If you are reading this, you may well work for an organisation that has an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). You may be aware that it exists, but how much do you know about what it actually offers?
OK, I’m going to pause here and ask if you have watched any episodes of Billions? The TV programme ran for 7 series and was set in and around a hedge fund run by Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis).
Wendy Rhoades, (Maggie Siff) a psychiatrist and performance coach, stalked the offices of Axe Capital, looking for staff to pep up, get back on their game, or manipulate into shady deals. Wendy was whip smart, gorgeous and had a wardrobe to match.
Well, much as I loved Wendy (and I did), she is NOT what I mean when I talk about EAPs
True there are some similarities, Wendy’s role was to keep Axe Capital employees working to the best of their ability (creating wealth for Axe) and companies invest in EAPs for much the same reason. I like to believe that they do this because supporting the wellbeing of their staff is reason enough, but for sure, a happy functioning workforce benefits the organisation as well. In that sense EAPs are a win-win.
So how does an EAP work?
Well, the organisation pay the EAP and the EAP pay the therapist. This means that if you, as an employee, are struggling with your mental health, you can access a short course of therapy, (typically 4- 6 sessions) free of charge.
Some important things to note.
1. The therapist has no connection to the company, and will not divulge any information about the content of the sessions.
2. By the same token, the therapist has no capacity to influence anything in your workplace, and neither is it their responsibility to do so.
3. The issue that you want support for does not have to be connected to your work place, it can be anything at all.
4. 4 or 6 sessions is not very many.
Let’s take these one by one.
1. Company connection
Wendy was employed by Axe to mould his traders to work the way he wanted and needed. He was not above abusing the therapy room’s confidentiality to influence his staff to this end. Wendy, somewhat unprincipled despite her protestations, was open to indulging this in extremis.
This is fiction.
Your EAP therapist’s responsibility is to you, and your well-being. The rules around confidentiality are the same as with any other therapy session, that is, confidentiality will only broken where there is a significant risk of harm to you or someone else. Even then, this step would ideally be taken with your consent, but at the very least with your knowledge.
2. Therapist Influence
Wendy was based in the Axe Capital offices and knew what was happening day to day, she was mired in the office politics. Axe was narcissistic, relentless driven and unsurprisingly, not very empathic, he wanted it all his way but she did occasionally try to change his mind when he was particularly demanding.
Within the EAP setting, your therapist will almost certainly be off site, and have no knowledge of how your workplace runs or have influence over it. Part of the work, can be about accepting what cannot be changed in the workplace. Over the years, my EAP clients have bought their experiences of bullying, abuse and racism at work. This is difficult to sit with and often brings up feelings of anger in me. But the work is about you, your responses, and your wellbeing. Therapy can’t change the external situation, it can only help support you and your response to it.
3. It doesn’t have to be about work.
Exactly that; you can bring anything to an EAP session. Axe didn’t really care that much about his workforce when they weren’t on the clock - which wasn’t actually that often. Your employer has set up an EAP because in contrast they do care about your wellbeing, and recognise that situations outside of work, can impact this. As I said earlier, a well workforce is a more productive workforce, so, many of life’s curve balls, irrespective of work, can be bought to EAP sessions.
4. 4 or 6 sessions is not very many.
To pick up on my last point, whilst you can bring anything, EAP work is short term and it is important to consider what is possible within the time constraints.
To put this into context, if I saw you in private practice where I could work with you in an open ended way, I would suggest giving it around 6 sessions before you even begin to think about how it is going. This is because we would have the luxury of time, which you do not with an EAP.
EAP work in contrast needs to be focused and if you can come to the first session with an idea of what you need, that is helpful. However, I know that it isn’t always that easy so, if you just don’t feel right but don’t know why, then our first session will consider what we will be able to do, and rule out that which won’t be possible.
Sometimes it becomes apparent that what has felt like a relatively small thing, is actually the straw that has broken the camel’s back. Our resilience is not limitless.
You may think of yourself as extremely resilient, you carry on regardless, coping with life. In the background however, each thing you cope with drains a little more from you. As long as you have resilience in the tank you endure and endurance becomes your normal. But, whilst you’re blithely coping with life, your reservoir empties, along comes the proverbial straw and at that point it becomes apparent that you’re out of coping capacity. Your tank is empty and so it’s time to refocus with regard to the short term work. Often it transpires that there was an emotional injury or trauma that drained a huge amount of resilience early on. You might not have noticed because you were so busy coping, but your EAP therapist will need to think about helping you transition into longer term therapy to work on the incident.
Different EAP schemes will have different rules about this. Some might extend provision, although they will have to weigh up the number of additional sessions needed alongside the work you have identified and how long this might take. Some might allow you to carry on seeing your EAP therapist at your own cost, and some might refuse this. In the latter case you will need to find a different therapist, be it privately via the NHS or low cost charities. I would expect your EAP therapist to help you navigate the options and best way forward.
The remaining sessions could then helpfully focus on helping you to manage your feelings and often physical symptoms that come with this kind of burn out.
To conclude.
So there you have it, an overview of how EAPs work. Perhaps the most important take away is that therapists work for the good of their clients in each and every setting. We are paid per session and not rewarded for outcomes, we are autonomous.
This means that an EAP is a wonderful addition to a work place, and a bonus for both the organisation and staff.
That said, Wendy was given a Maserati after a particularly difficult session - anyone?
Johanna Sartori is part of the People at Work network of therapists. She has a BA (Hons) in Integrative Relational Counselling, and is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). You can read more of her blogs on https://johannasartori.substack.com
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