Behaviour support is sometimes talked about as though practitioners spend their days writing reports and collecting a high hourly rate. Laura Barnes gives a much more honest account of what the work actually involves, especially when supporting people with complex mental health needs, dual diagnoses, substance use, violence and significant risks to themselves or others.

In this episode of the NDIS Provider Growth Journey, Michael speaks with Laura, a behaviour support practitioner and clinical manager at Conscious Care Therapeutic Support. They talk about the difference between building a service around billable targets and doing the level of clinical work that participants genuinely need. Laura explains why strong behaviour support requires proper assessments, thoughtful risk management, useful training and a willingness to understand the details that cannot be captured in a generic strategy.

Laura also shares the business realities behind the hourly rate. A complex report may take 60 hours when only 30 hours have been funded. Practitioners may travel for hours to reach someone who cannot consistently use telehealth, while being able to charge for only a small part of that journey. There are also appointments to organise, research to complete and difficult clinical decisions that cannot always be billed.

The conversation also looks at AI and why Laura believes it cannot replace clinical judgement. AI may help with research or simple tasks, but it does not attend the sessions, hear the phone calls or understand the small moments that can completely change how a person’s behaviour is understood. For Laura, the challenge is finding a way to run a sustainable business without turning behaviour support into a report-writing sweatshop.

Learn more about Laura and Conscious Care Therapeutic Support:

https://therapeuticsupport.com.au/

That was a great podcast.

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