Highlighting the Utility of the Consultation Analysis Record for Consultation Research and Training

ABSTRACT

What we say in consultation is important, and thus studying spoken messages has been an important topic in consultation research and training for decades. Here we raise awareness of the Consultation Analysis Record (CAR; Bergan & Tombari, 1975), a well-established verbal interaction coding system that has largely disappeared from the professional literature. Following a description of the CAR and six summary findings from research that has employed it, we turn our attention to its future utility, including facilitating its use with technology and its applications to multitiered systems of support teams and procedural integrity research. The central thesis is that the CAR remains a valuable tool to study processes and outcomes of consultation as well as to train consultants, and it should be used more often for these purposes.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Chelsea M. Bartel, PhD, for contributions that led to the development of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William P. Erchul

William P. Erchul, PhD, ABPP, is a professor in the Graduate School of Education and the director of the School Psychology Program at the University of California, Riverside. His research interests include processes and outcomes of school consultation, the application of technology to consultation, and social influence and relational communication more generally.

Aaron J. Fischer

Aaron J. Fischer, PhD, BCBA-D, is an assistant professor of school psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at University of Utah. His research interests include assessment and treatment of problem behavior in individuals with disabilities as well as telehealth applications during behavioral health practice, particularly school consultation and clinical practice.

Melissa A. Collier-Meek

Melissa A. Collier-Meek, PhD, BCBA, is an assistant professor in the school psychology program in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research interests include the implementation of evidence-based interventions, particularly the assessment of treatment integrity, evaluation of implementation facilitators and barriers, and development of strategies to feasibly promote treatment integrity.

Bradley S. Bloomfield

Bradley S. Bloomfield, MEd, BCBA, is a doctoral candidate in school psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. His research interests include evidence-based behavior interventions, indirect service delivery, as well as the use of technology within consultation and intervention.