Conversations about Consultation

Dr Courtenay Barrett is an associate professor in the school psychology program at Michigan State University, a licensed psychologist, and a nationally certified school psychologist. She received a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2023 to conduct research at the University College Cork, Ireland. She is an Associate Editor at School Psychology, a former Associate Editor for the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, and a member of the Editorial Boards for the Journal of School Psychology and School Psychology Review. She currently has a gubernatorial appointment to the Michigan Board of Psychology. Her research interests are focused on implementation science, specifically consultation, coaching, and collaboration as a means to support implementation, economic evaluations of school-based programs and practices, and data-based decision-making to qualify students for special education services and the relation between these services and student outcomes. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters on these topics.

Note: this podcast episode was recorded prior to the publishing of the UK government's Schools White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving (2026)

Related Articles & Books

Clinkscales, A., Barrett, C. A., & Spear, S. E. (2024). The Role of Racial Match Between Students and Teachers in School-Based Consultation. School Psychology Review, 53(2), 123–136. https://doi-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/2372966X.2022.2087477
Barrett, C. A., Burns, M. K., Maki, K. E., Clinkscales, A., Hajovsky, D. B., & Spear, S. E. (2021, November 4). Language Used in School Psychological Evaluation Reports as Predictors of SLD Identification Within a Response to Intervention Model. School Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000485
Amna A. Agha & Courtenay A. Barrett (19 Feb 2024): Process Logs: A Tool to Promote Self-Reflection During Consultation Supervision and Document Consultee-Centered Outcomes, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2024.2318749
Barrett, C. A., Newman, D. S., & Bagasrawala, L. (2026). Paradigm compatibility within school consultation: Offering insight into consultee resistance. Journal of school psychology, 115, 101523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2025.101523

Dr Simangele Mayisela, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and a registered Educational Psychologist in practice. She was a three consecutive year(2014-2016) Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Fellow and NRF- Innovation grant holder for her Doctoral research. Among the several research awards she has received, is the Female Academic Leaders Fellow (FALF) at Wits University (2021-2022). Her primary research interest is understanding the intersection between human development and intrapsychological functions from an African perspective, psychodynamic and cultural-historical activity perspective - a multi-disciplinary paradigm. We loved speaking with Simangele about Educational Psychology practice in South Africa, her research and her perspectives on consultation.

Shannon Steven is a school psychologist who has worked in education for over 18 years and is a keen advocate for the profession. Shannon loves to learn and is passionate about the promotion of the wellbeing, and the prevention of illbeing of young people in schools and in the wider community. She has experience working across the Department of Education, Catholic Education and Independent school systems, in primary, secondary, composite and boarding contexts. Shannon is a registered teacher, has taught ATAR and has completed her Master of Psychology (Counselling) at Curtin University, and the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology (MAPPCP) at the University of East London. Shannon is a Past President of the School Psychologists Association of Western Australia (SPAWA) and the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools Association (APACS) and continues to be on the APACS committee. Shannon is currently a lead psychologist at Catholic Education WA and works part time in private practice. In todays episode we reflect on transitioning to a system-wide consultation service delivery model and what she and her colleagues are learning along the way.

Dr LeMarra Williamson is a Senior Practitioner Educational Psychologist and Academic Tutor at the University of East Anglia and the University of East London, where she contributes to the training and supervision of doctoral students on the Educational Psychology Doctorate (EdPsyD) programme. Her career combines professional practice, teaching, and research, with a strong emphasis on equality, diversity, and inclusion, and on ensuring educational psychology works in ways that empower children, families, and schools in diverse communities.
Her research and practice are underpinned by a commitment to strength-based and collaborative approaches. She has worked extensively with schools, families, and young people to move beyond deficit narratives and instead identify, amplify, and build upon existing strengths and resources.
A central contribution to the field has been her creation of the Tree of Change consultation framework, a model of practice designed to support more inclusive and positive educational psychology consultations. The Tree of Change shifts focus away from “what is wrong” towards “what is working,” by exploring existing resources and strengths (the roots), the collaborative process of consultation and shared understanding (the trunk), and the strategies, actions, and positive outcomes that emerge (the branches and leaves). Research into this framework has shown that it not only leads to more balanced and strength-focused action plans but also amplifies the voices of pupils, families, and teachers, particularly in communities where traditional models may otherwise have been deficit-based.
Dr Williamson’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including her 2022 article in Educational and Child Psychology, and she continues to supervise and support trainee educational psychologists conducting research in areas such as SEND, inclusion, and youth experiences in educational and legal contexts.
Alongside her academic role, she remains committed to her applied work as a practitioner psychologist, using consultation, assessment, and intervention to support children’s learning and wellbeing. Through her teaching, writing, and professional practice, Dr Williamson has made a distinctive contribution to the development of strength-based, inclusive educational psychology, with the Tree of Change providing a framework that bridges research, theory, and practice.
Faculty profile: https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/lemarra-williamson/

We are honoured to have with us Dr Sebastian Kraemer, a distinguished clinician, writer and honorary consultant at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust. Over the past half century, Sebastian has shared his reflections and learning with others, drawing deeply on his experiences with colleagues, patients, and their families.
After a first degree in philosophy, Dr Kraemer studied medicine, trained in paediatrics and then in psychiatry, completing his child and adolescent training at the Tavistock Clinic. He was on the clinic staff as a trainer and consultant psychiatrist from 1980 to 2003, at the same time as combining his paediatric training with systemic therapy as a consultant psychiatrist in the Whittington hospital paediatric department. Dr Kraemer has also been facilitating staff groups since the late 1970s and this is now his main work, along with a membership of a regular family therapy reflecting team, based in a north London GP surgery.
During this episode we reflect together on on the process of consultation, the use of structure and learning from working with groups. To see a list of his publication please visit his website: www.sebastiankraemer.com