The Foundations of Consultation
and Collaboration
The Promise of Consultation and
Collaboration
 A cornerstone activity for members of the
helping professions
 Attempt to alleviate current problems while
preventing the their future occurrence
 Attempts to promote the psychological well
being of society though indirect methods
 Often viewed as an alternative to direct
methods such as one-on-one and group
counseling/psychotherapy
Consultation Defined
 A process in which a human services professional
assists a consultee with a work-related (or
caretaking-related) problem with a client system,
with the goal of helping both the consultee and
the client system in some specific way
Consultation Defined cont’d
 Consultation deals
exclusively with
consultee’s workrelated or
caregiving-related
problems
 Consultant and
consultee work
together in solving
the problems
defined by
consultation
 Role of human service
 Voluntary for all
professional
 Problem-solving
process
 Triadic in nature
 Helping relationship
 Internal or external
parties
 Relationship of peers
 Collaborative
 Temporary
 Remedial or
developmental
Consultative Relationship
 Relationship between the consultee and
consultant is one of peers, of two equals
 Though the two roles are equal in terms
of power, it is the consultee who has the
greatest need within the consultative
relationship
Consultation and Consultants
 Who are consultants?
 Who are consultees?
 Who is the client system?
Consultants and Consultees
 Priority can be
given to either
consultee or client
system depending
on the approach
used by the
consultant
 Consultant
provides indirect
service to the
client system by
providing direct
service to the
consultee
Rights of Consultation
Participants
 Participation in consultation is voluntary
for all parties involved
 Consultees free to do whatever they
wish with consultant’s suggestions and
recommendations
Length of Consultation
 Though consultation relationship is
temporary, the length of
consultation may range from a
single session to weekly sessions for
more than a year
Triad of Consultation
Consultee
Consultant
Client System
Figure 1.2 The triadic relationship in consultation
Collaboration Defined
 Collaboration is very similar to consultation in
that it follows the same problem-solving process
 Collaboration involves the interactive exchange of
resources, interdependence, and a focus on
decision making
Collaboration cont’d
 Collaboration is a service in which the helper
accepts responsibility for the mental health
aspects of a case.
The Relationships of the Parties in
Collaboration
Collaborator
#1
Collaborator
#2
Client System
Figure 1.3 The Relationships of the Parties in Collaboration
A Distinguishing Difference Between
Consultation and Collaboration
 In consultation, the consultee retains
responsibility for the outcome, is considered to
be the determiner of the suitability of possible
interventions, and is responsible for adequate
implementation of the intervention (i.e.,
ensuring treatment integrity)

(Zins & Erchul, 1995)
Multicultural Limitations of
Consultation and Collaboration
 Developed from Eurocentric models
 Limitations make person-in-environment
perspective important
 Cultural competence in service delivery essential
 Some multicultural models available (e. g.,
Ingraham)
Multicultural Consultation
 Consultant, in a culturally sensitive manner,
adjusts services to accommodate and value
cultural differences
 Through employing multicultural framework,
consultants are in better position to provide
services with multicultural competence
Multicultural Framework
a) consultant knowledge, skills and dispositions related
b)
c)
d)
e)
to cultural competence in consultation
understanding consultee needs for development in
knowledge, skill, confidence and objectivity
cultural variations in the parties involved in
consultation (e. g., consultant-consultee similarity)
contextual influence (e. g., organizational culture)
and power influences (difference in power among
parties in the consultation relationship)
methods for supporting consultee success in
multicultural situations
Levels of Prevention
 Preventive vs. remedial perspectives
 Primary prevention
 Secondary prevention
 Tertiary prevention
 Universal
 Selected
 Indicated
Historical Overview
 Prototypic roles: healer and technological adviser
 Started in modern times as a clinical expert role
 Currently, focus is on facilitation of consultee’s
professional development in current and future
situations
Compared to Other
Human Service Activities
 Counseling and psychotherapy
 Supervision
 Mediation
Consultants, Consultees,
and Collaborators
Skill Areas for Consultants
and Collaborators
 Interpersonal skills
 Communication skills
 Problem-solving skills
 Skills in working with organizations
Skill Areas for Consultants
and Collaborators cont’d
 Skills in dealing with cultural diversity
 Group skills
 Ethical and professional behavior skills
Roles of the Consultant
The consultant can take on a variety of
roles depending on several factors:
 Nature of the
problem
 Skills of the
consultant
 Purpose and
desired outcomes
 Skills of the
consultee
of consultation
Directive
*
Advocacy
Expert
Trainer/Educator
Collaborator
Fact Finder
Process Specialist
*
Non-directive
Emergence of Advocacy
 The use of advocacy has received
increasing attention
 There has also been an increase in the
use of the advocacy role in consultation
Roles cont’d
 Expert role is NOT opposite of collaborative role
 The collaborative role in consultation is not the
same as the service of collaboration
 It is useful to think of the collaborative role being
implemented on a continuum from nondirective
to directive
Internal/External
Consultants
 Consultant can either be separate from (external)
or part of (internal) system in which consultation is
to occur
 There are both advantages and disadvantages to
being internal or external
Orientation to Models of
Consultation
 Mental health
 Behavioral
 Organizational
Consultee as a Variable
 Consultee variables include:
 knowledge
 skills
 attitudes
 personal characteristics
Research in Consultation
and Collaboration
 Consultation research suggests that
consultation has efficacy even though
consultation practice has outpaced its
body of research.
Research cont’d
 The research on collaboration is very limited
 Increase in the use of qualitative and mixed
methods
 Behavioral research most heavily researched
 School-based also heavily researched
The Generic Model of
Consultation and Collaboration
Stage I: Entry




Phase One: Exploring organizational needs
Phase Two: Contracting
Phase Three: Physically entering the system
Phase Four: Psychologically entering the system
Stage II: Diagnosis
 Phase One: Gathering information
 Phase Two: Defining the problem
 Phase Three: Setting goals
 Phase Four: Generating possible interventions
Stage III: Implementation
 Phase One: Choosing an intervention
 Phase Two: Formulating a plan
 Phase Three: Implementing the plan
 Phase Four: Evaluating the plan
Stage IV: Disengagement
 Phase One: Evaluating the process of
consultation
 Phase Two: Planning post-consultation matters
 Phase Three: Reducing involvement and
following-up
 Phase Four:Terminating
Putting the Generic
Model into Practice
 Equal attention should be paid to what you are
doing and to how you are doing those things
 Very important to get supervised practice in
consultation
 Implement in a collaborative manner
whenever possible
Multicultural Competence
Using the Generic Model
• It is key to effective implementation that the
generic model be adapted with cultural
competence in order to be relevant to the
needs of consultees and their clients systems
• Designed to take consultees where they are
and can be adapted to their style of problem
management and cultural context
Consultee Readiness for
Change
 Stages can assist consultants to assess
consultee’s stage of change and increase
likelihood of a successful consultation
experience
 Success of generic model is tied to consultee
readiness for change
Resistance to Consultation
 Resistance: The failure of a consultee or
organization to participate constructively in the
consultation process
 Reluctance: The hesitancy of the consultee to
engage in consultation
Types of Resistance
 Systems-level
 When unhealthy is due to lack of insight regarding the
need to change
 Consultee
 There are a variety of sources of resistance (e. g., a
consultee’s misconception concerning the nature of
consultation)
Dealing Effectively
with Resistance
 There are several things consultants can
do to minimize resistance:
 Create strong relationship to build trust and alleviate
fear
 Demonstrate cultural competence and sensitivity
 Collaborate whenever possible
 Create conditions so that a consultation has a
satisfying outcome and is worth the effort
Personalizing the
Generic Model
 As consultant or collaborator, you are
your best intervention
 Who you are as a person can affect the
outcome of consultation or collaboration as
much as what you do when you engage in
these services
Entry Stage
Stage I: Entry




Phase One: Exploring organizational needs
Phase Two: Contracting
Phase Three: Physically entering the system
Phase Four: Psychologically entering the system
Phase One: Exploring
Organizational Needs
 To consult or not to consult:
Why am I here?
 Who are you?
 What is likely to happen?
 What will be the result?
 What can go wrong?

Phase Two: Contracting
Reason for
contracting:
 To clearly define
expectations of
both consultant
and consultee
Elements of a
contract:
 Goals
 Time frame
 Responsibility of
consultant and
agency
 Boundaries
 Review and
evaluation
Phase Three: Physically
Entering the System
 Moving into “work space”
 Getting to know employees of organization
 Adapt to organization’s schedule
 Have those affected by consultation informed
about the consultant’s role
Phase Four: Psychologically
Entering the System
 The gradual acceptance of consultant by
members of the organization in which
consultation is being performed
 Consider the process level (how organization
functions) and personal interaction (how people
within an organization function)
During Phase Four a
Consultant Should. . .
Create trustworthiness by:
Demonstrating understanding
 Using power appropriately
 Respecting confidentiality
 Exhibiting credibility

Interpersonal Influence
in Consultation
 Consultation can be seen as process of socially
influencing consultees
 “Trick” is for consultants to impact consultee in
terms of gaining cooperation while maintaining a
relationship among equals
 Consultants need to use some social influence
strategies but avoid more ethicallyquestionable coercive types
Multicultural Implications:
Entry Stage
 Be aware of other’s value systems
 Use effective communication and interpersonal
skill
 Determine comfort level in dealing with any
cultural or ethnic issues related to problem
 Be aware of how cultural differences may
impact outcome of consultation
Application of Multicultural
Implications for Entry
 Certain minority cultural groups may be
concerned about interpersonal orientation of
consultant who is from a majority culture
 Consultee from a majority culture may be more
interested in the assistance-value of a consultant
Diagnosis Stage
Stage II: Diagnosis
 Phase One: Gathering information
 Phase Two: Defining the problem
 Phase Three: Setting goals
 Phase Four: Generating possible interventions
Phase One:
Gathering Information
 Deciding to proceed
 Selecting dimension
 Deciding who will be involved in data collection
 Selecting the data collection methods
Types of Data
 Genetic data
 Current descriptive data
 Process data
 Interpretive data
 Consultee-client system relationship data
 Client system behavior data
Means of Collecting Data
 Interviews
 Surveys
 Questionnaires
 Observation
 Documents/Records
Phase Two:
Defining the Problem
 How many factors affect the problem?
 How has the problem developed over time?
 What past events are causing the current
problem?
 How are future expectations related?
Phase Three:
Setting Goals
 The process of shaping a movement toward
concreteness and specificity from a broader,
more general perspective
Goal Setting Steps
 Specify objective
 Prioritize goals
 How will objective be
measured?
 Rate goals
 Specify target
 Specify time span
 Determine
coordination
requirements
Phase Four: Generating
Possible Interventions
 Intervention: A force that attempts to modify
some outcome
 Actions or activities that, when put together in a
systematic manner, make up a plan to achieve a
goal
Multicultural Implications:
Diagnosis Stage
 Be aware of differences in gathering data
 Be aware of perceptions of what needs to be
accomplished held by consultee
 Cultural differences can play a role in
interventions proposed
Application of Multicultural
Implications for Diagnosis
 Consultee from a high context culture may prefer
interviewing and observation
 Those from a low context culture may prefer
surveys or document research
 Some cultural groups may see the focus of
diagnosis as being the group, and some may see
focus as being the individual
Implementation Stage
Stage III: Implementation
 Phase One: Choosing an intervention
 Phase Two: Formulating a plan
 Phase Three: Implementing the plan
 Phase Four: Evaluating the plan
Phase One:
Choosing an Intervention
 Select one or two interventions that have high
probability of being successful
 Take advantage of decision consultation
Increasing Focus on
Evidenced-Based Interventions
 Evidenced-based interventions are validated
by research and/or data-based decision making
Types of Interventions
 Individual interventions
 Dyadic and triadic interventions
 Interventions for use between groups
 Interventions for the entire organization
Phase Two:
Formulating the Plan
 Plan: A detailed step-by-step method, formulated
before hand, for doing something
 Considerations:
 What (objective)
 Where (locale of implementation)
 When (time frame)
 How (methods, procedures, sequence)
 Who (who is responsible for what)
Phase Three:
Implementing the Plan
 Help consultee be flexible
 Reassure and prepare consultee
 Offer technical assistance during this time
 Exercise caution toward dependency
Treatment Integrity
 Treatment integrity has typically been
presumed but not assessed
 Important in drawing conclusions about
intervention’s success
 Sometimes referred to as treatment fidelity
 In its simplest form refers to the degree to
which the intervention is implemented as
intended
Treatment Integrity cont’d
 Treatment integrity has two dimensions
 First dimension focuses on how effectively the
consultee carries out the intervention

The traditional focus on treatment integrity in
consultation
 Second dimension is consultation procedural
integrity (CPI)

Refers to how well the consultant carries out consultation
process in which the intervention is embedded
Treatment Integrity cont’d
 Recently, methods for assessing treatment
integrity have received attention
 Interviews, observation and monitoring of
implementation, training in the intervention, and
use of scripted intervention plans can assess
treatment integrity
Phase Four:
Evaluating the Plan
 Evaluation: The collection of data/information
about implementation to determine
effectiveness in meeting specified goal
 Implementation evaluation
 Outcome evaluation
Techniques Used in
Outcome Evaluation
 Individualized goal attainment measures
 Standardized outcome assessment devices
 Consumer satisfaction survey
Multicultural Implications:
Implementation Stage
 Cultural differences can impact perception of
the type of intervention selected
 These differences should be taken into account
when selecting and implementing an intervention
 The question of responsibility during
implementation may be based on cultural
differences
 During evaluation, it is important to have
multicultural input
Application for Multicultural
Implications during Implementation
 Some cultural groups choose to focus on using
groups rather than focusing on time factors
 Some cultural groups may see efficiency of the
plan as most beneficial during evaluation
 Other groups may evaluate social impact of plan
Disengagement Stage
Stage IV: Disengagement
 Phase One: Evaluating the process of
consultation
 Phase Two: Planning post-consultation matters
 Phase Three: Reducing involvement and
following-up
 Phase Four:Terminating
Phase One:
Evaluating Process
 Determine process and effects of consultation
 Assess accountability and improvements in
service
 Add knowledge to the field of consultation
Types of Evaluation
 Summative
 the evaluation of outcomes or products
 Formative
 evaluation of the process of consultation
 perform evaluations at the end of each
phase of consultation
Summative Evaluation
 Summative evaluation refers to the evaluation
of outcomes or products
 Often referred to as product evaluation
 Assesses how well consultation worked
Types of
Summative Evaluation
 Pre-post method
 Group comparison method
 Single case method
The Use of Qualitative
Methods in Consultation
 Quantitative approach can get at cause and
effect
 Qualitative approach can help explain why
the cause and effect relationship exists, for
whom it exists, and how to sustain any effects
that were observed
Types of
Qualitative Methods
 Triangulation
 Member checks
 Recursive data collection
 Case study method
 Focus groups
 Ethnographic interviews
Phase Two: Planning PostConsultation Matters
 Review planning process:
 Determine objectives
 Establish procedures
 Define steps
 Assign responsibility
 Test for feasibility, cost effectiveness and capabilities
Phase Three: Reducing
Involvement and Following-up
 Reducing Involvement:
Gradual reduction in
consultants contact
with consultee and
organization, which
prevents abrupt
termination
 Follow-up: Process of
periodically checking
how well results of
consultation are being
maintained over time
and how the
organization is
performing postconsultation efforts
Phase Four: Terminating
 Terminating provides closure in a formal yet
personal manner
 Leave consultee satisfied in process and
accomplishments
 Tie up unresolved issues before leaving
 Beware of the issues of dependence and depression
Multicultural Implications:
Disengagement Stage
 Be aware of the cultural social needs of consultee
involving time factor involved with disengagement
 Dependency during follow-up phase may be
influenced by cultural factors
Application of Multicultural
Implications for Disengagement
 Some consultees may require longer
follow-up period before termination as a
result of degree of dependency or
importance of relationships
Pragmatic Issues
 Recent changes in society and organizations
 The influence of organizational theory
 Bureaucratic model
 Systems theory
 The ecological perspective
 Organizational change
Pragmatic Issues cont’d
 Dealing with organizational culture
 Issues in assessment in organizations
 Culturally sensitive organization
 Time constraints
Basic Societal Change
Affecting New Workers
• Diminishing percentage of young people
entering workforce
• New workers less skilled than previous
generations
• A significant proportion of new workers
are from minority groups
• Women make up at least 60% of new
workers
Organizational Changes
Affecting the Workplace
• Increased complexity and diversification
• Managers of agencies/organizations more
familiar with organizational change concepts
• Organizations/agencies more concerned with
ethics
• Greater competition among all types of
organizations
Organizational
Theory Defined
• The study of the structures and processes
of organizations and the behavior of
groups and individuals within them.
The Bureaucratic Model
• Designed by Max Weber as the ideal of
organizational effectiveness
• “Means to ends” in nature
• Each unit under direct control of higher unit
• Organizations meant to be efficient, effective,
and equitable
Open Systems
Organizational Theory
• Two types of systems: closed and open
• Closed systems:
• Not affected by their environments
• Have a finite amount of energy
• When energy is used up, system runs down
• Open systems:
• Have permeable boundaries
• Can obtain energy from and send energy back to the
environment
• Organizations can be viewed as open systems
Four Components to
Systems Theory
•A framework (pattern of activities)
•Goals
•Methods and operations
•People
Basic Assumptions of
Systems Theory
•
•
•
•
•
Organizations are open systems
• Subject to internal and external influences
Considers organizations a totality
Interdependence among its parts
Assumes that an organization is more than a sum
of its parts
Organizational behavior is seen as dynamic and
cyclical
Nine Characteristics
of Systems
•Importation of energy
•The throughput
•The output
•Systems are cycles and events
•Negative entropy
•Information input, negative feedback, and the coding
process
•The steady state and dynamic homeostasis
•Differentiation
•Equifinality
Five Subsystems
within an Organization
•The technological or production subsystem
•The support subsystem
•The maintenance subsystem
•The adaptive subsystem
•The managerial subsystem
The Ecological Perspective
 Emphasizes behavior as function of interaction
of characteristics of the environment and the
characteristics of the individual
 Behavior needs to be examined in its given
context
 Interventions therefore need to focus on realigning
fit between environment and individual by changing
one or both
Ecological Perspective
cont’d
 Often contrasted with medical model, which examines
problems as residing in the individual
 Promotes environmental “wellness” factors that lead
to individual self-esteem and competence as well as
the effort to lower incidence of environmental
stressors on individuals that may lead to negative
outcomes
Approaches to
Organizational Change
•Empirical-rational approach
•Normative-reeducative approach
•Power-coercive approach
•Top-down approach
•Bottom-up approach
•Shared approach
Cultural Attributes of a
Successful Organization
•Uniqueness in their philosophy
•A focus by management on maintaining the philosophy
•Deliberate attempts to integrate the philosophy
throughout the organization
•Involvement by all staff in communicating and
reinforcing an organization-wide view of events and
decisions
Culturally Competent
Organization
 Views diversity as a value-added opportunity
 Proactive in responding to the constant diversity-
related, economic, political and social conditions
 Effectively provides services cross-culturally
 Goal for consultants is to help to develop and maintain
an organization that is culturally competent in its
functioning through a variety of interventions at
different levels within the organization
Social Justice
 Goal for consultants is to help to develop and maintain
an organization that is culturally competent in its
functioning through a variety of interventions at different
levels within the organization
 Mental health professionals realize they must move
beyond one-on-one helping and assist with ecological and
systems interventions that promote positive human
development and remove barriers such as equal
opportunity for all organizational members
Time Constraints
 Organization members increasingly asked to do more
with less
 Time a precious commodity in organizations
 Methods to create time for effective consultation
include:
 Scheduling meetings in advance as much as possible
 Doing as much data gathering as possible early on in the
consultation process
 Training prospective consultees in the problem-solving
process prior to consultation
Models of Consultation
and Collaboration
Mental Health Consultation
and Collaboration
Basic Characteristics of
Mental Health Consultation
 Method used by professionals in respect to a lay client




or program for clients
Problem is mental health related
Consultant had no professional responsibility for the
outcome of the case
Consultee can accept or decline the suggestions of the
consultant
The relationship between consultant and consultee is
to coordinate
Basic Characteristics of Mental
Health Consultation (cont.)
 The consultant is external
 Consultation often takes place in short set of interviews
 Consultants use problem/response method during
consultation, not predetermined answers
 Goals of consultation are to help consultee improve
handling or understanding of the current work difficulty
and to increase capacity to deal with future problems
Basic Characteristics of Mental
Health Consultation (cont.)
 Consultation continues indefinitely
 Aim of consultation is to improve job performance
 Consultation does not focus on personal problems or
feelings of consultee
 Consultation is a professional function of specialist
 MHC is a method of communication between mental
health specialist and other professionals
Psychodynamic Approach
 Fosters concept that behavior is a product of
unconscious motivation and that most personal
issues result from early childhood experiences,
resulting in conflicts that affect behavior and cause
use problems
 MHC has become eclectic since this original
psychodynamic approach
Transfer Effect
 The concept that what is learned in one situation
should be useable in similar, future situations
“One-Downsmanship”
 A valuable relationship building technique that
a consultant can use to ensure relationship
remains on equal footing
Types of Mental
Health Consultation
 Client-centered case
 Consultee-centered case
 Program-centered administrative
 Consultee-centered administrative
The Client-Centered
Case Process
 Focus is client’s case giving the consultee difficulty
 Consultant functions as expert
 The consultee acts as link between client and
consultant as well as professional collaborator
Application for
Client-Centered Process
 Create list of questions about both client and
consultee’s situations and options
 Answer questions by gathering information from
consultee
 Write report for consultee outlining observations
and recommendations
Consultee-Centered
Case Process
 Goal is improvement of consultee’s ability to work
on particular case and cases in the future
 Consultant plays roles of detective, expert, and
educator
Application for ConsulteeCentered Process
 Determine what reason the consultee is having a
problem:




Lack of knowledge
Lack of skill
Lack of self-confidence
Lack of professional objectivity
Lack of Objectivity
 Simple identification: Identifies with client
 Transference: Transfers onto client feeling and attitudes
from key relationships in past
 Characterological distortions: Personality problem that
interferes with effective delivery of human services
 Theme interference: Special type of transference in
which consultee experiences an unexplainable “block”
in progressing on case
Process of Program-Centered
Administrative Consultation
 Assessment of mental health aspects of some
program or internal functioning of organization
 Consultant should be knowledgeable and
experienced in:
 Organizational theory and practice
 Program development
 Fiscal policy
 Administrative procedures
 Personal management
 Administrator acts as principle consultee
Program-Centered
Administrative Process
Application:
 Scanning: General overview of organization and its
functions
 Gather and interpret additional data
 Consultant makes interim recommendations
 Formal report of recommendations for both
short-term and long-term goals and methods of
implementation
Consultee-Centered
Administrative Consultation
Process:
 Consultant works with organization’s administrative-
level personnel to help solve problems in personal
management or implementation of organizational policy
 Administrator has job of helping consultant decide
whether additional forms of consultation are required,
whether there are to be other consultees and how
involved they are to be in the consultation process
Consultee-Centered
Administrative Consultation
Application:
 Beginnings follow same methods as other
consultation processes
 Determine who consultees will be
 Study organization’s social system and identify
problems and issues
Trends in Mental
Health Consultation
 Move toward eclecticism
 Emergence of mental health collaboration
 Major implication of Caplan and Caplan’s recent
ideas for practicing consultants seems to be
necessity for members of helping professions to
determine at outset of helping relationship whether
consultation or collaboration is in order
Trends cont’d
 Consultee-centered consultation has evolved beyond
Caplan’s original conceptualization
 Factors such as constructivist theory impact it
 Process employs a constructivist approach that
emphasizes cognition and constructing conceptual
change
 How consultee and consultant understand and view the
problem
Multicultural Aspects
 Client-centered allows for minimal disclosure on
part of consultee
 Consultee-case suitable for consultees wanting
assistance from a knowledgeable authority figure
 Increased breadth and flexibility allow for
sensitivity to cultural variables
Behavioral Consultation and
Collaboration
Behavioral
Consultation Defined
 Relationship whereby services consistent with
behavioral orientation are provided either
indirectly to a client or system or directly by
training consultees to enhance skills with clients
and/or systems
Characteristics of
Behavioral Consultation
• Use of indirect service delivery models
• Reliance on behavioral technology principles
• Diversity of intervention goals
• Changes aimed at various targets in different
settings
Key Concepts in
Behavioral Consultation
 Scientific View of behavior
 Emphasis on current influences on behavior
 Principles of behavior change
 Focus on problem solving
The Consultation Process
• Behavioral case consultation
• Behavioral technology training
• Behavioral systems consultation
Behavioral Case
Consultation
 Consultant provides direct, behavior-based service
to consultee concerning management of client or
group of clients assigned to consultee
 Consultants use system problem-solving process
to assist consultee with clients
Verbalization Technology
 Control of consultant’s and consultee’s
verbalizations by consultant for full benefit and
effectiveness for consultation process to occur
 Four aspects:
 Message source
 Message content
 Message process
 Message control
4 Stages of Problem
Identification for BCC
 Problem identification stage
 Problem analysis
 Plan (treatment) implementation stage
 Problem (treatment) evaluation stage
Behavioral
Technology Training
 Used when consultees seek to increase general
usage of behavioral technology principles when
working with clients
 Often used in schools
The Training
 Consultant trains consultees in general behavior
principles or specific behavioral technology skills
 Can be formal or informal
 Individual or group
 Education/training model (chap. 11) is similar to
this training
Behavioral Systems
Consultation
 Behavioral technology principles applied to a
social system
 Consultant uses principles to analyze and change
interactions among various sub-systems of larger
social system or between two or more interactive
systems
The Consultant’s
Function and Roles
 Expert in behavioral systems consultation,
systems theory, and behavioral ecology
 Guides consultee through systematic problemsolving process
 Consultation relationship is collaborative
Implications for
Consultation
 Behavioral systems consultation assumes that all
or part of a system is experiencing functional
difficulty
 Consultation consists of the following:
 System definition
 System assessment
 System intervention
 System evaluation
Conjoint Behavioral
Consultation
 Uses parents and teachers as conjoint consultees
 Designed to bridge gap between school and home
and maximize spread of effects from one setting
to another
 Process parallels that of behavioral case
consultation while taking into consideration
ecological factors
CBC cont’d
 Concepts of CBC are compatible with culturally-
competent practice
 Sheridan and Kratochwill (2008) recommend the
following practices to maximize CBC’s
effectiveness with diverse families:
 Practice cultural sensitivity
 Build trusting relationships
 Address diversity issues directly
 Enhance communication
 Implement a family-centered approach
Collaboration from a
Behavioral Perspective
 Use of behavioral collaboration can be increased
by organizations making effective use of
behavioral technology training
Multicultural Aspects Related
to Behavioral Consultation
 Appealing to cultural groups that do not freely
express feelings
 Valuable to cultural groups that want concrete
and predictable outcomes
Organizational Consultation
and Collaboration
Organizational
Consultation Defined
 Process in which professional provides assistance
of a technical, diagnostic/prescriptive, or
facilitative nature to individual or group from
organization to enhance organization’s ability to
deal with change and maintain or enhance
effectiveness in some designated way
Key Concepts in
Organizational Consultation
 Organization as client
 Process is as important as content
Edgar Schein’s
Model of Consultation
 Purchase of expertise
 Education/training consultation
 Program consultation
 The doctor/patient model
 The process model
The Purchase of
Expertise Model
 Consultee knows what problem is, what needs to
be done and who can help solve it
 Consultant comes in as expert to simply solve
problem
Education/Training
Consultation
 Most frequently used purchase of expertise
consultation
 Consultant provides education/training services in
any number of areas and settings
Critical Skills for Education/
Training Consultation
 Assessing training needs
 Developing and stating measurable objectives
 Understanding learning and change process
 Designing learning experience
 Planning and designing educational events
Critical Skills for Educational/
Training Consultation
 Using heuristic laboratory methods
 Using multiple learning stimuli
 Functioning as group teacher or trainer
 Helping others learn how to learn
4 Steps of Educational/
Training Consultation
 Needs assessment
 Planning education/training activities
 Performing education/training
 Evaluation
Program Consultation
 Form of purchase expertise consultation in which
organization in some way uses consultant to help
plan new program or revise or deal with factors
that affect existing program
 Goal is to provide an organization technical
assistance so a given program can be successful
The Doctor/Patient Model
 Consultee knows something is wrong, but does
not know what is wrong
 Consultant is given power to make diagnosis and
prescribe solution
 Goal is to define problem and recommend
realistic interventions
Critical Skills for the
Doctor/Patient Model
 Diagnostic skills
 Prescriptive skills
 In-depth knowledge of organizational theory
 Ability to “read” organizations
 Data collection skills
 Date interpretation skills
 Human relations skills
The Process Model
 Consultant’s expertise should include skills to
involve consultee in defining the problem, to form
team with consultee and to ensure that
consultation process focuses on consultee’s needs
 Consultant makes consultee more effective
problem solver
Seven Steps to
Process Consultation
 Making initial contact
 Defining relationship
 Selecting a setting and method of work
 Gathering data/making diagnosis
 Intervening
 Reducing involvement
 Terminating
Process Consultation cont’d
 Prevention is key goal
 Process consultation considers how persons, settings
and events become resources for positive
developments within an organization
 Consultant uses “humble and critical inquiry,” by
which consultant makes no assumptions in order to
get to the notions about what consultee really wants
Collaboration from an
Organizational Perspective
 Aim is same as organizational consultation
 Enhanced functioning of the organization
 Emergence of internal consultant role has created
many opportunities for collaboration in organizations
Multicultural Aspects Related
to Organizational Consultation
 Cultural groups that prefer structured, expert-
based consultation will find purchase of expertise
model attractive
 Cultural groups preferring assistance in problem
definition will find doctor/patient model attractive
 Cultural groups for which relationship is essential
will prefer process model
Trends in Organizational
Consultation
 Major trends are linked to several societal factors:
 Impact of living and working in an information society
 Ever-increasing pace of change in all aspects of life
 Growing awareness that quality change requires
systemic thinking
 Realization that change can be successfully
accomplished only through social influence
 Increasing internationalization and diversity within
organizations
School Based Consultation
and Collaboration
School-Based Consultation
and Collaboration
 Consultation and collaboration are effective in
providing psychological services in schools
 As mental health and instructional needs of
students have become of increasing concern,
interest in consultation and collaboration has
increased
School-Based Consultation
and Collaboration cont’d
 Increased importance due to:
 Revisions to the Individuals with Disabilities Act
 School violence
 No Child Left Behind Act
 Emphasis on school reform and restructuring
 Increased school accountability and high stakes
testing
 School-based consultation can be focused on
primary prevention, secondary prevention or
tertiary prevention
School-Based Consultation
and Collaboration cont’d
 Consultants have ability to significantly impact
mental health and development of children by
improving skills and knowledge of parents and
those professionals who work with children at
school
 Manner in which consultation and collaboration
take place in schools varies according to the
model being employed
Consulting and Collaborating
with School Administrators
 School’s leadership is powerful force in
determining extent to which consultation and
collaboration are considered acceptable services
 Consultants will want to remember that
administrator support and acceptance of
programs is essential for change to occur
 Administrators have priorities and pressures for
which they may actively seek consultation
Organizational
Development Consultation
 Series of planned and sustained efforts to apply
principles of behavioral science to improve
functioning of the school
 Not an event of itself, but a process of changing the
system
 Way of making carefully planned, predictable
change in school
 Goal is to enhance school’s effectiveness by helping
school personnel understand and effectively act on
problems
Consulting and
Collaborating with Teachers
 School-based consultants assist teachers with both
academically and behavioral challenged children
as well as those with lesser concerns
 School consultation and collaboration can be
effective and efficient ways to help teachers
enhance professional skills
 Consultants work strategically to address both
student presenting issues and consultee behavior
and cognition
Teachers cont’d
 Consultants have engaged in collaboration with
teachers as method of providing service to
students and families
 Consultation has benefited teachers in variety of
areas
 Conducting effective parent conferences
 Managing student behavior
 Choosing instructional methodologies
 Meeting unique needs of children of military
children
Adlerian Consultation:
Consultation with Teachers
 Four basic assumptions:
 Teachers cannot take responsibility for student
behavior
 Teachers should be more involved with
encouragement than with praise
 Teachers cannot always prevent failure on part of
student
 Teachers need to try to meet affective and cognitive
needs of students
C-Group
Forces of the group:
 Consultation
 Cohesion
 Collaboration
 Commitment
 Clarification
 Change
 Caring
 Concern
 Confrontation
 Confidentiality
 Communication
C-Group cont’d
 Group consists of four to six teachers and
consultant
 Meets once a week
 Six to eight sessions
 Teacher presents problems with individual
student and group discusses them
Instructional Consultation
 Collaborative process in which problem is
identified and interventions are selected and
made
 Instructional consultation (IC) is important model
for helping teachers modify instructional behavior
and more effectively create learning environment
for students
 Goal of IC is to increase student and staff
performance regarding student academic and
behavioral issues
Steps of Instructional
Consultation
 Establishing collaborative relationship
 Identifying problem
 Observing classroom
 Assessing curriculum-based learning
 Planning instructional intervention
 Terminating
Instructional
Consultation cont’d
 Three ecological components make up
instructional triangle and are assessed:
a) Current competencies and skill sets of student
b) Tasks expected to be accomplished by student
c) Teacher’s management and instructional behavior
Instructional
Consultation cont’d
 Most common roles of instructional consultant
appear to be those of collaborator and
educational trainer
 May also include being advocate for particular
instructional technique or service for student
 Recent developments in this model include
concept of instructional consultation teams and
ecological perspectives
Consulting and
Collaborating with Families
 Schools are consciously attempting to assist children
and increase parental/guardian involvement
 Families influence student’s academic, social, and
behavioral competencies
 Consultation and collaboration with families are
essential and has been on the rise
 Research has shown that parent consultation can be
effective in assisting with school-based behavioral and
emotional problems of students
Parent Case Consultation
 Parents may seek out consultation for a variety of
reasons
 Their child’s moving into or out of the school
 Their child’s academic, emotional, or social behavior
 Can be Adlerian, behavior, or mental health
 Goal is to promote increased positive involvement
by parents in school life of their child and improve
family relationships
Home School Collaboration
 Goal is to create effective partnerships between
school-based professionals and parents to enhance
student learning
 In collaborating with parents, school-based
professionals ensure parents are true partners, are
viewed as experts on their children, and have
some responsibility for the outcomes
Home-School
Collaboration cont’d
 Parent involvement typically one-way flow of
information from school to parent
 Home-collaboration: a two-way communication effort
based on joint efforts to assist the child
 Sometimes referred to as home-school partnerships
or school-family partnerships
 From an ecological perspective, often helpful to
think of school and parents together rather than
only separately
Home-School
Collaboration cont’d
 Allows parent to exercise their roles, rights and
responsibilities related to child’s welfare
 School personnel can learn detailed information
about child and family and engage parents in
jointly defined goals
 Reciprocal influences of home and school on
student learning is maximized
Home-School
Collaboration cont’d
Basic considerations in home-school collaboration
include:
 A preventive, problem-solving approach
 Both educators and families are critical in
socializing learners
 Broad opportunities for parent participation are
essential
 Building relationships with parents can take time
and effort
Cross-Cultural
Considerations
When working with parents:
 Culture directly influences family in significant
manner
 Consultants can ensure schools remove barriers
for non-mainstream parents
 Consultants will want to exercise caution in
making any generalizations regarding
characteristics of a given culture
Cross-Cultural
Considerations cont’d
 Difference can impact the way consultant works
with parents about the school-related issues child is
facing
 Diversity within culturally diverse groups (i.e.,
individual differences) needs to be taken into
account
Cross-Cultural
Considerations cont’d
 Consultants will want to involve parents by taking
on collaborative role to tap knowledge base and
expertise on their children as method of
consulting with cultural competence
Cross-Cultural
Considerations cont’d
 Holcomb-McCoy (2009) and Holcomb-McCoy &
Bryan (2010)
 Discuss emerging framework for parent
consultation involving advocacy and empowerment
that leads to a more supportive, culturallyresponsive climate at school
 Consultation in this form considers and deals with
existing cultural differences and acknowledges
interdependence of parents and their
environmental contexts
Interagency Collaboration
Rationale:
 Problems of children effect all aspects of child’s
life
 Shared responsibility for case shifts focus from
what the school can do to what the community
should do to provide services
Interagency cont’d
 Agencies collaborate to help children and their
families, promote community mental health
reform, or develop systems-level programs to
promote student success and well-being
 School, health services, social services, the child
evaluation center, family services organizations, and
often the family itself
 Interagency collaboration and school-community
partnerships can be effective in improving access
to services for citizens as well as to meet their
complex needs
Interagency cont’d
 Collaboration requires cultural competence
 Shared responsibility necessitates solid agreement
on roles and responsibilities of individual
collaborators
 Collaborating professionals will want to recognize
that their team will have distinct “personality”
that will impact how the team will function
Interagency cont’d
Five elements of interdisciplinary collaboration:
1. Interdependence
2. Progress in collaboration involves building
interventions with the contributions of each
collaborator
3. Flexibility in collaborative process to
accommodate power sharing and role adaptation
4. Collective ownership of goals
5. Discussion of progress and feedback to fellow
collaborators
Multicultural
School Consultation
 Approach to consultation that takes into account how
cultural issues affect consultation process and how
related adaptations can be implemented at individual,
group or system-wide levels
 Ethnic and linguistic minority children constitute the
most rapidly growing segment of the youth population
in the U.S.
 Consultants take into account individual differences
and cultural issues
Multicultural School
Consultation cont’d
Ingraham (2000) points out several components of
multicultural school consultation:
 Domains for consultant learning and development
(e.g., understanding cultural context for
consultation)
 Domains of consultee learning and development
(e.g., avoiding overemphasis on culture)
 Cultural variations in consultation constellation
(e.g., taking into account cultural differences
among consultant, consultee, and client system)
Multicultural School
Consultation cont’d
 Ingraham (continued):
 Contextual and power influences (e.g., minimizing
power differentials between consultant and
consultee)
 Hypothesized methods for supporting consultee
and client success (e.g., using consultation
methods matched with consultee’s style)
Multicultural cont’d
 Lopez and Truesdale’s six underlying principles that
facilitate framing multicultural consultation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Consultants are sensitive to cultural differences
Consultants and consultees acquire knowledge about
their client’s cultural backgrounds
Consultants are mindful of cultural differences in
communication
Cultural differences influence interpersonal
relationships between consultants and consultees.
Multicultural issues are addressed throughout every
stage of the consultation process
Consultants acknowledge how systemic issues impact
the cultural context of consultation
Multicultural cont’d
 Multicultural consultation has increasing empirical
support for its effectiveness but more is needed
Practical Matters
 Consultation/collaboration and special education
 Response to intervention (RTI)
 Systems view of the school
 Developing a framework for prevention and
intervention
 Time constraints
Practical Matters:
Special Education
 Contributors to increased opportunities for
consultation and collaboration in areas related to
special education:
 Federal legislation
 Advances in the field of special education
 National organizations related to school-based
professionals
 Dictates an awareness of special education literature
including classifications as well as assessment methods
and related ethical, professional and legal issues
Practical Matters:
RTI
 RTI is a systemic intervention and change
 Consultants often needed in its implementation
Practical Matters:
RTI vs. Consultation
 RTI and consultation are both problem-solving
activities but not one in the same
 Consultation focuses on teacher-consultee while RTI




focuses on student client
Consultants can be internal or external to school whereas
professionals implementing RTI are school-based
Consultation is less likely to be team-based like RTI
Consultation focuses on more areas and can be more
general than RTI
Participation in consultation is voluntary while
participation in RTI may not be
Practical Matters:
Systems View of Schools
 Individual interventions often not adequate in dealing
with issues related to educational and psychological
well-being of students
 Systems view allows for capacity building within
schools that includes development of supportive
environments for all stakeholders
 Allows for the use of ecological and preventive
perspectives and their related interventions
 Can reflect a postmodernism point-of-view
Practical Matters:
Systems View of Schools
 Consultants take on broad framework for consultation
because of complexity of organizational factors and
how they can be changed
 Consultants and consultees can intervene at several
ecological levels including individual client level
 Takes focus of a reactive approach for dealing with
issues of individual students to broader approach that
promotes prevention and well-being of all students
Practical Matters:
Systems View of Schools
 System-level change demands that all aspects of
education be examined in terms of multiple levels and
be based multiple partnerships among stakeholders
 All students receive services that match their needs
 Idea is that consultant will use existing structures and
processes within school to target, initiate and maintain
system level changes including evaluating and
sustaining change initiatives
Practical Matters:
Systems View of Schools
 One concern is that not all teachers are comfortable
with systems approaches
 Some want more concrete ways of approaching
perceived problems
 Many school consultants have not been trained in
systems methods
 View typically dictates that consultants examine child
in interaction with a variety of levels of the ecosystem
such as home, school, and community
 Complicates nature of consultation relationship
Practical Matters:
Developing Framework for
Prevention and Intervention
 Prevention programs seeing resurgence in schools
 Many have been designated as evidenced-based
 Focus of prevention is to build capacities in
systems (e.g., a school or other organization) so
overall development of members of that system in
things such as mental health, social skills, and
health is optimized relative to the mission of the
system
Practical Matters:
Developing a Framework
 Interventions include:
 Tier 1: Universal

Target the entire population
 Tier 2: Selective

Target segment of the population at risk
 Tier 3: Indicated

Target students who need individualized and intense
intervention
 Each of the three tiers provides great
opportunities for consultation
Practical Matters:
Time Constraints
 Time constraints are large and real issue for
conducting effective consultation and
collaboration
 Limitation of school consultation and
collaboration is that both take time to do well
 Effective time management on the part of school
professionals is one obvious help in creating time
for consultation and collaboration
Practical Matters:
Time Constraints
 Consultants can have more positive impact on
consultation process by using their limited time to
observe and assess the problem, model and coach
 Other strategies:
 Early release/late arrival of students
 Use of substitutes
 Teaching strategies that free up personnel
 Use of telephone and/or other technologies such as VoIP
and e-mail for task accomplishment
 Engaging in peer consultation
 Use of group methods.
School Consultation
st
in the 21 Century
Consultation and collaboration will:
 Focus more on positively impacting all students
 Develop culturally sensitive interventions
 Engage in system-level initiatives
 Use data-driven decision making
 Use the ecological approach more often
School Consultation in
st
the 21 Century cont’d
 Use of telephone, texting, the web and e-mail to
accomplish tasks (such as follow-up) increasing
 Use of consultation and collaboration teams will
continue to increase
 Role of consultants and collaborators in gifted
education receiving increased attention
 School-based consultants will help their schools create
positive climate with regard to school reform
movement’s continuing impact on public education
School Consultation in
st
the 21 Century cont’d
 Infusion of positive psychology to increase well-being
of individuals in school through mental health and
behavioral consultation also receiving more attention
 Positive behavior support (PBS) movement will
provide an approach that allows consultant to help
develop support and interventions at individual,
classroom or school-levels
 Multiple issues brought about by high-stakes testing,
such as teacher burnout, will be fertile areas for
consultation
School Consultation in
st
the 21 Century cont’d
 School-based consultants may well be called upon to
serve as “cultural mediators” between school and
community
 School-based consultants will be increasingly called
upon to promote children’s health and collaborate
with medical/health professionals to meet children’s
health needs
 School-based consultants are increasingly called on to
act as organizational consultants during a disaster or a
national or local crisis
Case Study Illustrations
Case Study Illustrations
 Purpose of this chapter is to assist in applying
theory to practice and obtaining a more realistic
picture of what transpires in consultation
 ACME Human Services Center
 Typescript of consultation and collaboration
sessions
Ethical and Legal Issues
Ethics Defined
 Standards of moral and professional conduct
 Code of ethics: Written ethical guideline followed
by professionals
 Discourages inappropriate practice
 Protects recipient of services
 Promotes exemplary behavior
Making Ethical Judgments
 Identify problem
 Consider courses of
 Identify potential
action
 Consider
consequences for
various decisions
 Determine best course
of action
issues
 Review ethical
guidelines
 Consult colleagues
Values
 Beliefs and principles held by a person that have
been formed by his or her life experiences
 Consultant should know what his or her values are
 Consultant should not expect others to hold the
same values
 Consultant should be aware of specific values held
by cultural and ethnic groups
Competence
 Providing services and accepting jobs for which
one is qualified
 Maintain high levels of professionalism
 Know one’s professional limitations
 Know when to decline and refer
 Avoid situations in which personal concerns could
affect professional performance
Multicultural Issues
 Ethical practice dictates that consultants take
cultural context of consultees and client systems
into account
 To practice ethically, consultants need to
demonstrate sensitivity to and respect for cultural
differences when they provide services whether to
families, in schools, or in any other organization
Consultant-ConsulteeClient Relationship
 Work-related focus
 Dual relationships
 Freedom of choice
Rights of Consultees
 Confidentiality: Protecting the identities of parties
involved in consultation
 Informed consent:To inform consultees about the
nature and goals of consultation, their right to
privacy, the voluntary nature of participation and
the complete freedom they have in following
suggestions made by the consultant
The Consultant
and the Group
 Consulting with groups with caseloads
Intervention Areas
Involving Ethical Issues
 Individual vs. systems-level
 Use of assessment data
 Empirical validity of interventions
Issues in Disaster/Crisis
Consultation
 Consultants bear in mind acute vulnerability of
client system in crisis and disaster situations
 Resulting chaotic environment will heighten
ethical considerations
 Consultants assure that cultural competence is
exhibited when engaging in crisis consultation in
that responses to a crisis vary to a given culture
Ethical Issues in
Organizational Consultation
 Typical ethical issues exacerbated by complexity
or organization
 Aspirational ethics
 Virtue ethics
Consulting
Over the Internet
 Relationship development
 Confidentiality
 Location-specific factors
Collaboration
and Ethical Issues
 Not all collaborators may have freedom to participate
in team effort
 Confidentiality is assumed in consultation
 In collaboration, pertinent material may have to be
distributed among team members
 In consultation, consultee can accept or refuse
consultant’s recommendations
 In collaboration, such freedom is not presumed due to
each team member’s unique knowledge and skills to
which other team members typically defer
Legal Issues: Malpractice
Behaviors often leading to legal entanglements:
 Misrepresenting one’s training
 Failing to respect integrity and privacy
 Using improper diagnosis and assessment
 Collecting fees improperly
 Libel and slander
 Breech of contract
 Failing to keep adequate records
 Failing to provide informed consent
 Providing poor advice