Problem Solving Consultation and Therapy

Abstract

Problem-solving consultation is an indirect form of mental health service delivery in which the professional time and resources of a consultant are used to assist a consultee (e.g., teacher or parent) with the needs of a child client. The knowledge and skills of the consultant and consultee are combined through the consultative process to design an evidence-based treatment program for the client. The consultation problem-solving process progresses through five stages including establishing a relationship between the consultant and consultee, problem identification, problem analysis, treatment implementation, and treatment evaluation. The most problematic behaviors exhibited by the client are prioritized and can be addressed in a problem centered or developmental consultation process. Implementation of the treatment by a consultee in the natural setting promotes the success of the treatment. Involving the consultee in the entire process, the consultee learns principles of problem resolution, which may be applied to the challenging behaviors exhibited by other children. Nevertheless, consultation problem-solving brings some implementation challenges as it can be difficult to conduct a thorough and labor-intensive functional assessment and problems of treatment acceptability and treatment integrity must be addressed. Consultants must also take into account the consultee's perspective and contextual factors through the consultation process. With appropriate consultant skill and effort, positive outcomes may accrue to both the client and the consultee through the process of problem-solving consultation.