C4P4: A Consultation Checklist
Landy Gobes
Abstract
The C4P4 Checklist-(Contact, Contract,
Context, Content, Process, Parallel process,
Professional level of development, and Plan
for the future)-is both an organizing tech-
nique and a memory aid for consultants.
Consultation is differentiated from supervi-
sion and training.
The checklist presented in this article is a
memory aid (4 Cs and 4 Ps) and an organizing
technique for a consultant to use in each con-
sultation session. It is not an exhaustive listing
of the components of consultation, supervision,
or training. The C4P4 checklist is designed for
consultation rather than for supervision or train-
ing because it does not address the long-term
needs of the supervisee or the relationship
issues between trainer and trainee.
The transactional analysis literature contains
four major articles that address supervision and
training. Barnes (1977) described techniques
for contractual supervision. Erskine (1982)
outlined approaches to supervision of
psychotherapy and organized them according
to stages of professional development. Zalcman
and Cornell (1983a, 1983b) created two three-
dimensional frameworks to illustrate clinical
supervision. Finally, Loria (1983) wrote about
the necessity for sound educational principles
in TA training.
These four articles described in different
ways the process of training a psychotherapist.
To train, according to Webster's Dictionary
(1983), is "to form by instruction, discipline,
or drill," "to teach so as to make fit, qualified,
The author wishes to acknowledge the support of the
members ofthe Professional Development Seminar of the
Institute ofIntegrative Psychotherapy, Kent, Connecticut,
U.S.A., and the ideas ofServaas van Beekum, Helen Camp-
bell, and Julie Hay in the formulation of this article.
42
or proficient," and "to make prepared .
for a test of skill" (p. 1251). Supervision is
defined as ,. a critical watching and directing"
(p. 1185). Both words, training and supervi-
sion, imply a long-term process of professional
development that is directed by another
professional.
A consultant, however, is "one who gives
professional advice or services" (Webster's
Dictionary, 1983, p. 282). One implication of
this definition is that a consultant may work on
a short-term basis and does not necessarily have
a relationship with or ongoing responsibility for
the consultee.
The C4P4 Checklist (Table 1) is a useful and
easily memorized framework which contains
eight components of the consultation process.
Although the components are listed in the usual
order of attention, this order may vary from
session to session. These components are
monitored by the consultant at two levels,
namely, the process between the consultant and
the consultee and the process between the con-
sultee and his or her client.
Table 1
The C4P4 Checklist
Contact
Contract
Context
Content
Process
Parallel Process
Professional Level
of Development
Plan for the
Future
Transactional Analysis Journal

Elements of the C4P4 Checklist
Contact. The consultant's ability to be in con-
tact with the consultee is crucial to good con-
sultation. "Contact is the full awareness of in-
ternal desires, needs, perceptions, emotions, or
thoughts, with the concomitant ability to shift
to full awareness of what and who is in the
environment-a rapid oscillation between the
internal and the external, between the self and
the other person" (Erskine & Moursund, 1988,
pp. 48-49). While remaining available for con-
tact, the consultant notices the degree of con-
tact he or she experiences with the consultee
in the consultation session. In addition, the con-
sultant considers the degree to which the con-
sultee and the client are in contact. The con-
sultant notices interruptions to the contact, who
interrupts, what aspects of the contact are in-
terrupted, and in what way. Blocked and
tangential transactions are two examples of in-
terrupted contact (Mellor & Schiff, 1975,
p. 305).
Contract. Berne (1966) defined a contract as
"an explicit bilateral commitment to a well-
defined course of action" (p. 362). A consul-
tant establishes such a contract for the consulta-
tion process and also determines whether the
consultee has a clear and valid contract with
the client. Steiner (1974) stated that the four
basic requirements of a valid contract are
mutual consent, consideration, competency,
and a lawful object (pp. 243-250). Being in
good contact and establishing an operational
contract are essential components of the pro-
cess between consultant and consul tee as well
as the process between consultee and client.
Context. Context is "the interrelated condi-
tions in which something exists or occurs"
(Webster's Dictionary, 1983, p. 283). One of
the first tasks of consultation is to determine
the context of the consultation problem. For ex-
ample, a consultee might ask, "What do I do
when my client cancels her appointment?" The
answer depends upon the context. Some of the
contextual questions the consultant might ask
are: Why did the client cancel? Is this a new
client? Has this happened in the past? What is
your usual policy for cancellation? These and
other questions explore the context of both the
client's and the consultee's situations.
Content. Content refers to the topics dis-
cussed in a session. The consultant considers
the content of the consultation problem and the
Vol. 23, No.1, January 1993
C4P4: A CONSULTATION CHECKLIST
content of the client problem to make sure that
important elements are not being overlooked.
For example, if the client mentions suicide or
violence, the consultant ascertains that the con-
sultee has taken appropriate action for the safety
and protection of those involved.
Process. Process describes all that happens
between people in a consultation or therapy ses-
sion. The consultant monitors the process be-
tween the consultant and the consul tee and the
process between the consultee and the client at
the social and at the psychological level. At the
social level, for example, the consultant might
notice the time structuring and stroking patterns
within a therapy group, a classroom, or a com-
pany. At the psychological level of process, a
consultant might investigate transferential and
contertransferential issues.
Parallel process. Clarkson (1991) described
parallel process as "the interactional field of
the therapist/patient field replicated in the
therapist/supervisor field" (p. 181). She con-
tinued, "Any combination of patient and
therapist reactions to each other thus forms a
dynamic field which is manifested in the super-
visory relationship and referred to as parallel
process" (p. 181). Thus the consultant deter-
mines if the process of the client's session is
recurring in the consulting session. The con-
sultant needs to be aware of and to avoid the
human tendency toward parallel process. For
example, if the client is vague and long-winded,
and if the consultee is also tending toward lo-
quacity, then a crisp, concise response from the
consultant is in order.
Professional experience level. The profes-
sional experience level of a consultee is deter-
mined by subjectively rating his or her ex-
perience and competency. A consultee is rated
as a beginning, an intermediate, or an advanced
clinician, educator, or organizational trainer.
The style of consultation varies with the con-
sultee's level of professional development
(Erskine, 1982). The appropriate support for
a beginner would not meet the needs of an in-
termediate practitioner and might even be in-
sulting to someone who is highly skilled.
A beginner needs support, encouragement,
and information. Consultation will be more ef-
fective for the beginner if the consultant em-
phasizes what the consultee has done correctly
and gives him or her one new piece of infor-
mation, rather than pointing out the myriad of
43
LANDY GOBES
things that the beginner has left undone. With
an intermediate practitioner, however, a con-
sultant can use a more challenging approach.
For example, the evocative use of questions,
such as: "Why did you take that direction?"
can help an intermediate professional to solidify
his or her thinking. With an advanced profes-
sional, a consultant might ask an expanding
type of question, such as: "How could you
have done that work differently?" or "From
what other theoretical framework could you
consider this issue?" This approach might
allow the advanced consultee to solve his or her
own problem by looking at it from an additional
perspective.
Plan for the future. To finish the consulta-
tion session, the consultant ascertains that there
are future plans for both the consultee and the
client. These may be treatment plans in a
clinical setting, or they may be any type of ac-
tion plan. This allows for continuity and pro-
vides a sense of closure.
Summary
The C4P4 Checklist is a memory aid and an
organizing technique. By jotting down this list
at the beginning of a consultation session, a
consultant can attend to each area of concern.
Even though the checklist is designed to be used
in a consultation session, a supervisor or trainer
who works within the context of a longer train-
ing relationship may sometimes use the
checklist as a framework for an individual
supervisory session.
Landy Gobes, M. S. w., is a Teaching and
Supervising Transactional Analyst (Clinical).
44
She maintains a private practice in psycho-
therapy and training in West Hartford, Con-
necticut, U.S. A. , and is a Fellow ofthe Institute
for Integrative Psychotherapy ofNew York City.
Please send reprint requests to Landy Gobes,
1168 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford, CT
06110, U.S.A.
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