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The Practitioner Conection |
The right help at the right time!EAP WORK LIFE SERVICES - Whatever You Need, Think EAPToday’s households may be full of stressors, including dual working parents, child and elder care demands, and relationship problems as well as financial and legal issues. These stressors can lead to lack of focus and decreased productivity in the workplace – and in some cases, to depression or substance abuse. An EAP can be an effective tool to address all the concerns that impact an individual’s well-being. It is important to remember that EAP offers more than provider referrals for clinical issues. The EAP provides individuals and their families with information, educational materials, community resources and a wide range of referral sources for a variety of needs. Work/life services are fully integrated into our EAP and support our philosophy of a “whole person” approach to ensure effective care. An individual struggling with depression or a substance abuse issue may identify multiple life stressors that trigger symptoms or pose barriers to accessing treatment. For example, there might be financial stressors or difficulties finding appropriate child care which prevent a person from participating in a treatment program. Another individual may be overwhelmed trying to find appropriate care for an aging parent who has now become a full-time responsibility. What to do about legal issues surrounding a recent DUI or estate planning or a pending foreclosure? EAP work/like services can offer help for these issues and many more. For the average person, resolving such issues can require considerable time and effort. For an individual dealing with mental health or substance abuse issue, these issues might seem impossible to resolve. Dedicated work/life specialists with specialized education, training and direct, practical work experience in designated disciplines such as childcare, eldercare, adoption and education, are available to find resources for whatever the need. Work/life services will provide up to 3-5 qualified referrals within 12 business hours (6 hours in an emergency). A qualified referral means that the specialist will call every provider to find a providers who meet the individual’s criteria, ha ve vacancies or available appointments and are taking new clients. A work/life specialist typically makes 50 calls to find one child care vacancy and 100 calls to find one senior care vacancy. This is a tremendous time saver for the individual needing these services. Appropriate licensure and accreditations are also verified. Not only are qualified referrals provided, but the work/life specialist will also provide materials to assist an individual in choosing the right provider. Materials such as how to interview child care/elder care providers, comparisons of services (daycare verses in-home care, nanny services or an au pair), and criteria for selecting a preschool, are just a few examples. Work/life services can find resources for people considering adoption (private, state adoption specialist, national adoption organizations and support groups), information on prenatal care, pet care (veterinarians, pet sitting resources, insurance), summer camp and after school programs for children, camps and programs for children with special needs, temporary back-up care for children or seniors (sick care and drop-in providers, weekend/holiday care, in-home care agencies). Do you have a client who is struggling with debt, looking for help with debt consolidation or budgeting strategies? Work/life specialists can provide information and make referrals to financial resources to help. Through EAP’s work/life services, participants have access to a 30-minute free legal consultation for civil, personal/ family, and divorce issues, credit, business, real estate, IRS and estate planning. Identity Theft Benefit is available to all EAP participants with full-service and premium-service EAP. Eligible participants can call EAP to report an identity theft event and receive a 60-minute free consultation with a Fraud Resolution Specialist who will work through seven emergency response activities to help restore identity and good credit. The specialist can counsel on how to notify the proper authorities, agencies and creditors, provide forms or letters for reporting and itemizing each fraudulent occurrence and advise on how to dispute fraudulent debts. The work/life services noted above are not an exhaustive list. When a participant identifies a stressor, encourage that individual to call EAP. Chances are that EAP can help . Other Featured Articles:NATIONAL CARE CENTER'S DEPRESSION PREVENTIVE HEALTH PROGRAM
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