| February 2003 |
Connections A look at issues and events that affect the global employee assistance profession. |
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| Testimony before the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
“EAPs have literally become the HMO for mental health services in the workplace. The seriousness of the cases being seen has changed dramatically through the years.” full article |
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| Notes from the EAPA European Forum Meeting
“Experience shows that EAPs take considerable time to become established in any particular country. What has worked, or is working, in other parts of the world may prove to be alien to a particular national culture.” full article |
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The Importance of Employee Assistance Programs in Mental Health Service Delivery Testimony before the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health 8 January 2003 Dale A. Masi, D.S.W. Professor, University of Maryland Graduate School of Social Work Chair, Employee Assistance Program Specialization “Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Commissioners: It is an honor to speak before you today on the subject of employee assistance programs (EAPs) and their relevance to mental health in the United States. EAPs, as they are known, are professional assessment, referral, and short-term counseling services offered to employees with emotional and substance abuse problems that may be affecting their jobs. Since their beginning 20 years ago, EAPs have grown exponentially. During the past year, 80.2 million Americans were enrolled in EAPs, a 247 percent increase from 23.1 million in 1993. EAPs also have a strong prevention component and provide outreach, education, and training to employees and managers. The events of 11 September 2001 were horrific examples of workplace violence, for which EAPs were called upon to provide thousands of critical incident stress debriefings (CISDs). One EAP alone gave 2,925 group sessions to over 39,963 employees. I come before you today to highlight the critical importance of what is occurring in the EAP field because of our country’s current problems regarding the delivery and lack of mental health services. EAPs have literally become the HMO for mental health services in the workplace. The seriousness of the cases being seen has changed dramatically through the years. EAPs, though basically short-term counseling programs, are presently dealing with all varieties of mental illness, including depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and all forms of addiction. Perhaps of greatest importance is the fact that EAPs have become the portal through which many employees and their families access their health and mental health care benefits. It is important, therefore, that EAPs have a place in the planning for mental health in this country. As more persons with a history of mental illness enter the workforce, the role of EAPs in providing support to this population can be expected to expand dramatically. Therefore, our hope is that the deliberations of the commission will keep this new and evolving role of EAPs in mind. As a major step in this direction, I am pleased to inform you of the formation of the Joint Private/Public EAP Initiative Alliance, which I presently chair. Dr. Ronald Mandersheid, chief of the Survey and Analysis Branch at SAMHSA, initiated this group, which was formed two years ago. The Alliance’s mission is to develop EAP performance guidelines and outcome measurements and encourage the accreditation of EAP programs by the Council on Accreditation. The latter represents a major development for the setting of standards and program monitoring for the entire EAP field. I thank you for this opportunity. Please be assured of the interest and willingness to assist the President’s Commission by all members of the Joint Industry Alliance.” |
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Notes from the EAPA European Forum Meeting Wiesbaden, Germany 21-22 September 2002 Richard Hopkins, forum coordinator and EAPA International Regional Director (2000-2002) Managing director, Dovedale Counselling Ltd. London, United Kingdom “There are several of us here who were involved in the early days of the EAP industry in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. We were always asking, “What is an EAP? When is it an EAP and when is it not?” In continental Europe, we may ask, “How is an EAP different from, and how can it relate to, the long tradition of occupational social work?” Our purpose here, over the next two days, is to try and elicit some answers to these questions and establish what common ground there might be between us. We are here to look at ways of working together to promote the profession, its work, and the EAP concept across Europe. The EAP industry is constantly evolving. Experience shows that EAPs take considerable time to become established in any particular country. What has worked, or is working, in other parts of the world may prove to be alien to a particular national culture. There may be shortcuts that can be taken by learning from experience elsewhere, but an initial developmental phase will always be required. Experience in the Asia-Pacific region, South Africa, and Latin America suggests that it can be very lonely when you are the one individual in your country who appears to be trying to promote the concept of employee assistance. I remember going to an EAPA conference in Boston eight years ago and feeling very encouraged to find 2,500 people there who were all interested in and talking about EAPs. That knowledge alone gave a lot of support to those of us developing EAPs in the United Kingdom at the time. Typically, in my view, there needs to be at least one of two conditions in place for EAP, as a concept, to develop in a country. First, there needs to be an in-country welfare tradition leading to the establishment of internal programs. This, then, leads to the development of external provision. Second, there is evidence to suggest that, in a country where there are multinationals (typically from the United States) that want services for both expatriate and local employees, a local EAP provider marketplace develops. Unless there is a good reason for an EAP to be put in place, however, the decision to provide a program is usually a long and difficult one. More rapid market development takes place once the business case can be made that clearly relates EAPs to the bottom line--for example, the role of EAPs in risk management in the United Kingdom.” |
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© 2003 Exhange On-Line is a publication of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, Inc. (EAPA). Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is expressly prohibited. Publication of bylined articles does not constitute endorsement of personal views of authors. Appearance of paid advertisements does not constitute endorsement by EAPA. |
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