Consultation Training in Master's Level Counselor Education Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to update and extend the survey of training practices conducted by Splete and Bernstein (1981). More counselor education programs are offering individual courses in consultation to their master's students, but the preferred method of delivering consultation coursework still seems to be integrating it into other courses. Little consensus was found among program administrators regarding topics covered in didactic experiences. The majority of the respondents reported offering some fieldwork in consultation, either as a requirement or as an elective.

School Counselor Consultation Preparation: A National Study

“…First, teaching consultation theories corresponds with recommendations made in the existing consultation pedagogy literature (Brown, 1993; Davis, 2003; Stoltenberg, 1993) and by CACREP (2015). However, whereas programs/faculty in Brown et al’s (1988) study emphasized mental health and organizational consultation theories across multiple specialty areas, school counseling programs in the current study reportedly focused on collaborative consultation models and theory‐based consultation approaches (e.g., REBT, solution focused). The present concentration on collaborative models is aligned with the school counseling profession’s recent emphasis on collaborative consultation practice during the last 20 years (Dinkmeyer et al, 2016; Keys, Bemak, Carpenter, & King‐Sears, 1998), demonstrating preparation consistent with recommendations.…”

“…Regarding prevalence of consultation‐based courses, the website data indicated that current school counseling preparation programs require consultation courses at a higher rate than counselor education programs did in the 1980s (37% compared with 22%; Brown et al, 1988). The current findings correspond with Choi and colleagues’ (2008) result that 39% of school counselors reported taking a consultation course, yet they are quite a bit higher than the 17.9% conveyed by Carlson and Kees’s (2013) sample.…”

“…To date, two studies have examined counselor education consultation pedagogy in detail, yet they are over 30 years old with limited focus on school counselor preparation (Brown, Spano, & Schulte, 1988; Splete & Bernstein, 1981). Brown et al (1988) found that 21.9% of counselor education programs required a consultation course and 26.8% required consultation experience, whereas 43.9% provided didactic consultation coursework across multiple courses. The most common topics included in consultation courses were techniques, ethical issues, mental health consultation, and organizational consultation.…”

Training Consultants: A Call to Action

“…Many others have also addressed the issue of training consultants including Gallessich (1982), Splete and Bernstein (1981), Randolph (1985), and Dougherty (1990). If you read the results of two extensive surveys that looked at consultation training practices in counselor education (Brown et al, 1988;Splete & Bernstein, 1981), you would probably conclude that many are not concerned with this issue. If you read the results of two extensive surveys that looked at consultation training practices in counselor education (Brown et al, 1988;Splete & Bernstein, 1981), you would probably conclude that many are not concerned with this issue.…”

“…Certainly, some of the current course offerings in consultation include material on organizational development consultation (Brown et al, 1988), but offering a unit within a course, or even an entire course on consulting with organizations, cannot be equated with adequate preparation. Certainly, some of the current course offerings in consultation include material on organizational development consultation (Brown et al, 1988), but offering a unit within a course, or even an entire course on consulting with organizations, cannot be equated with adequate preparation.…”