Maryland in Europe
Graduate Programs
EDCP 627 Process Consultation

 

Course Dates: 25/26 January, 8/9 & 22/23 February, 8/9 March 2003

Course Location: Kaiserslautern-Kaupaun Education Center

Instructor: Brian K. Price, Ph.D.

Email Address: priceb@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Office Hours: Prior to class or by appointment.

 

Required Readings

 

1)              Brown, D., Pryzwansky, W.B., & Schulte, A.C. (2001). Psychological consultation: Introduction to theory & practice (5^th  Ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

2)              Additional materials will be provided by the Instructor via the class Webboard

 

Course Goals and Objectives

 

Description.  Consultation is an advanced form of counseling intervention where the counselor acts as an indirect agent of change.  As professionals, counselors are often required to provide consultation services in lieu of counseling or supervision.  As an advanced graduate topic, this course is designed to facilitate the counseling students’ development of a conceptual and practical framework when providing consultation services to teachers, parents, administrators, and other helping professionals.  The course will begin in a traditional seminar format where most information will be presented in a didactic approach, but a substantial part of the course will be the demonstration and presentation of both case and administrative consultations. 

 

Course Objectives.  The objectives for the course are for students

 

·         To define consultation and articulate the major active theoretical models used in its conceptualization.

·         To understand and articulate the professional and ethical issues related to various consultation topics.

• To understand the functions, skills, and qualifications related to mental health and organizational consultation.
• To gain the ability to compare and contrast the role or function of counselor, consultant, supervisor and other helping activities.
• To analyze and understand the process of consultation as it progresses from entry to termination.
• To gain an overview of the unique complexities associated with program consultation.

·         To demonstrate their skills of case and administrative consultation based on a model and the concept of collaboration and team approach.

 

Course Requirements

 

Students will be responsible for completing the following requirements:

 

a)      Case Consultation Presentation

b)      Administrative Consultation Presentation

c)      Paper

d)      Exam

 

Assignment Descriptions

 

 

A) Case Consultation Presentation

Students are required to present a proposal for a case consultation from start to finish. The presentation should include a description of the referral problem, background of the case from the perspective of the consultee, a review of the literature regarding the consultation models and interventions for such cases, the preferred intervention with rationale, the potential stages of consultation, and potential outcomes and pitfalls.  Included in the proposal is a discussion of potential assessment and evaluation for:

• problem identification
• acceptance of problem identified
• identification of potential interventions
• intervention acceptance
• intervention monitoring
• efficacy of intervention
• overall consultation satisfaction

 

Also expected is a discussion of the distinction between being a direct counseling provider, as opposed to being a consultant.  Potential role conflicts and ethical issues should be discussed.

 

B) Administrative Consultation Presentation

Similar to the case consultation presentation, students are required to present a proposal for a program consultation from start to finish. This presentation should also include a description of the referral problem, background of the case from the perspective of the consultee, a review of the literature regarding the consultation models and interventions for such organizations, the preferred intervention with rationale, the potential stages of consultation, and potential outcomes and pitfalls.  A discussion of potential methods of assessment and evaluation is also required.

 

Unique to the administrative consultation presentation is a direct study of a particular organization, rather than a hypothetical case.  Students will identify a local organization that provides counseling services serve as the focus of their presentation.  A requirement of this presentation is an interview with a member from this organization to discuss the potential needs for consultation.  Again, students will include the potential role conflicts and ethical issues when discussing the delivery of consultation services to this program.

 

C) Paper

 

Students will prepare a ten page paper on a topic of consultation that they choose.  The paper may be related to the general research issues discussed in the student’s case or administrative consultation presentations.  The paper must follow the most recent edition of the American Psychological Association for style and referencing.

 

D) Exam

 

Each student will complete a take-home essay type examination that will reflect the material covered in the didactic portion of the course.  Students will be given one week to complete the exam.

 

Student Evaluation and Grading Information

 

Students' performance will be graded based upon a percentage of the total 400 possible points obtained during the course. In general, it will be necessary to obtain a minimum of 90% of the course points to achieve an A (360 or more points), at least 80% of the points for a B (320-359 points), at least 70% of total possible points for a C, at least 60% for a D, and anything below 60% is a F. The point value for assignments are:

 

a)      Case consultation presentation – 100 points

b)      Administrative consultation presentation – 100 points

c)      Paper – 100 points

d)      Exam – 100 points

 

Schedule of Readings and Topics

 

All readings refer to Brown, Pryzwansky, & Schulte (2001):

 

• Weekend One, 25/26 January. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 13

 

1. Introduction
2. Case Consultation
3. Ethics
4. Skills & Characteristics of Consultants
5. Theoretical Approaches

 

• Weekend Two, 8/9 February: chapters 5, 6, 7, 10

 

1. Theoretical Approaches, continued.
2. Assessment & Evaluation in Consultation
3. Administrative/Organizational Consultation
4. Stages of Consultation

 

• Weekend Three, 22/23 February: chapters 11 & 12

 

1. Working with Parents & Teachers
2. Student Case Consultation Presentations
3. Exams due

 

• Weekend Four, 8/9 March: chapter 14

 

1. Student Administrative Consultation Presentations
2. Papers due

 

Other Class Policies

 

Attendance. Students are expected to attend every weekend class. This is particularly important during the case and administrative consultation presentations, when students serve as peer evaluators.  It is understood that unavoidable circumstances may make absences necessary for some students. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor ahead of time and to compensate for the loss of classroom time by proposing appropriate alternatives to make up the lost opportunities.