What consultation looks like in home visiting: a session with Parents as Teachers

On October 16, 2026, Shai Idelson and Neal Horen joined Parents as Teachers(opens in a new tab) on its implementation support call to talk about infant and early childhood mental health consultation in home visiting.

Consultation isn't therapy. A consultant works through the adults: home visitors, supervisors and program leaders, who in turn support families. In home visiting, that often looks like a weekly meeting where a home visitor talks through what they saw on a visit and plans how to respond.

The session covered:

• How consultation differs from reflective supervision. Reflective supervision looks back so you can process. Consultation also looks forward, so you can respond the next time.
• The evidence in home visiting, including work in Michigan and Illinois where home visitors grew in reflective capacity, felt more capable and were more responsive with families.
• Access. Only about one in five of the states we spoke with had a structured consultation program for home visiting.
• What the Center is doing about it: a directory of local consultants, virtual consultation from Georgetown consultants, and training programs' own staff.

Two in three people who train with us stay in the roles they already hold, such as home visiting supervisor or coordinator, and use consultation skills there. The recording runs 17 minutes.

No consultant for your home visitors yet? Georgetown consultants start within days. See how virtual consultation works.