Consulting psychology is a burgeoning yet sometimes underappreciated discipline whose goal is to empower clients and improve workplace functioning. In this book, Rodney Lowman describes this fulfilling and important work, translating theory and research into a succinct and accessible overview that will familiarize students, psychologists from multiple disciplines, and others with the field.

Lowman reviews how consultation helps clients at three levels — individual, group, and organizational. Using illustrative case examples, he samples issues that can arise at each level and describes appropriate tools for assessment and intervention.

The various consulting activities surveyed include

• screening potential job candidates
• coaching individuals to help them adapt to new roles and manage relationships with colleagues
• evaluating and improving work group dynamics, such as communication patterns
• working with different organizational cultures to enhance system-wide processes and structures

Leadership is given special focus as a complex topic that spans all three levels and requires the consultant to consider a host of variables. Multiculturalism and internationalism are also examined as competencies that consulting psychologists must possess in our increasingly globalized society.

Lowman also considers important professional standards and guidelines for consulting psychologists, including the APA Ethics Code.

An Introduction to Consulting Psychology may be read before or alongside other books in the Fundamentals of Consulting Psychology series as an overview to the field.

View Author Podcast: An Introduction to Consulting Psychology: Working With Individuals, Groups, and Organizations