Independent Therapeutic Educational Consultants
What Is a Therapeutic Educational Consultant?
Therapeutic educational consultants are professionals who provide advocacy, assessments, guidance and support for families who are researching behavioral or mental health treatment for their struggling pre-teen, troubled teen or young adult.
Educational consultants maintain a high degree of knowledge around treatment options, including outpatient treatment programs and residential treatment centers, as well as alternative settings like therapeutic boarding schools and wilderness therapy programs.
Therapeutic educational consultants can be thought of as the coach of your family’s mental health treatment team.
These individuals often have backgrounds in behavioral health, counseling, independent schools or special education, and many have experience with addiction and substance abuse, and as interventionists.
They are also often members of the Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA) or the Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA). These two organizations are highly respected for their integrity and provision of quality standards for educational consultants and referring professionals to adhere to.
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Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)
The Independent Educational Consultants Association is a not-for-profit professional association for Independent Educational Consultants, broadly speaking. The IECA is a 1,000+ member international organization for both therapeutic-specific professionals and general consultants. The general consultants support families with College Admission Advising, Day and Boarding School Advising, and Graduate and Professional School Advising.
Some Consultants specialize just in Therapeutic support, and others also do general consulting. A therapeutic consultant focuses on Learning Disability/Neurodiversity Advising, Therapeutic Needs: crisis intervention, supporting parents with children with oppositional behaviors, and other emotional/behavioral difficulties, and finding the most suitable solutions.
Please visit IECA website to learn more or reach out to us and we are happy to orient you or connect you with a Consultant near you or specializes in your needs.
Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA)
Unlike The IECA, The Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA) is a not-for-profit professional association uniquely created just for therapeutic educational consultants. Therapeutic consultants are experts with deep knowledge and experience of schools and programs, and of other support services that may benefit your family. The association is dedicated to advancing the field of Therapeutic Educational Consulting through “collaboration, training and education, outcome-based research, support of ethical standards, and an ongoing review of best practices”.
The TCA is not a placement organization, and it does not endorse or certify individual programs. Parents are encouraged to contact TCA members directly for guidance on specific programs and support.
It is against the TCAs code of ethics for them to receive any payments from programs.
Please visit TCA website for more information or feel free to contact us and we are happy to share more about the TCA or connect you with some appropriate Consultants.
A great educational consultant is key when choosing the right therapeutic program for your child
Why Do Families Need a Therapeutic Education Consultant?
Making the decision to hire a therapeutic educational consultant to guide your family is important, because they will not only provide their recommendations and referrals while educational consulting, but they will ensure the care your loved one receives is comprehensive and effective.
Below are a few additional benefits of working with an educational consultant through a therapeutic placement process:
- Advocate on behalf of the parents and teenager
- Are highly experienced in matching a young person’s needs with the strengths of the residential program, therapeutic program, transition program or school
- Have often visited the clinicians and programs they recommend
- Know the facts behind the program, school literature and website
- Part of a nationwide network of other placement specialists and providers they can tap into to find the right help for your family
- Save parents money by helping them avoid common "mistakes"
Embark Behavioral Health has a long history of working with therapeutic educational consultants to ensure families are being treated at the right program, for the right reason, at the right time.
Reach out to us and we can help connect you with a trusted Educational Consultant in your area.
