Syllabus

Psychology 474

Theory and Practice of Mental Health Consultation in the Schools

Fall, 2000

Illinois State University

Course information

Prerequisites: Graduate student standing and permission of instructor
Class meetings: M 5:30-8:20 DeGarmo 404

Instructor: Adena B. Meyers, Ph.D.


E-mail: abmeyer@ilstu.edu
Office: DeGarmo 447
Phone: 438-296

Office hours (Degarmo 455)

MWF 12:00-1:00
& By appointment

Graduate assistant: Eric Pierson

e-mail: eepiers@ilstu.edu

Textbooks


Required Textbooks:

Recommended Textbook:

Course Description


This intermediate graduate course is designed to provide students with theoretical background and applied training in school consultation.  Students will be exposed to a variety of theoretical models of consultation (including behavioral, mental health, ecological, and cross-cultural perspectives), and will have opportunities to develop relevant skills (including problem-solving, data collection, and communication/interpersonal skills).  The course includes both didactic and applied components, and will involve such diverse activities and assignments as readings, class discussions, quizzes, lectures, role plays, and actual cases in school placements. This course will be conducted in a seminar/group supervision format. This means that students are expected to participate actively and take some responsibility for determining the content and process of the class. You will be teaching and learning from each other.

Objectives

1--Students will develop expertise in consultation skills with teachers and other potential consultees.

2--Students’ familiarity with a variety of theoretical perspectives on consultation will increase.

3--Students will have a broader understanding of special issues involved in consulting with professionals in disciplines outside of psychology.

4--Students will have opportunities to practice their consultation skills through in-class simulations and through in vivo cases.

5--Students will be further socialized in the field as evidenced by their deeper appreciation of professional issues, including diversity concerns.
 

Assignments


Weekly Readings

In preparation for each class, you are expected to complete the assigned readings and you may choose to either

1)prepare a short (1-2 page typed) reaction paper that reflects your thoughts about the readings

OR

2)take a short quiz on the readings
 

Article Presentations

During the second half of the course, each student will choose a topic of interest, select (in consultation with the instructor) a set of articles/readings on that topic, and present the article(s) to the class. (Possible topics for these presentations include: Collaboration vs. directiveness in consultation; Instructional consultation; Social psychology and consultation; Organizational or system-level consultation; Consultation as prevention; Consultation with parents; Cross-cultural issues in consultation).
 

Role Plays

Early in the semester, students will engage in skill practice through a series of role-plays and mock interviews with the instructor and/or graduate assistant. All mock interviews will be tape-recorded for transcription and analysis (see transcript analysis, below).
 

Consultation Cases

Throughout the semester, each student will provide consultative services at his or her school placement. The nature of these ervices may vary, depending on the interests of the student and the needs of the setting. For example, students may consult with individual teachers and/or parents regarding behavioral or instructional concerns relevant to an entire classroom or an individual child. Students may also provide in-service training to teachers and other school staff on topics such as behavior modification techniques, recognizing children with internalizing symptoms, general classroom management, crisis intervention, etc.). By mid-September, and throughout the semester, each student is expected to have at least one ongoing consultation case or project at all times. Whenever possible, consultative activities should be tape-recorded. The tapes will be used in group supervision and will occasionally be transcribed and analyzed by the student.
 

Transcript Analyses

Each student will be required to transcribe and analyze a portion of at least two consultation interviews (one mock interview and one actual interview). The analyses may be modeled on Conoley & Conoley's transcripts in Appendix A or the Consultation-Analysis Record described by Kratochwill & Bergan.
 

Written Consultation Case Report

At the end of the semester, each student will be required to submit one written consultation case report. Guidelines for completing these reports will be provided in class.

Grading


25%    Participation (includes comments on readings, participation in role plays, openness to feedback, thoughtfulness of feedback offered to peers, etc.)

25%    Preparedness (quizzes and/or reaction papers)

20%    Analysis of transcripts

20%    Case report

10%    Article presentation
 

Students with Disabilities

Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accomodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).
 

Tentative Topic Calendar

 

Week I (8/21) - Course Overview

Week II (8/28) - Theoretical Models of Consultation

Readings:
 
  • *Gutkin, T.B. & Curtis, M.J.  (1999).  School-based consultation theory and practice: The art and science of indirect service delivery.  In C.R. Reynolds & T.B. Gutkin, (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (3rd ed., pp. 598-637).  New York: Wiley.
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter I (Definition and purpose of consultation)
     
  • Marks, Chapter I (An overview of critical issues in consultation)
     

    Week III (8/31 & 9/1) - Principal Meetings (9/4 is labor day - no class meeting)

    Readings:
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter IV (How to enter and when to stay)
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter VII (The consultant as trainer)
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Appendix B (In-service options for consultants)
     
  • Marks, Chapter II (The principal)
     
  • Marks, Chapter III (The supervisor)
     

    Week IV (9/11) - Overview of Interview Skills & Strategies

    Readings:
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter II (Skills needed for consultation)
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter III (Targets and operational levels)
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Appendix A (Consultation transcripts)
     

    Week V (9/18) - Collaboration & Professionalism

    Readings:
     
  • *Collins, P.H.  (2000).  Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge., Chapter XI (Black feminist epistemology)
     
  • Marks, Chapter IV (The teachers)
     
  • Marks, Chapter V (Support staff)
     
  • Marks, Chapter VI (The parents)
     

    Week VI (9/25) - Behavioral Consultation Part I

    (Dr. Meyers will be out of town this week.  A video on consultation techniques will be shown in class).

    Readings:
     

  • Kratochwill & Bergan, Chapter I (Behavioral consultation: An overview)
     
  • Kratochwill & Bergan, Chapter II (Problem identification)
     

    Week VII (10/2) - Behavioral Consultation Part II

    Readings:
     
  • Kratochwill & Bergan, Chapter III (Problem analysis)
     
  • Kratochwill & Bergan, Chapter IV (Treatment implementation)
     

    Week VIII (10/9) - Evaluation of Consultation Efficacy

    Readings:
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter VI (Evaluation issues and strategies in consultation)
     
  • Kratochwill & Bergan, Chapter V (Treatment evaluation)
     

    Week IX (10/16) - Resistance & Barriers to Consultation

    Readings:
     
  • Conoley & Conoley, Chapter V (Moving from direct to indirect service delivery)
     
  • Marks, Chapter VII (Encountering resistance)
     
  • Marks, Chapter VIII (Handling logistics)
     

    Week X (10/23) - What Success Might Look Like

    Readings:
     
  • Marks, Chapter IX (Empowering school staff: Making consultation happen)
     

    Week XI (10/30) - Student Presentations: Consultation with Parents

    Recommended Readings:
     
  • Schoenwald, S.K., Henggeler, S.W., Brondino, M.J., & Donkervoet, J.C. (1997).  Reconnecting schools with families of juvenile offenders.  In Swartz, J.L. & Martin, W.E. (Eds.), Applied ecological psychology for schools within communities: Assessment and intervention (pp. 187-205).  Mahwah, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
  • Sheridan, S.M. (1997). Conceptual and empirical bases of conjoint behavioral consultation.  School Psychology Quarterly, 12, 119-133.

    Week XII (11/6) - Student Presentations: Collaboration vs. Directiveness / Cross-Cultural Issues in Consultation

    Recommended Readings:
     
  • Erchul, W.P.  (1999).  Two steps forward, one step back: Collaboration in school-based consultation.  Journal of School Psychology, 37, 191-203.
  • Gutkin, T.B.  (1999).  Collaborative versus directive/prescriptive/expert school-based consultation: Reviewing and resolving a false dichotomy. Journal of School Psychology, 37, 161-190.
     
  • Ingraham, C.L. & Meyers, J. (Eds). (2000). Mini-series: Multicultural and cross-cultural consultation in schools.  School Psychology Review (Special section) 29(3).

    Week XIII (11/13) - Social Psychology and Consultation

    Recommended Reading:
     
  • Gutkin, T.B. (Ed).  (1997).  Social psychology and consultation. Journal of School Psychology (Special section) 35(2).

    Week XIV(11/20) - Student Presentations: Instructional Consultation

    Recommended Readings:
     
  • Rosenfield, S.  (1987).  Instructional Consultation.  Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Daly, E.J. III, Witt, J.C., Martens, B.K., & Dool, E.J.  (1997).  A model for conducting a functional analysis of academic performance problems. School Psychology Review, 26, 554-574.
     

    Week XV (11/27) - Student Presentations: Consultation as Prevention

    Recommended Readings:
     
  • Caplan, G.  (1964).  Principles of preventive psychiatry.  New York: Basic Books.
  • Caplan, G.  (1970).  The theory and practice of mental health consultation. New York: Basic Books.
  • Kelly, J.G. (Ed).  (1987).  The ecology of prevention: Illustrating mental health consultation.  Prevention in Human Services (Special issue) 4(3/4).

    Week XVI (12/4) - Student Presentations: Organizational/Systems Level Consultation

    Recommended Readings:
     
  • Plas, J.M.  (1986).  Systems psychology in the schools.  New York: Pergamon Press.
  • Sarason, S.B. (1996).  Revisiting "The culture of the school and the problem of change."  New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Schmuck, R. (1990).  Organization development in the schools: Contemporary concepts and practices.  In T.B. Gutkin & C.R. Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (2nd ed., pp. 899-919).  New York: Wiley.

    Monday, December 11 is the final deadline for submission of written case reports.