Consultation and Collaboration

Consultation support provided by school psychologists can increase the use of evidence-based practices in schools. Consultation can be described as an indirect service delivery model wherein services are provided by a consultant (e.g., school psychologist) to a consultee (e.g., teacher, parent) who in turn, provides services to a child in the school or community setting. Consultation can be applied at various levels- systems, classroom, and for individual students, including students with disabilities.

There are many benefits to school psychologists providing consultation support. For example, consultation can positively impact many more students than in a 1:1 direct service model with students. Additionally, a collaborative relationship between the consultant and consultee is established, with an emphasis placed upon the problem-solving process.

School psychologists understand varied models and strategies of consultation and collaboration applicable to individuals, families, groups, and systems, as well as methods to promote effective implementation of services. As part of a systematic and comprehensive process of effective decision making and problem solving that permeates all aspects of service delivery, school psychologists demonstrate skills to consult, collaborate, and communicate effectively with others, (National Association of School Psychologists, 2020).

School psychologists train teachers in how to use evidence-based practices and who they are best used with, then provide support to the teacher and check the fidelity of the intervention implementation (Kratochwill et al., 2002).

Consultation Team Members:

Consultant: Also known as a facilitator, this role is taken on by the school psbychologist. The consultant's job is to help the consultee determine what the identified problem is, make a plan for evidence-based intervention, and establish a monitoring system for the intervention.
Consultee: This role is typically fulfilled by the teacher, but can also be a school team member or a parent. The consultee's job is to describe the problem to the consultant, work with the consultant to implement the intervention program with fidelity, observe progress of the student, and monitor the intervention outcomes.
Client: The client is the student. The student receives necessary support in academics, behavior, or social-emotional skills through the help of the consultee, who is being guided by the consultant (Kratochwill et al., 2002).

Consultation Goals:

To provide prevention and intervention methods to create change in a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS).

To improve the knowledge and skills of the consultee so that they can apply prevention and intervention methods to current and future students to help them improve in a multitude of areas (academic, behavioral, social-emotional, etc.) (Kratochwill et al., 2002).
Consultation involves the identification, analysis, intervention implementation, and evaluation between the consultant and consultee.
Consultation can be implemented to improve outcomes for students with high-incidence disabilities, such as specific learning disability, and for low-incidence disabilities, such as autism or significant cognitive disability.

All members of the consultation team need to enter the consultation process with specific characteristics, including:

Clear expectations
Preparation
Willingness to participate openly among a team
Willingness to be collaborative and proactive