On consultation

Abstract

Consultation is a term that can have many different meanings. In this paper, it is used in the sense that Caplan (1964) defines as mental health consultation, to describe the interaction between a consultee and consultant who meet to facilitate some area of mental health work in which the consultee is involved. By working with workers instead of directly with clients, the consultant aims to offer a service to a greater number of people than would otherwise be possible and to have a preventive role with earlier detection and management of mental health problems.