Consultation

Words that come to my brain when consultation is said: discussion, debate, negotiate, collaborate. I feel comfortable discussing all of these terms in relation to the concept of consultation. After our class last week and the varying discussions about Yer and her discussions with Peg, I thing my biggest struggle as a future school counselor will be helping others to understand the importance of collaboration and consultation. Those aspects of our job are equally as important as the counseling and advocacy aspects.


I know there was significant distress within our group over whether we as future counselors should sit in on the classroom to monitor both students and the teachers. or whether we would be able to view the situation clearly. I think, that with a security net of other (another counselor who could also monitor the student/teachers) individuals opinions will allow a more of an unbiased perspective into the situation. There is a lot to say about collaborative relationships and the labor of love that they are essentially are. There will always be individuals with feelings and attitudes that may be different or opposing. Resistance is one of the biggest barriers to successful collaboration between school counselors and school psychologists. Dollarhide and Saginak (p.169) said that the majority of school counselors spend 18 percent of their time in collaboration.


Consultation (p. 171) always involves the consultant, the consultee and the client. The purpose is to address situations and interventions involving the consultee ( a teacher) and a third party (school psychologist). I can see how individuals outside of the helping professions to think that consultation is synonymous with advise giving, but this again will be another spot to get out my pom poms and advocate for myself. The section on Collaborative Culturally Competent Schools was awesome! I love the level of advocacy that is available within the school. Level 2: family empowerment was something that really stood out to me as the idea of wrap around services, community and family involvement are important factors in successfully advocating for the best needs of our students. This was another really great chapter. I rented this book expecting to turn it in at the end of the semester, but I plan to buy it for real and keep this within a quick reach on my “professional shelf”. I feel that this book is very valuable and will be a source that I can continue to reflect on for many years. 

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.