Group Benefits

What is the Employee Assistance Program?

Your EAP is a voluntary, confidential counselling service that allows you and your eligible family members to discuss personal or work-related problems and concerns in an understanding and professional environment away from the workplace. Short-term, solution-focused counselling is provided. The program is designed to help you with personal or work-related problems, pressures, and stress before they lead to more serious difficulties.

The church's EAP is available to all active Group Insurance Plan members and their eligible family members (as defined in the Group Insurance Plan), and candidates and their families.

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How does the EAP work?

Contact is made directly by you or a family member to Shepell.fgi. The toll-free telephone line is answered by counsellors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For first-time appointments and counselling:

• 1-800-387-4765 (English)
• 1-800-361-5676 (French)

For administrative matters, appointment changes, office locations, directions, and general information, please call 1-888-814-1328.

An in-person appointment with a counsellor is arranged within three to five working days from the time of the call. In urgent situations, every attempt will be made to see the individual on the same day as the call is made. Occasionally, the question or problem can be fully dealt with in the initial phone call.

Shepell.fgi has recently launched a new online wellness website, WorkHealthLife.com. Visit this site to

• access support for your work, health, and life
• link to resources and interactive tools to help you manage your health and well-being
• find information about how the EAP has helped others and ways it can support you too

Whether you need help managing everyday stress, handling life as a parent, or making better food choices, WorkHealthLife.com offers secure and confidential support around the clock.

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Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of your EAP. Counsellors work within a strict code of professional ethics, within the limits of the law. They observe the same rules of confidentiality that are used in hospitals or other clinical settings.

The commitment to confidentiality ensures that when you use the EAP you will in no way jeopardize your work situation. In fact, the EAP is likely to be of benefit because counselling may help you resolve problems that might otherwise affect your job performance.

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What information does the United Church receive about the use of the EAP?

The only information provided to the United Church by Shepell.fgi is statistical data about the users of the service and the types of problems they bring to the program. The information is presented in number format only and in no way identifies particular individuals as having used the service. The confidentiality of the program is critical to the use of the program.

This statistical data is presented to the church's EAP Committee, which reviews the data to identify particular patterns and concerns that need to be addressed organizationally. The committee reports annually to the General Council Executive through the Human Resources Committee.

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What kinds of problems or concerns does the EAP deal with?

The EAP deals with problems and concerns in the following areas:

• stress (including job-related): Includes access to Mastering Stress, an Internet-based program offering a unique way to manage the stress in your life.
• childcare and eldercare: Family Matters identifies a broad range of childcare and eldercare resources and information to meet your specific requirements (care centres, emergency backup options, special needs services). The parentingPLUS Kit, a video and series of booklets for new parents, is also available.
• pastoral care supervision: Counsellors are available to assist in identifying, reflecting on, and dealing with counselling-related issues that may arise for plan members whose own work includes providing pastoral care to others.
• anxiety and depression
• marriage and relationships
• personal and emotional issues
• family and parenting
• career and vocation
• grief
• health
• nutrition
• smoking cessation
• alcohol and drugs
• gambling
• financial consultation and information
• legal consultation, information, and referral
• trauma response: For tragic situations that affect groups of plan members, the EAP provides immediate telephone assessment of the event, followed by specialist on-site interventions designed to reduce the traumatic impact for those involved.

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Is using the EAP mandatory if personal problems interfere with work performance?

No—participation is always voluntary. There are no mandatory referrals. However, an employer can suggest using the program.

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Who pays for the EAP?

The EAP is an employer-paid program. There is no cost to those who use it. Each employer and employing unit pays a monthly premium for each employee who is a member of the church's Group Insurance Plan. That premium includes the amount needed to cover the costs for candidates and for plan members on long-term disability.

The premium paid by employers and employing units is determined by the church's EAP Committee, subject to approval from the Human Resources Committee and the General Council Executive. The premium is set at a level that is sufficient to cover Shepell.fgi's fees for services, as well as all the church's operational expenses related to the EAP (staff time, committee expenses, and travel subsidies).

In situations where specialized or long-term counselling is required, the counsellor will discuss with you or your family member the appropriateness of a referral to a professional or an agency in your community. Any fees for these services outside the EAP are your responsibility. However, some of these services may be covered by your provincial or the church's health plan.

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Why an Employee Assistance Program?

The EAP provides the United Church with another vehicle to express its care for the people who serve it as ministry personnel, overseas personnel, lay personnel, General Council employees, and candidates. It offers an opportunity for the church to seek the wellness and well-being of its employees and candidates for ministry and their families, and to enhance the ability of the United Church to offer ministry and seek shalom in the wider community. An EAP provides services that contribute to the wellness of the minds, bodies, and souls of its participants and, by extension, of those they serve.

The availability of EAP services counters the tendency in ministry to "go it alone" and to offer pastoral care without also being open to receiving it. The EAP also allows those providing staff service to the United Church opportunities to seek the care and counsel of the wider community.

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