Consulting: Training Counselors to Work with Teachers, Parents, and Administrators

Abstract

Practicing counselors and researchers are realizing the value of consulting with teachers, parents, and administrators. Counselor educators need to begin to train counselors formally and systematically in these skills. This article presents one training model in detail.

A Survey of Consultation Training as a Part of Counselor Education Programs

“…Kahnweiler (1979) has suggested that many counselors may not assume consultation duties because they "have received little formal training in consultation skills" (p. 378). Similarly, while the ACES standards for counselor preparation (1977,1978) specified that consultation be included in both masters and doctoral level counselor education programs, several authors (Adkins, 1977;Dinkmeyer & Carlson, 1977;Moracco, 1977) have asserted that counselor education programs have neglected the teaching of consultation skills. This paper reports the results of a study conducted to assess the extent and nature of consultation training offered to students in United States counselor education programs.…”

Counselor Education and the Psychology of More

“…Counselor educators frequently call for an increase in the extent of counselor training. In some cases, the call is for more extensive training in traditional curriculum areas, but more often it is for the addition of specialized training to address contemporary concerns such as broadening the role of counselors from direct to indirect services like consultation (e.g., Dinkmeyer & Carlson, 1977;Moracco, 1977), refocusing counselors' efforts from remediation to primary prevention (e.g., Lewis & Lewis, 1981), or requiring counselors to attain skills in program administration and grantsmanship (e.g., Griffith, 1980;Gysbers, 1972).…”

A Role for the Counselor Educator in Teacher Education

“…The American School Counselor Association's role statement (1977) maintains that the secondary school counselor should provide consultation assistance to all school staff. In fact, Dinkmeyer and Carlson (1977) report that almost every writer in the vanguard of our profession suggests that the counselor will need to be actively involved as a consultant in the school. Only by consulting with others to promote better understanding of children and effective methods for working with children can school counselors begin to significantly improve their schools.…”