Familiarization: A vital step in mental health consultation

Abstract

In recent years, more effective utilization of limited mental health manpower has required mental health professionals to shift more from direct service to consultation with workers whose job roles, while important to good mental health, are outside of the mental health field. There are often serious barriers to effective consultation in marked differences in job functions, training and education, and social class identification between consultant and consultee. The consultant can overcome these by familiarizing himself as directly as possible with the consultee's job, client population, and background. Successful examples of this type of consultation are described.

Building consultative relationships with rural fundamentalist clergy.

“…I would have been willing to speak on almost any topic in order to gain entrance to the audience, to have them sample my behavior, and to find that I was not a godless megalomaniac. In order to do this, I solicited questions and asked even more while engaging in a process labeled "familiarization" by Jarvis and Nelson (1967). I requested a tour of their facility, engaging several class members in conversations regarding their training and experiences.…”