Warm-up Activity
Research suggests that the consultation relationship is affected by the quality of the relationship between the consultant, the consultee, and the client. Because human differences are a factor in the efficacy of the consultation relationship, consultants need to be flexible and adaptive to the characteristics of the other people. The following activity highlights the importance of resource consultants reflecting on the relationship and context within which the consultation takes place, knowing when to prioritize certain stages over others, as well as being aware of how they as individuals affects the relationship, and how the human aspects of relational work affect the consultation process.
Instructor information: Ask students to fill in the blanks below each column heading using the options provided in the list here. You can ask them to do this to the best of their knowledge or based on their own beliefs. Because there are more concepts than spaces in the table, they will have to make choices. They may put some of the words in different columns than you expect (and that is ok!). The list of options are based on some characteristics of consultants, consultees and consultation relationships that are found in the literature.
In this activity, you can share the following table:
| Characteristics of a Good Consultant | Characteristics of a Good Consultation Relationship | Characteristics of a Good Consultee |
|---|---|---|
What makes a good consultation relationship?
Select options from this list to fill in the table:
- Consultant has expertise about particular impairments
- There is direct relationship between consultant and client
- Consultee is compliant
- Consultant is knowledgeable
- Consultation has clear goals
- Consultee has curiosity
- Consultant is collaborative
- Consultation is inclusive of the family
- Consultee is open minded
- Consultant is experienced
- Consultation is inclusive of many professionals
- Consultee has confidence
- Consultant works within the triadic model
- Consultation is voluntary
- Consultee is independent
Discussion Questions
- Why did you choose the words you chose?
- You left some words out, why?
- Did you think some of the words you left out were important too?
- Why did you think the words you chose were the most important?
- What strategy did you use to select the words? (i.e., ranking, democratic process, deferring to others, etc.)
Probing Questions
- Would you change the focus or strengths needed for specific situations?
- Are there certain characteristics that you feel you would keep in all situations?
- Can you think of a time from your placement or work experience where you prioritized certain characteristics over others?
Page updated June 2026.