Patterns of relational communication in conjoint behavioral consultation

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is a structured model of service del ivery that joins parents and teachers in collaborative problem-solving with the assistance of a consultant-psychologist (Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Berg an, 1996). CBC is carried out through the conduct of problem identification , problem analysis, and treatment evaluation interviews. In this CBC proces s study, interpersonal relationship patterns occurring within interviews we re examined using the Family Relational Communication Central Coding System (Heatherington & Friedlander, 1987). Four CBC cases, consisting of 9,696 i ndividual messages, were coded from audiotapes and verbatim transcripts. Sc ores on the variables "domineeringness" and "dominance" were calculated for each participant in order to assess patterns of relational control. Result s suggested that consultants and consultees were generally consistent with each other in their levels of domineeringness and dominance. Consultants re ceived slightly higher scores than consultees in their attempts to structur e the CBC interactions (domineeringness), and consultees received slightly higher scores than consultants with respect to influence (dominance).