A survey of preservice consultation training in school psychology programs

In this study, we investigated the state of preservice consultation training and supervision in school psychology programs. Consultation trainers or supervisors in school psychology programs were surveyed to determine how they prepared students for working as consultants. Specifically addressed were the theoretical models or formats of consultation training used and the structure of such training. In addition, information regarding the supervision process was explored. Through the results of the survey, we found that nondoctoral and doctoral training programs offered more consultation-specific coursework and field experience than they have in the past. Regarding supervision, the majority of programs did not provide consultation students with regular (weekly or biweekly) or individualized supervision, and supervision techniques such as tape recording were rarely implemented. The results of this study should create an awareness of the recent trends in consultation training and supervision. The study serves as an updated baseline against which improvement of consultation training and supervision, particularly with regard to the need for additional supervisory techniques, can be assessed in the future.