ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the development of consultation competency and expertise requires a cyclic process of: assessing a baseline of knowledge and skills, including strengths and skills in need of improvement; obtaining systematic, ongoing, and formal feedback from a knowledgeable other; and engaging in the deliberate practice of consultation. These components can be thought of as a three-legged stool, each leg essential and reliant on the others to support the development of consultation competency. Supervision can be helpful in providing support. Similarly, consultant-in-training (CIT) can experience a lack of objectivity in working on a consultation process, and supervision and feedback are necessary to help the CIT recognize when that is occurring. Process skills such as strategic communication and relationship building are trickier to evaluate than content knowledge. There are particular supervision strategies that are most helpful to objectively assess such processes.
