Effects of Behavioral Consultation Training That Included Interpersonal Skills: Acquisition of Consultation Skills and Evaluation of Consultants' Effectiveness

― 230 ― In the present study, 2 graduate students (23 and 24 years old) without prior experience in consultation were trained in behavioral consultation. The students were assigned cases with consultees who presented fıctitious cases, and interviewed the consultees once every 2 months for about 1 year. The consultation training program included reading related literature, live modeling of appropriate behavior, performance feedback, and video self-monitoring plus feedback. A quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate changes in behavior consultation skills and interpersonal skills in a role-play situation, using a consultant evaluation questionnaire designed by the fırst author. In addition, after the conclusion of the consultation, the consultees rated their satisfaction with the graduate students’ performance. The results suggested that this consultation training program may have been effective for improving the students’ behavioral consultation skills and interpersonal skills. The consultees’ ratings of consumer satisfaction were also favorable. It appeared that the performance feedback and the video self-monitoring plus feedback were especially effective aspects of the training program, in terms of the acquisition of consultation skills and the consultees’ evaluations. On the other hand, differences in the effects of the training between the 2 students were also observed. That suggests that somewhat more customized training might be more effective. A limitation of the present study was the small number of participants. Further research should include more participants.