy services?

• A. Multiple relationships
• B. Boundary crossing
• C. Dual relationships
• D. Professional relationship

Answer: (A)

Multiple relationships describe any ongoing relationship between an RBT and a client that falls outside providing ABA therapy services. This broad term matters because having additional roles with a client can affect objectivity, confidentiality, and the quality of care if boundaries aren’t carefully managed. For example, if an RBT additionally acts as a family member, friend, or business associate of the client, the overlapping roles create potential conflicts that ethics aim to prevent. The other terms refer to narrower ideas: a boundary crossing is a single deviation from professional limits, not an ongoing relationship; dual relationships describe having two roles at once within the relationship, which is a specific instance of a broader issue; a professional relationship simply describes the appropriate, ethical working relationship within therapy. Therefore, the general term that fits any ongoing non-therapy relationship is multiple relationships.