THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION - DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ABOUT EPISTEMOLOGY AND WHAT WE KNOW

The astute reader, after some of the previous two articles, will note a fundamental difference: We (Witt, Gresham, & Noell, this issue) prop ose that data supporting the efficacy of behavioral consultation (BC) is such that we would categorize BC as ''Not Proven Effective'' and Er chul and Schulte (this issue), with some qualification, argue that BC should be categorized as ''Proven Effective.'' The differences between the two articles derive from important epistemological, logical, and philosophical differences about the accrual of data into a systematic body of knowledge. In this article, we highlight the areas of differen ce with the goal of improving our knowledge base about BC, which we ho pe continues to evolve as a practice and a science. We address three t opics: (a) epistemology, (b) functional analysis versus problem analys is, and (c) efficiency versus effectiveness.