What is a Therapeutic & Educational Consultant?
Independent Consultants are professionals who assist clients and families with educational and therapeutic decision-making. A Consultant’s role requires them to understand the family and client well and know the educational and therapeutic institutions intimately. Our role is part counselor, part matchmaker and part case manager. Not all consultants provide the same services or have the same level of expertise and/or experience. Be sure to ask consultants you are considering partnering with the following questions:
What is your relevant experience & training?
How long have you been consulting? How many clients have you placed?
What professional organizations are you a member of?
Do you work full-time as a placement consultant?
Do you have a clinical training and/or or direct experience working in treatment programs?
How accessible are you?
Do you work with families on an hourly, term or per-placement basis?
What is the value of a Therapeutic & Educational Consultant?
Educational and Therapeutic Consultants do not “place” students. We are active stakeholders in a process which serves clients and families and helps them make informed decisions regarding the myriad of options which exist - locally, nationally, and beyond. While the professional networks or experience of part-time referrers may yield some valuable ideas, our entire practice is focused on understanding, visiting, monitoring, and constantly evaluating educational and treatment options for clients and families. Our expertise is rooted in our experience with a breadth of options as well as our in-depth and specialized understanding of the nuances involved in evaluating treatment and educational options.
While there are some “treatment options” we categorically avoid (i.e. boot-camps, conversion therapy, or other interventions which lack clinical or educational sophistication), the reality is that there is no such thing as a “great program” - there is just “great fit.”
Helping families find and evaluate the fit - that alignment between the current and evolving needs of a client and the current services from an organization - means that our job is to keep up on milieu makeup, changes to programming, facilities, organizational leadership, availability among specific clinicians, and a host of other factors which go in to understanding the individualized “fit” for each client. This specialized expertise takes a full-time commitment to our profession. When this knowledge is leveraged, in a cohesive and holistic team-based approach which takes into account the experience and insight of all stakeholders, we are able to identify and support the best and most-lasting outcomes for our clients. Working with a Therapeutic & Educational Consultant can reduce your chances of a placement failure and save you time, money and emotional energy.
Our recommendations are never based on website reviews. Nor are they based on networking with marketers or word-of-mouth. Our referrals are based on first-hand knowledge of schools and programs and relationships built by visiting them in person. Given our years of experience, it is a rare occurrence for us to recommend a placement we have not previously visited or have prior placement experience with. We connect you with families who have been in your shoes, making similar decisions. We want you to hear feedback regarding opportunities - both the good and not so good - so you can have a realistic understanding of what to expect.
We travel frequently to meet the clinicians, teachers, program directors and officers, and we gather information with the intent to gain an understanding of each program/school’s philosophy, structure and design. We walk the campus and observe staff and client interactions and we talk to clients and students currently enrolled to hear their thoughts about the placement.
We work directly for you and do not accept any compensation from programs, ever.
When it is time to look for out-of-home placement?
Our first goal is always to keep families unified. We are each parents ourselves, and have great humility in the process of raising young people in today’s world.
That said, we are usually not a family’s first stop. Our families come to us seeking help for a child or young adult who is struggling at home and/or in school and those who have typically seen (or attempted to see) a team of treatment providers and educational interventionists. Pilcrow families have often already implemented a variety of interventions with ineffective or long-lasting results.
We go to great lengths to understand your child’s diagnoses and needs, and work with your “home team” to craft, if appropriate, an out-of-home placement that can give your child the resilience to return home as soon as possible. We always favor placement in the “least restrictive” setting possible, as there is no doubt there are downsides to out-of-home treatment. We only make the recommendation for a child to attend an out-of-home placement when all other resources and interventions have been exhausted.
What am I paying for? What is included in your fee?
When a family contracts with us for a term contract, the fee covers the assessment, placement recommendations and extensive case management throughout the course of treatment. Support is provided by our team every step of the way. When the inevitable bumps occur, we are here to provide advocacy, support and guidance.
In some circumstances, partnering with our families on an hourly basis may be what is best. Please inquire with us directly if this is a path you’re interested in exploring further.
Do consultants get compensated by programs for referrals?
Absolutely not. We are truly independent and have no affiliation with any particular school or program. We adhere to the standards of our professional organizations, Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA) and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). We refer to a wide variety of schools and programs nationwide depending on the unique needs of each child we serve.