FOR EMPLOYEE HEALTH, IT TAKES TWO

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and intensive virtual treatment as is offered by EHN are the right combination for the successful treatment of employees who are struggling with addiction and serious mental health disorders.

Across Canada, more than a few employees are struggling with serious mental health disorders and addiction – and it’s impacting their home life and your organization’s workplace and productivity.

EHN Canada offers effective virtual treatment services to these employees troubled by their emotional difficulties and/or addictions and whose treatment needs extend beyond short-term EAPs though their Virtual Intensive Programs. When employees need to be referred beyond their short-term EAP this option allows employees to maintain their work and home life while participating in online, face-to-face treatment that is intensive, and works with the employee through to problem resolution (as compared to frequently offered conventional residential live-in treatment).

Virtual treatment goes beyond the typical three-session model offered by many short-term EAPs and is essential to bring employees back to full mental heath. It offers significant problem resolution for substance addiction and serious mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar, as well as workplace trauma. I wholeheartedly recommend organizations offer EHN Canada’s Virtual Intensive Programs to their employees as a supplement to their EAPs.

EAPs provide the initial counselling for employees to lay the groundwork for their mental health issues and emotional difficulties, get supportive help from a caring professional, and get over the bump in the road after a “build-up” of their emotional issues. Virtual Intensive Programs offer a continuation of counselling by professionally qualified and experienced specialists especially for serious mental health issues and/or addictions through to problem resolution.?More sessions by the same counselor is not the answer.

For many Canadians, serious mental health and addiction problems affect their work and home lives. That’s where the Virtual Intensive Programs step in – after the short-term EAP. Both are extraordinarily useful and really quite necessary in the journey that employees take to return to wellness.

If an employer offers both EAPs and Virtual Intensive Programs, EAP counsellors will have a window for easy, seamless and cost-free (to the employee) psychotherapeutic treatment that is on-going and intensive with EHN. It is my opinion that employers who do this clearly understand that providing a continuum of mental health and/or addiction treatment is more than a line item in their budget – it is an investment in their employees.

The other – most important – advantage is that employees are not left with a financial barrier once their EAP sessions run out. EAP counsellors can refer them to ongoing virtual treatment. EAPs that stand alone may get the management to add a few more sessions, either by absorbing the cost, or allowing the counsellor to continue on their own, by reimbursement by the organization’s Employee Benefits Plan (which is an actual cost to the organization} or at the employee's own cost (which oft times they don't have money or don't see it as a priority among all the money demands they are juggling).

However, more sessions with that therapist are oft times not enough and not the skill level or right specialty required for the intensive treatment. Employees with a need for further therapy for complicated mental health issues and/or addictions need intensive treatment like that offered by EHN Canada.

Their Virtual Intensive Programs consist of an 8-week program with 9 hours of treatment per week with both individual and group therapy. This is followed by 10 months of Aftercare which allows them to provide ongoing support and avoid relapse. EHN Canada has staff specially trained in delivering effective virtual treatment and staff who will work with your employees when specialized, thorough, and intensive help is needed for their mental health and/or addiction difficulties.

In my many years of counselling experience I believe EHN Canada’s virtual treatment as a supplement to EAPs result in metrics more likely to be robust in their measure of success especially in cutting disability costs.?

The best mental health treatment opportunity you can provide and promote to all of your employees is both an EAP and a Virtual Intensive Program.

#EAPs #EHN #SERIOUSMENTALHEALTHISSUES #ADDICTIONS

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