What is Consulting Psychology

Applying Psychological Practice to
Organizations and Businesses
What is Consulting
Psychology?

I. Background
II. Society of Consulting Psychology
III. Case Presentation
IV. Questions about the World of
Business
Agenda

• Consulting psychology, a practice that focuses on consultation to, with, or
for individuals and organizations at individual, group, and
organizational/systemwide levels rooted in multiple areas of substantive
expertise.
• as the function of applying and extending the special knowledge of a
psychologist, through the process of consultation, to problems involving
human behavior in various areas.
• shall be defined as a psychologist who provides specialized technical
assistance to individuals or organizations in regard to the psychological
aspects of their work.
• Such assistance is advisory in nature and the consultant has no direct
responsibility for its acceptance.
• Consulting psychologists may have as clients individuals, institutions,
agencies, corporations or other kinds of organizations.
What is Consulting Psychology?
1. O’Roark, A. M. (2007). Guidelines for Education and Training at the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Levels in Consulting
Psychology/Organizational Consulting Psychology.

• Consulting psychologists, both organizational and topical specialists, are
practitioners of applied psychology.2
• Consulting practitioners work as scientist-practitioners, methodically
planning future interventions based on what was beneficial in the past
for clients in comparable circumstances.2
Who are Consulting Psychologists?
1. O’Roark, A. M. (2007). Guidelines for Education and Training at the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Levels in Consulting

What Do Consulting Psychologists
Need to Learn?
2. O'Roark, A. M. (2007). The best of consulting psychology 1900-2000: Insider perspectives. Consulting Psychology Journal:
Practice and Research, 59(3), 189.

• The common denominator among respondents is dedication to
excellence in consulting psychology and a need for a knowledge base.1
• Differences in specializations are reflected in references to distinctly
different researchers, theories, and methodologies.1
• Many who had greatest impact on their consulting practice were senior
colleagues who took personal interest in their education and professional
progress. The influence of personal mentoring was rated as more
meaningful and enduring than reading articles or books. 1
How Consulting Psychologists are
similar to…

How Do Consulting Psychologists
Train?

• Levinson’s (1972) Organization Diagnosis was named most often as the
most influential writing.2
• Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research
• Harvard Business Review
• Wall Street Journal
What Consulting Psychologist
read?

• Primarily Individual-Level Core Competencies
• Primarily Group-Level Core Competencies
• Primarily Organizational/Systemic-Level Core Competencies
Levels of Competencies

I. Society of Consulting Psychology
II. Case Presentation
III. Questions about the World of
Business
Agenda

• The Society was founded as an elite membership group consisting only
of those who had achieved fellowship status (the highest membership
category) in the APA and who were therefore qualified to serve as
psychological examiners or consultants. As is typical in growing
professional organizations, there were struggles among the members in
defining the organizational identity and membership criteria. The
Society was eventually disbanded for about 20 years. Following World
War II, in 1946, when APA re-organized, Division 13 was later
established as one of 19 charter divisions in APA in 1946.3
Society of Consulting Psychology
3. Division History. (n.d.). APA Divisions. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from http://www.apadivisions.org/division-
13/about/history/index.aspx

• In 2004, Division 13 of the American Psychological Association (APA)
changed its formal title to the Society of Consulting Psychology (SCP).
The Society remains Division 13 of APA; thus both names (SCP and
Division 13) are used interchangeably. 3
• The Society of Consulting Psychology is managed as a volunteer
organization and relies on its members to accomplish its mission. 3
Society of Consulting Psychology
3. Division History. (n.d.). APA Divisions. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from http://www.apadivisions.org/division-
13/about/history/index.aspx

The director of human resources of a high tech company in a Chicago
suburb called for consultation on behalf of her chief executive. She said
that he was concerned because their recent turnover of upper middle
management and officers was 35% higher than their norm.
The three consultants met with Mr. G, the CEO, at their corporate
headquarters. Mr. G was a tall, athletically built casually dressed 55 year
old man.
The client stated “I am an aggressive and abrasive person. I am an
entrepreneur. I have been diagnosed as manic-depressive and, up till five
years ago, took lithium. I have been seeing a psychiatrist, and I am not
taking any medication now.”
Case Presentation
4. Levinson, H., Sabbath, J., & Connor, J. (1992). Bearding the lion that roared: A case study in organizational
consultation. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research; Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research.

He elaborated. “My family made money illegally. I got in trouble as a kid.
In those days, I didn’t know what the truth was, but later found people
along the way that I admired and changed my mind.”
“Two years ago, I separated from my wife. Now I want to know the truth
about what is going on in my company.”
Case Presentation

Individual Interview:
When Mr. G himself was scheduled for an individual interview with the senior
consultant; he sent a message through his secretary that he was tied up and did not
know when he would be available.
The secretary mentioned as an aside that Mr. G did not like the idea of spending
two hours in an interview. Also, by this time, Mr. G had abruptly called his top
officers out of their interviews with the consultants without explanation.
The senior consultant ask Mr. G’s secretary to him at his meeting. Mr. G was
incensed that the consultant had called and said, “Listen, my friend, I have a right
to change the time when I want to. I am speaking to someone about an acquisition,
and I will be tied up for an hour or so.”
The senior consultant and Mr. G scheduled a meeting for the next day at 11:00 am.
Case Presentation

Mr. G arrived exactly at 11:00 am with eyes blazing. His first remark was,
“You’ve got one hell of a nerve interrupting me. I was arranging to acquire
this company in the south.” The senior consultant responded that they
had an appointment and work to do. Mr. G replied. “Don’t give me that
B.S. – all right now, come into the office. Don’t worry, you’ll get paid for
your time. I resent intensely being interrupted.”
Case Presentation

Mr. G then started to ramble about his company’s problems:
1. Because of the growth of the company, it is no longer like a family
2. Some of his people are afraid of him, he does not know why.
3. He did not want his company to grow bigger as long as people were
troubled and problems were unresolved.
4. “I want a fit between myself and the staff and the organization.”
5. “I want to choose people who are loyal. How can we do that?”
Case Presentation

Collateral Information:
One of his longtime subordinates said “The whole organization is setup
like a garage. As a manager, you end up doing a lot of the jobs yourself
because you can’t trust others to get them done. A suggestion to another
department is taken as a criticism,.”
Another interviewee stated, “This is an aggressive, salesman type of
organization. Mr. G is not willing to accept the fact he is not a manager.
He is task oriented, not goal oriented. “
“He has a conflict understanding the difference between profitability and
bigness. He thinks so fast, planning strategy, he does not finishes before he
reaches for something else.”
Case Presentation

Collateral Information:
“He dips into every level of operations within the company. He fires
people, even groups of people, arbitrarily.”
“He has too many people reporting to him. Something is wrong in his
ability to trust. He is unable to delegate.”
“He has a group of star performers. Through superhuman effort they
perform on demand, but organizationally they are disasters.”
“When he gets upset, he takes no prisoners. At a meeting, he can go from
being the kindest person to being the cruelest. He can call people names
and fire them on the spot.”
Case Presentation

Case Summary I:
The Chief Executive of a high-tech company sought consultation because
of high turnover in managerial ranks and low morale.
Interviews with a sample of employees and managers disclosed that his
imaginative technical innovations were coupled with an intrusive,
impulsive, demeaning, and chaotic leadership style.
An important differential diagnostic problem was to determine whether he
was truly in the manic phase of a manic-depressive cycle, or a narcisstic
personality with borderline features.
Case Presentation

Case Conceptualization:
The consultants hypothesized that they should maintain ego boundaries
with Mr. G in a supportive context and see his paranoid features as typical
of those more likely to be found in a narcissistic character disorder.
Despite the evidence for sadistic control and for the projection of rage,
there was evidence of some soft sentimental, and tender feelings, as
reflected in his yearning for a family.
His insistence on high standards of production, on orderliness, precision,
clarity, and control are consistent with the product and the need to
maintain exacting production and clean work areas.
That these obsessive compulsive features reflect severe unresolved sadism
and controlling, vengeful behavior that drives people away seemed to be
secondary to the basic narcissism.
Case Presentation

Case Summary II:
Determining the latter to be the case, the consultants took a firm stand,
refusing to be intimidated by him, and recommended a course of action
that supported his cognitive recognition of the rational reasons for his
behavior.
An alternative (recommendation was made) that would sustain his
capacity and his narcissistic gratification.
Case Presentation

1. O’Roark, A. M. (2007). Guidelines for Education and Training at the
Doctoral and Postdoctoral Levels in Consulting
2. O'Roark, A. M. (2007). The best of consulting psychology 1900-2000:
Insider perspectives. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and
Research, 59(3), 189.
3. Division History. (n.d.). APA Divisions. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from
http://www.apadivisions.org/division-13/about/history/index.aspx.
4. Levinson, H., Sabbath, J., & Connor, J. (1992). Bearding the lion that
roared: A case study in organizational consultation. Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice and Research; Consulting Psychology Journal:
Practice and Research
References

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