Broadly defined, my major research interest is psychological consultation. Consultation within school psychology typically involves the delivery of psychoeducational services to child and adolescent clients through a staff member such as a classroom teacher. For example, a school psychologist may consult with a teacher about solving problems that involve a student or group of students. The successful practice of psychological consultation in schools has clear implications for preventing academic failure, promoting mental health, and providing a support system to staff members. Consultation is integral to contemporary methods of service delivery in schools, such as that found in problem-solving teams and response to intervention. I have primarily examined interpersonal dynamics and participant outcomes associated with the practice of behavioral consultation, conjoint behavioral consultation, mental health consultation, and prereferral intervention teams in schools. One strand of this research involves the coding of audiotapes and transcripts of dyadic and small group interviews in order to link verbal process/interaction measures to various outcome measures. This process-outcome, communication-based research is likely to continue using different consultants, consultees, clients, work settings, verbal interaction coding systems, and modalities of service delivery. A more recent research strand uses a survey methodology to study the interpersonal dynamics of school consultation with respect to social influence as revealed through social power bases/influence strategies. This approach allows a glimpse into how one participant may influence another participants during consultation.

1. Gregory Bateson's (1935; 1958) theory of schismogenesis; operationalized through relational communication verbal interaction coding systems (e.g., Heatherington & Friedlander, 1987; Rogers & Farace, 1975)

2. French and Raven's (1959) bases of social power; Raven's (1992, 1993) power/interaction model of interpersonal influence; operationalized through various versions of the Interpersonal Power Inventory

Bennett, M. S., Erchul, W. P., Young, H. L., & Bartel, C. M. (in press). Exploring relational communication patterns in prereferral intervention teams. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.

Erchul, W. P. (2011). School consultation and response to intervention: A tale of two literatures. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 21(3), 191-208.

Easton, J. E., & Erchul, W. P. (2011). Teacher acceptability of treatment plan implementation monitoring and feedback methods. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 21(1), 56-77.

Erchul, W. P., DuPaul, G. J., Bennett, M. S., Grissom, P. F., Jitendra, A. K., Tresco, K. E., Volpe, R. J., Vile Junod, R. E., Flammer-Rivera, L. M., & Mannella, M. C. (2009). A follow-up study of relational processes and consultation outcomes for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. School Psychology Review, 38, 28-37.

Getty, K. C., & Erchul, W. P. (2009). The influence of gender on the likelihood of using soft social power strategies in school consultation. Psychology in the Schools, 46, 447-458.

Wilson, K. E., Erchul, W. P., & Raven, B. H. (2008). The likelihood of use of social power strategies by school psychologists when consulting with teachers. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 18, 101-123.

Erchul, W. P., & Sheridan, S. M. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of research in school consultation: Empirical foundations for the field. New York: Taylor & Francis Group/Routledge.

Erchul, W. P., Grissom, P. F., & Getty, K. C. (2008). Studying interpersonal influence within school consultation: Social power base and relational communication perspectives. In W. P Erchul & S. M. Sheridan (Eds.), Handbook of research in school consultation: Empirical foundations for the field (pp. 293-322). New York: Taylor & Francis Group/Routledge.

Erchul, W. P., DuPaul, G. J., Grissom, P. F., Vile Junod, R., Jitendra, A. K., Mannella, M., Tresco, K., Flammer, L., & Volpe, R. J. (2007). Relationships among relational communication processes and consultation outcomes for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. School Psychology Review, 36, 111-129.

Erchul, W. P., Raven, B. H., & Wilson, K. E. (2004). The relationship between gender of consultant and social power perceptions within school consultation. School Psychology Review, 33, 582-590.

Sheridan, S. M., Erchul, W. P., Brown, M. S., Dowd, S. E., Warnes, E. D., Marti, D. C., Schemm, A. V., & Eagle, J. W. (2004). Perceptions of helpfulness in conjoint behavioral consultation: Congruence and agreement between teachers and parents. School Psychology Quarterly, 19, 121-140.

Grissom, P. F., Erchul, W. P., & Sheridan, S. M. (2003). Relationships among relational communication processes and perceptions of outcomes in conjoint behavioral consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 14, 157-180.

Erchul, W. P., Raven, B. H., & Whichard, S. M. (2001). School psychologist and teacher perceptions of social power bases in school consultation. Journal of School Psychology, 39, 483-497.

Erchul, W. P., Raven, B. H., & Ray, A. G. (2001). School psychologists’ perceptions of social power bases in teacher consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 12, 1-23.

Coding of spoken messages on audio recordings using standardized verbal interaction coding systems; Survey methodology

Rogers, L. E., & Escudero, V. (Eds.) (2004). Relational communication: An interactional perspective to the study of process and form. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Raven, B. H. (1992). A power/interaction model of interpersonal influence: French and Raven thirty years later. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 7, 217-244.

Raven, B. H. (1993). The bases of power: Origins and recent developments. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 227-251.

Rogers, L. E., & Farace, R. V. (1975). Analysis of relational communication in dyads: New measurement procedures. Human Communication Research, 1, 222-239.

Consultation

Consultation

Intervention Teams