If you’re wondering if it’s time to talk to someone in your Employee Assistance Program (EAP), it probably is.
That’s the advice of Dave Welscher, manager of the St. Elizabeth Employee Assistance Program, which offers counseling to households of employees who work for about 70 Northern Kentucky employers.
How do I know I should talk with an EAP?
“I think if anybody has any questions or any doubt in their mind, of whether or not it might be helpful to talk with a therapist, it’s probably a good time to talk with a therapist ““ in particular, an EAP therapist, because it’s free, and it’s confidential,” Welscher said. “So really, all you have to lose is an hour of your life to find out if it could be helpful.”
“Life’s hard,” he says. “And seeing a therapist can sometimes sand down some of the rougher edges and make it easier.”
EAP therapists talk with a lot of couples ““ and not just the ones at the edge of divorce. Many husbands and wives realize their marriages could be better, and they’re looking for tools and strategies to improve them, along with communication skills in their home lives.
EAP programs evolve through the years
Historians say programs to help employees began in the 1940s and focused on alcoholism. That focus broadened around the 1970s to include mental-health issues and drug addictions. Today’s programs are far broader, generally taking in a variety of issues. They offer anger-management strategies and help people relieve stress by dealing with problems like child-raising issues or caring for aging parents.
How EAPs can help you
Many people covered by EAPs don’t realize EAPs can help with addictions of their parents, children or partners. Many others already use EAPs for such help.
“My advice to people when we do orientations for companies is, ‘Nobody needs therapy, but everyone can benefit from it,’” Welscher says. “So you have very little to lose if there’s something that you could be doing better, learn a new coping strategy, help with some perspective, some insight, any of those things, whether it be managing your stress on the job, improving your parenting skills, improving your overall coping, improving your communication skills in a marriage or in a partnership, any of those things.”
Here’s another group of people who can be helped by EAPs, but sometimes don’t realize it, Welscher says:
“At least with our EAP ““ I can’t say it’s true with all EAPs ““ if you work for one of our companies, you have the benefit and anyone who lives in your house has the benefit.”
