Employee assistance programs: a primer for buyer and seller

Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1988 Jun;39(6):623-7. doi: 10.1176/ps.39.6.623.

Abstract

A growing number of firms in private industry now sponsor or contract with groups of mental health professionals to provide employee assistance programs (EAPs). Factors that have influenced the increasing demand for EAPs include corporations' humanitarian concern for employees with mental health problems, a desire to contain rising health costs and reduce corporate losses, and the need for effective supervisory systems for managing troubled employees. To assist corporate consumers in judging the quality of EAP services and to guide mental health practitioners who wish to enter the EAP field, criteria are provided for evaluating the following aspects of EAP programs: policy development, employee orientation, supervisor training, availability during nonbusiness hours, assessment and diagnostic services, crisis counseling, referral, quality assurance, program evaluation, and cost.

MeSH terms

  • Crisis Intervention
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / diagnosis
  • Mental Disorders / therapy
  • Occupational Health Services* / economics
  • Occupational Health Services* / organization & administration
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care
  • Referral and Consultation