| Course | PSY 620 Psychological Interactions |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Model comparison with case |
| Length | About 1,054 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PSY 620 Module 2
Changing the Teacher's View or the Classroom's Contingencies: Mental Health and Behavioral Consultation Compared
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PSY 620: Psychological Interactions
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Changing the Teacher's View or the Classroom's Contingencies: Mental Health and Behavioral Consultation Compared
Leah, the composite psychologist consulting with Desert Willow Elementary in Tucson, has agreed to consult with Gloria, Mateo's third-grade teacher. At their first meeting, Gloria described Mateo as a child who "just wants attention" and said she had tried everything. On closer questioning, "everything" turned out to be two approaches: moving his seat and sending him to the office. She sounded tired and certain. This paper compares two models Leah could use and how each would shape her work with Gloria.
Mental Health Consultation
Caplan et al. (1995) describe mental health consultation as a relationship in which the consultant helps a consultee handle a work problem with a client while attending to the consultee's own contribution to the difficulty. In consultee-centered case consultation, the focus is less on the client than on what is limiting the consultee's effectiveness. Caplan identified four sources: lack of knowledge, lack of skill, lack of confidence and lack of professional objectivity. Loss of objectivity occurs when the consultee's own feelings or assumptions distort their perception of the client, for example when a teacher sees a child through a fixed expectation that every new event seems to confirm. The consultant addresses this indirectly, without turning consultation into therapy, by helping the consultee see the case differently.
Gloria's account suggests loss of objectivity and some loss of confidence. She has a fixed explanation, attention seeking, and has stopped testing it. She also seems discouraged. A mental health consultant would help her look again at Mateo, perhaps by exploring times when his behavior was different.
Behavioral Consultation
Bergan and Kratochwill (1990) set out behavioral consultation as a structured problem-solving process in four stages, each guided by an interview. In problem identification, consultant and consultee define the problem behavior in observable terms and agree on how to measure it. In problem analysis, they examine when the behavior occurs, what precedes it and what follows it, and design a plan based on that analysis. In plan implementation, the consultee carries out the plan while the consultant supports and monitors. In plan evaluation, they compare data with the goal and decide whether to continue, change or end the plan. The model assumes that behavior is shaped by its environment and can be changed by changing antecedents and consequences.
Comparing the Models
| Dimension | Mental health consultation | Behavioral consultation |
|---|---|---|
| Assumption | The consultee's knowledge, skill, confidence or objectivity limits their work | The client's behavior is maintained by events in the environment |
| Focus | The consultee's understanding of the case | Observable behavior, its antecedents and consequences |
| Process | Exploration and reframing, often indirect | Four structured stages with interviews and data |
| Evidence | Supported, but less consistently studied | Most consistently positive in reviews |
What the Evidence Shows
Sheridan et al. (1996) reviewed outcome studies of consultation published over a decade. About two thirds of the studies reported positive outcomes, and most of the rest reported neutral results; very few reported negative ones. Behavioral consultation was the most studied model and showed positive outcomes most consistently. The authors called for better-designed studies, more attention to how consultation is carried out and more research on mental health and organizational models.
The Interviews That Guide the Stages
In Bergan and Kratochwill's model, each stage is anchored by a structured interview. The problem identification interview asks the consultee to describe the behavior specifically, to say when and where it occurs and to agree on a way of recording it. The problem analysis interview reviews the data, explores conditions around the behavior and develops a plan. The plan evaluation interview compares results with goals. The interviews give the consultee a clear role at every point: Gloria is the expert on her classroom, and Leah's questions draw that expertise out rather than replacing it.
When the Models Conflict
The two models can pull in different directions. A behavioral consultant might push quickly toward a plan, while a mental health consultant might slow down to address the consultee's feelings and assumptions. Moving too fast with a discouraged teacher risks a plan she does not believe in and will not carry out; moving too slowly risks leaving a disruptive pattern in place. Leah's answer was to keep the behavioral structure but to give the first meeting over almost entirely to listening.
Applying Both Models
Leah chose to lead with behavioral consultation, for three reasons: the evidence base is strongest, the structure gives a tired consultee concrete tasks and data can test Gloria's attention-seeking explanation rather than arguing with it. In problem identification, she and Gloria defined the main concern as calling out without raising his hand during whole-class lessons and agreed that Gloria would tally it during two lessons a day for a week. In problem analysis, the tallies and Leah's observation showed that calling out was most frequent during independent written work that followed whole-class instruction, not during instruction itself, and was often followed by Mateo being sent to the office. The pattern suggested he might be escaping difficult written work, not seeking attention.
Leah also drew on mental health consultation. Rather than telling Gloria her explanation was wrong, she let the data invite a second look and asked Gloria to describe a recent good day. Gloria remembered that Mateo had been calm during a group project, which she had not connected to the absence of written work. That recollection, offered by Gloria herself, loosened her fixed view more than any argument would have.
Planning the Next Step
With the data pointing toward escape from written work, the problem analysis stage turned to a plan. Gloria proposed, and Leah supported, breaking written tasks into shorter parts, giving Mateo a way to ask for help without calling out and replacing office referrals with a brief break in the classroom followed by a return to the task. Gloria would keep tallying, and they would meet again in two weeks to evaluate.
Conclusion
Mental health consultation attends to the consultee's knowledge, skill, confidence and objectivity, as Caplan and colleagues describe, while behavioral consultation uses Bergan and Kratochwill's four stages to define, analyze and change behavior. Reviews show behavioral consultation most consistently effective. In Gloria's case, leading with behavioral consultation produced data that challenged her explanation, while a mental health lens helped her reach a new view on her own.
References
Bergan, J. R., & Kratochwill, T. R. (1990). Behavioral consultation and therapy. Plenum Press.
Caplan, G., Caplan, R. B., & Erchul, W. P. (1995). A contemporary view of mental health consultation: Comments on "Types of mental health consultation" by Gerald Caplan (1963). Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532768xjepc0601_2
Sheridan, S. M., Welch, M., & Orme, S. F. (1996). Is consultation effective? A review of outcome research. Remedial and Special Education, 17(6), 341-354. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193259601700605
What the PSY 620 Module 2 instructions ask for
Mental health and behavioral consultation are the second module of PSY 620, and assignments typically ask you to compare models and apply them. Take the Module 2 instructions in your Aspen course as the guide; this case is composite. Explain each model's assumptions, focus and process. Describe the consultee's possible difficulties in mental health consultation. Set out the stages of behavioral consultation. Compare the models in a table. Report outcome evidence. Apply both to one case and explain which you would lead with and why. Reference sources in APA 7, including books, and keep the consultee's voluntary role in view. If you combine models, explain which leads and what the other adds, so the reader can follow your reasoning.
How this PSY 620 Module 2 example is built
Gloria, a composite third-grade teacher at Desert Willow Elementary, believes Mateo "just wants attention" and has stopped varying her responses. Caplan, Caplan and Erchul's article describes consultee-centered consultation and the loss of objectivity it addresses. Bergan and Kratochwill's book on behavioral consultation and therapy supplies the four stages. Sheridan, Welch and Orme's Remedial and Special Education review gives outcome evidence. A four-row table compares assumptions, focus, process and evidence. Leah, the consultant, leads with behavioral consultation, defining calling out precisely, while addressing Gloria's discouragement in the way mental health consultation suggests. Data from the first week point toward escape from written work rather than attention.
PSY 620 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
Model comparison papers earn credit for accurate accounts of each model, fair comparison and an application showing how the models lead to different actions. This example explains Caplan's four sources of consultee difficulty and identifies which applies. Behavioral consultation's stages are set out in order with what happens at each. The table compares models on clear dimensions. Evidence comes from a systematic review. The application combines models sensibly: behavioral methods for the classroom problem and attention to the teacher's lost objectivity. The consultee remains in charge of her classroom throughout. The paper also shows data doing the persuading, which avoids a contest between the consultant's view and the teacher's.
PSY 620 Module 2 help from the desk
Consultation model papers often describe models in the abstract. Show what the consultant would actually say and do under each. Explain the consultee's difficulty precisely; lack of skill and loss of objectivity call for different responses. Define behavior in observable terms in any behavioral example. Report evidence from reviews. Explain why you would lead with one model. Respect the consultee's autonomy; consultation that turns into instruction often loses the teacher. A teacher who feels judged will stop sharing honest data, so the tone of early meetings shapes everything that follows. Collect a week of simple data before proposing any plan; it gives both of you something firmer than impressions to discuss.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PSY 620 Module 2 questions, answered
What does PSY 620 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's PSY 620 covers mental health and behavioral consultation in this module, so comparing the two models and applying them to a case is typical. Check your Module 2 prompt.
What is mental health consultation?
Caplan's model, in which the consultant helps a consultee with a work problem, attending to the consultee's knowledge, skill, confidence or objectivity as well as the client.
What are the stages of behavioral consultation?
Bergan and Kratochwill describe four: problem identification, problem analysis, plan implementation and plan evaluation, each guided by structured interviews and data.
Where can I find a free PSY 620 Module 2 sample paper?
The full paper is on this page: two consultation models set side by side and then used with one teacher and one disruptive student.
Which consultation model has the most evidence?
Sheridan, Welch and Orme's review found behavioral consultation produced positive outcomes most consistently among the models studied.