Consultation Theory and Practice

Abstract

School social work practice research finds that consultation is among the most frequently performed practice tasks. Yet these studies never define the term or classify types of consultation. In addition, there little professional social work literature on consultation and even less on school social work consultation. This book adapts the consultation theory and practice framework put forward by June Gallessich (1982) that defines consultation in specific terms and proposes that there are six models of consultation: Organizational consultation, program consultation, education and training consultation, mental health consultation, behavioral consultation, and clinical case consultation. They are distinguishable according to their problem focus, outcome goal, intervention methods, change processes, power base, and value system. Consultation services are an important pathway to help school systems fulfill their educational mission and to help school personnel become more effective in their professional work. It is consistent with current educational policy that recommends macro, mezzo, and micro interventions or multilevel responses to school needs, known as Response to Intervention (RtI). The overarching goal of the book is to provide school social workers with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to implement consultation services. Consultation is a powerful method to “realize the promise of the whole-school approach” and to help homes, schools, and communities promote school success and student well-being.

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