Behavioral Consultation

Description of the Strategy

Principles of operant conditioning have been applied to a wide array of human problems in settings, ranging from homes to large organizations. Application of these principles of learning and related research to consultation services is referred to as behavioral consultation. The behavioral consultant has general skills and knowledge plus knowledge of application of principles of operant conditioning to individuals, groups, and organizations. The consultee can range from the administrator of an organization (e.g., school principal, corporate president, hospital administrator) down to an individual within an organization (e.g., student, hospital staff member, worker on an assembly line). However, in most cases, the consultee is an individual who is responsible for the performance of several other individuals.

The behavioral approach to consultation involves both problem solving and teaching. The assumption is that the behavioral consultant's application and/or teaching of principles of operant conditioning will enable the consultee to solve problems that involve behaviors of individuals for whom the consultee is ultimately responsible. These principles may be taught to a single consultee or to members at multiple levels of an organization who are in the position to influence the behavior of organizational subordinates. The consultee is an active participant and not merely the recipient of information. In many cases, the consultee can be considered an extension of the consultant.

One of the tenets of behavioral consultation is that outcome of the consultation should be operationally defined and, ideally, based upon direct observation of behavior. Similarly, planning, decision making, and problem solving should be based on observable behavior. A second tenet is that environmental variables play significant roles in maintenance of behavior and consequently become the focus of interventions designed to change or promote behavior. A third tenet is that behaviors of interest should be repeatedly measured, beginning during the assessment process and continuing throughout the intervention and consultation process.

The general process of behavioral consultation is not unlike that of behavior analysis and modification with individuals. Consultation begins with a meeting between the consultant and consultee, at which time the problem is presented by the consultee. The problem may be unclear at this point, requiring additional inquiry and assessment. Indeed, a consultant might be contacted for the sole purpose of determining the nature and extent of a problem through a thorough functional assessment. This might be followed by an intervention. More often, an intervention is sought to address a problem or series of problems. The consultant conducts a thorough assessment and relies upon the relevant behavioral research base in producing an intervention plan. What tends to differentiate consultation from use of behavior modification procedures with individuals is that consultative services are almost always provided indirectly (i.e., through regular employees of an organization) and frequently address behaviors of many individuals (e.g., classes of students, wards of patients, employees of corporations). Relevant elements of the system in which the problem exists (e.g., direct care nursing staff in a hospital, nursing supervisors, cleaning staff, supply staff, management personnel, hospital administrator, ward architecture, staffing patterns) are considered, and relations between their behaviors and the behavior of interest are analyzed through functional assessment. Assessment continues as the consultant designs an intervention program, oversees the implementation of the program by the consultee, and repeatedly or continuously evaluates the effectiveness of the program.

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