The Handbook of Organizational Consulting Psychology[1] provides an overview of specific areas of study and application within the field.
"[4] The generic model encompasses all kinds of consulting, starting with Entry, moving through Diagnosis and Implementation and ending with an explicit Disengagement.
[5] The consultant functions assesses the client, makes a diagnosis and recommends changes to the consultee, typically a teacher, physician or other care providers.
This model employs systems theory to improve productivity or to streamline the relationship between an organization and its environment.
They are usually reserved to help attorneys and insurance companies to evaluate the risks of lawsuits and/or the application of settlement.
Urie Bronfenbrenner's model of ecological systems theory is a framework for navigating the challenges of consulting in community psychology.
Consulting psychologists who have helped to develop the field include Clayton Alderfer, Chris Argyris, Elliott Jaques, Harry Levinson, and Edgar Schein.
More recent authors include Arthur Freedman, Dale Fuqua, Richard Kilburg, Rodney L. Lowman, Jody Newman, Ann O'Roark, David Peterson, Sharon Robinson-Kurpius, Peter Sorensen, and Len Sperry.
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Division 14 of the APA, is another professional association of which many consulting psychologists are members.
Existing codes of ethics for the helping professions provide limited guidance for consultation practice.