Show Notes
In this episode, Psychologist and Director of Clinical Training, Matthew Spicer explains the Multi Element Behaviour Support (MEBS) model. MEBS is a way of thinking about behaviour support that goes beyond simply trying to “stop” challenging behaviour. Instead of focusing only on what happens before and after an action, Matthew shows how MEBS emphasises needing to understand the bigger picture—the person’s past experiences, what they are trying to achieve, and how their environment supports or blocks them.
He describes how behaviour support can be about improving someone’s quality of life, not just preventing problem behaviour, and that prioritising proactive strategies (what we do every day to set someone up for success) from reactive strategies (what we do in the moment to keep everyone safe) makes all the difference. Using real-life examples, he shows why sometimes the most respectful and effective response in the moment is to meet the person’s need—like offering that cup of coffee—while planning long-term skill-building and supports for the future.
Matthew shares a guide for doing MEBS well. He talks about how to start with a good assessment, design plans that build skills and positive experiences, and make sure the people putting the plan into action feel supported, trained, and confident. He links this approach to broader ideas like trauma-informed practice and positive psychology, but always brings it back to what really matters: helping people have better, safer, meaningful lives. His message is clear—good behaviour support is not about controlling behaviour, but about building an environment where people can thrive.
Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?
The All-Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools. It’s all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice—designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.
Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/
Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at [email protected]
Complex FBA & BSP Workshop - Melbourne CBD Thursday 26 November 2026.
Six interactive hours building confidence with complex presentations: real de-identified cases, functional hypotheses, planning, risk and restrictive practices. Templates you will use, plus a certificate mapped to the NDIS Behaviour Support Capability Framework. Register now at https://specialistbehaviour.com/event/complex-functional-behaviour-assessment-fba-behaviour-support-planning-bsp-workshop/
Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast?
The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools. I t's all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice, designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways.
Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/
Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at [email protected]
More from Behaviour Bits
Max MacKenzie, founder of Resilience Enterprises, discusses the unwritten rules, conflicts, survival strategies, and personal growth necessary to build resilience and help shape a long career in behaviour support.
Zac Demopoulos, a specialist behaviour support practitioner and Chief Operating Officer at Step 2 Allied Health, joins the podcast to discuss what new positive behaviour support practitioners need to know when starting out in the NDIS.
Clinical psychologist and specialist behaviour support practitioner Dr Zoe Perry unpacks the often murky distinction between psychology and positive behaviour support, and what genuine interdisciplinary collaboration looks like in practice. The conversation covers the concept of “the missing middle”- people who are too complex for mainstream services, yet not eligible for public mental health or disability supports, and how this gap influences and shapes service delivery. The discussion moves into practical territory, examining where scope of practice and scope of role diverge, whether positive behaviour support should be considered therapy, and how formulation skills can sharpen rather than blur professional boundaries. Real world examples illustrate how psychologists and behaviour support practitioners can work in a genuinely interdisciplinary way, including practical tools like shared formulation and simple memoranda of understanding, and strategies for advocating to the NDIS when clients need both disciplines working together rather than one substituting for the other. Anyone working alongside psychologists and behaviour support practitioners in disability and mental health settings will recognise the tension between staying within scope and responding to genuine unmet need. This conversation offers concrete language and tools for navigating that tension while keeping the person at the centre of a coordinated, evidence-informed interdisciplinary support team.
This episode explores positive behaviour support (PBS) principles in dementia contexts with Dr Alinka Fisher, Senior Lecturer in Disability and Community Inclusion at Flinders University. Drawing on her research across disability, acquired brain injury and dementia, Alinka discusses why behaviour should be understood as communication rather than a symptom of diagnosis, and how PBS frameworks apply flexibly to support people living with dementia and their families. The conversation unpacks the critical distinction between managing behaviours and understanding the complex interactions, neurological changes, personal history and environmental factors that influence how people communicate their needs. Alinka shares insights from education programmes delivered to families and residential aged care staff, highlighting what foundations of good support actually look like in practice.
This episode explores cultural reflexivity in behaviour support practice with Anika Tabassum, a specialist behaviour support practitioner with over a decade of experience supporting culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Anika examines what cultural reflexivity is- including the critical distinction between cultural awareness and cultural reflexivity, and explains why many well-intentioned practitioners and teams recognise culture as an important factor in behaviour support, but may find challenges in integrating true culturally reflexive practice.