Introduction

OVERVIEW OF THE NEED FOR CONSULTATION IN SCHOOLS Working as a consultant is among the more exciting and gratifying roles in which mental health and educational specialist professionals can engage. At a time in which schools are expected to provide evidence of standards-based accountability, such individuals can be influential team members in ensuring that students are benefiting from evidencebased practices (EBPs), that teachers are knowledgeable about children’s developmental and instructional levels, and that children’s behavioral and emotional needs are addressed and not impeding their own learning and that of other youngsters. In their article in which the future of the profession of school psychology was discussed, Meyers, Meyers, and Grogg (2004) report that the problem of shortages of such professionals are expected to increase in the coming years; therefore, service delivery models that influence the greatest number of children with limited resources are needed. Moreover, models that focus on prevention and early remediation of student academic, behavioral, and emotional problems, such as consultation, provide an answer to such systemic problems as shortages of professionals, budget constraints, and an increasingly needy student population.