An Examination Of The Effectiveness Of A School-Based Behavioral Consultation Workshop

Consultation has become increasingly important in the delivery of school-based mental-health services. However, there is a dearth of research about consultant training at the in-service level. Because consultation self-efficacy can predict a practitioner's actual engagement in consultation practice, this study investigated the development of perceived self-efficacy in conducting behavioral consultation by 45 practicing school counselors who had participated in a 3-day training workshop in Taipei, Taiwan. Significant positive changes on pre- and post-tests were found in both process-oriented and problem-solving self-efficacy levels. For the cross-domain comparison, the participants reported more gains in their self-efficacy for problem-solving than for process-oriented knowledge and skills. Additionally, the participants perceived the content and delivery of the training as highly satisfying, useful, and feasible for conducting school consultation services. The results supported using a cost-efficient workshop training format with focused goals and content to address school-based practitioners' in-service training needs. Implications for behavioral consultant training and future research are discussed.