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![]() Tutorial 4 · Mastering the Consultative Stance |
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Defining the Consultative Stance in the Context of Relationship-Based WorkAccording to Johnston and Brinamen (2006), the central tenet of mental health consultation to early care and education is the "consultative stance," used to capture and describe the consultant's "way of being" in relationship-based work. At its core, this descriptor represents the belief that the ways in which people are treated influence their views of themselves, and in turn, their relationships with others. This belief reflects the psychotherapy origins of relationship-based work, which more recently has been adapted to principles of infant mental health that address infant development as well as intervention in the context of relationships. Simply put, in blunt, bumper sticker fashion, "It's the relationship, stupid" (adapted from political slogans). This slogan captures the influential relationship process that takes place in mental health consultation.
Rather than providing direct therapy services to a child, the consultant empowers the caregivers in the child's life to become therapeutic and deliver care and interventions in the context of the child's and caregiver's everyday activities and caregiving (Hepburn et al, 2007). Therefore, the practices associated with the consultative stance lie somewhere between collaboration and direct therapy, as a collaboratively therapeutic intervention. The consultative stance can challenge the most highly trained mental health services provider. The expertise and knowledge one acquires through a selected mental health related discipline and traditional education, training, and experience may include:
However, to be effective in consultation, the mental health professional's preparation must be supplemented with:
These are the tools for transforming relationships through the consultative stance and affecting therapeutic change through both child and family centered as well as programmatic consultation.
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