Employee Assistance Programs

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are workplace human services that make up part of the fringe benefits system found in employment. EAPs constitute an important facet of diversity in human services because they are an important point of access to behavioral health services for U.S. workers who would otherwise not have access to prevention and treatment services for mental health and substance abuse issues.

Approximately 65 percent of U.S. employers offer EAP services to their employees and their families. EAPs were designed to identify and address issues related to employees whose personal problems impacted their performance at work. The core functions of EAPs later broadened to helping workplaces improve the health and productivity of the overall organization by providing consultation, training, and evaluation to strategic business groups within organizations as a way to promote the organizations' investment in human capital, address the costs of doing business, and minimize business risk. At the individual employee level, EAPs address issues encountered by troubled employees through the use of professional human service skills to identify, assess, refer, and/or treat employees and their families. Key health and wellness concerns addressed by EAPs are mental health, substance abuse, and marital, financial, legal, and stress-related issues that affect job performance.

EAP professionals come from a variety of health professions (psychologists, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse specialists, occupational nurses, and occupational social workers) and work in a range of settings (hospitals, mental health clinics, unions, EAP companies, managed care organizations, and employer organizations). EAP counselors typically have a master's degree in one of the human services fields; some hold a designation as a Certified Employee Assistance Counselor (CEAC).

Employees can access EAP services under a voluntary or mandatory referral process. Voluntary referrals are made through a self-referral process (or at the suggestion of a supervisor, colleague, or friend). Mandatory referrals are usually the outcome of a corrective strategy made by supervisors when an employee is not meeting performance standards. Employees can access services by telephone, in person, or over the Internet, typically depending on the location of the services themselves. On-site programs provide services to employees at the workplace. Off-site programs provide services to employees in the community. Many employers offer their employees a combination of on-site, off-site, and Web-based services.