This article describes mental health consultation in school systems from a developmental perspective. The author observes, based on his experiences as a psychological consultant to a number of suburban school systems, that the type of consultative services requested may vary as a function of the relationship between the consultant and the system. As this relationship develops in depth and complexity, the consultation contract expands from case consultation to programme consultation and finally to organizational consultation. Prerequisite conditions necessary for successful consultation by an independent consultant are described.
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