Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Perhaps the EAP (short for Employee Assistance Programme) has been a familiar concept in your organisation for many years, or maybe it has recently been launched and you’re keen to receive some practical information?

Or perhaps the EAP is completely unknown territory, and you’re not sure in which circumstances you can take advantage of it? This newsletter is intended to inform you about how the EAP can assist you during personal or professional difficulties.

Personal problems can influence how you function at work. And vice-versa. EAP provides you with professional information, advice and counselling on your personal questions and problems. We provide you with rapid, discreet and solution-oriented support. This always takes place with the help of an expert in a quick and accessible way, and is entirely free of charge for you as an employee. It will strengthen your resilience and vitality, and leave you better equipped to deal with new challenges. We know just how difficult it can be to ask for help. That’s why Pulso provides a variety of accessible EAP contact options. Such as contacting us by telephone. In this instance, you’ll initially come into contact with a case manager. Your case manager will examine your requirements in consultation with yourself and, based on this, offer the most practical form of counselling. You can additionally opt for telephone coaching sessions (video calling is also available) or concise (solution-oriented) psychological counselling, again by telephone or face-to-face. Face-to-face consultations always take place in the coach or psychologist’s own practice and outside of working hours. The telephone counselling option enables you to schedule sessions from your own home or during work breaks, eliminating travel time. Moreover, telephone counselling is highly effective for a large variety of issues, as it gets to the heart of the problem very quickly.

The contact method is invariably determined in consultation with yourself, to ensure that you can get started with the most appropriate form of counselling. The online platform, APPA (www.appa-online.eu), has also recently been added. This platform allows you to find a suitable match for your particular situation or problem in our database of psychologists and coaches, after which you can schedule an immediate appointment. The same quality and service provision, with a different approach. You might not always feel the need to discuss your situation with a case manager. Perhaps you already know exactly what you’re looking for or need? In that case you can skip the first step and make an immediate appointment with an expert in your local area. Should your situation require more personal case management, or should the APPA platform identify that you don’t yet have a clear view on your requirements, then our case managers are, of course, still available to offer you that personal help and support. Please note: this is currently only available for psychosocial questions. The EAP offers you support and advice, and provides rapid assistance by telephone, video calling and face-to-face. Our goal is to provide the help that you need as quickly, pleasantly and efficiently as possible.

To discover what services the EAP provides, please browse the informative eap-online.eu online platform. This contains information about how the service provision works, which services you are entitled to and the ways in which you can contact us. You can also visit our library for advice on a variety of well-being and health-related topics, including physical health and lifestyle, psychosocial well-being, relationships and communication, career, etc. You needn’t be suffering from serious traumatic psychological issues in order to make use of the EAP. We apply a solution-oriented approach, rapidly enabling you to find help with an entire range of issues and challenges:

• Finding peace of mind
• Addressing relationship problems
• Working on your self-confidence
• Learning how to deal with conflict
• Learning how to cope with a physical disability
• Addressing difficulties in your newly formed family unit
• Parenting issues
• Stress and burnout complaints
• …

Some feedback and testimonials from those who have already taken advantage of the EAP:

“I had a fantastic experience with the EAP, right from the very first contact. It wasn’t long before I was in tears on the telephone which, personally, I found rather uncomfortable. But the woman on the other end of the line was extremely patient and took the time to listen before promptly providing the necessary support. I felt like a weight had been lifted after this chat and was more able to bridge the gap until my first session. This took place within just one week of my initial phone call. Without the EAP, I would probably never have asked for help. They made taking that first tentative step considerably easier for me. »

“I decided to contact the EAP on account of my burnout, and was pleasantly surprised by the speed with which everything was arranged and dealt with. I had my first appointment with a therapist in my local area within 10 days, and that counselling really made a difference. The sessions, which were provided by my employer, focused heavily on reintegration, and with success. Indeed, I was back at work by the end of the programme. I recommend the EAP to anyone who wants to work on themselves and get their personal and professional life fully back on track. »

“I hesitated for a long time before getting in touch. Psychologists and the like, well that was uncharted waters and I had a hard time reconciling myself to the idea. But once my situation became more pressing, a colleague advised me to contact them. And I did so, despite my reservations. It turned out to be advice that I should have heeded far sooner! I'm glad I did it.”

“I contacted the EAP because I had a conflict with an immediate colleague, which was having a significant impact on our working relationship. I had scheduled a meeting with the colleague concerned and wanted to prepare for this as thoroughly as possible. I was able to do so thanks to the people from the EAP. The support and advice that they gave me helped me feel greatly empowered and much more confident.”

“Things had not been going very well between me and my boyfriend for quite some time. We were arguing a lot and I was becoming increasingly distant. I was aware that I was instigating the majority of our arguments, so I started looking for help via the EAP. Together with a coach, we began exploring how I could repair the relationship and whether leaving was actually the right decision. Without the help of that coach I would have continued to focus on all that was wrong with our relationship. We’re already arguing a lot less, and I’m continuing to work on myself.”