General Information about Duke EAP

What is an EAP?

EAP stands for Employee Assistance Program. Duke EAP is a resource that offers assessment, short-term counseling, and/or referral information to employees and their immediate family (insurance eligible) FREE of charge.

Duke EAP clinicians work within a brief therapy model. EAP services are best suited for those concerns which can be resolved within a short period of time. Duke EAP also offers referrals to an outside provider for problems requiring medication and/or issues which are best addressed by long-term, open-ended psychotherapy and/or group psychotherapy.

Who is eligible?

In general, all full-time employees and their immediate family members (insurance eligible) are eligible for EAP services. Most companies also include retirees and their insurance eligible family members as eligible members. You may verify your eligibility by contacting the EAP office at 1-800-336-3853.

Are services confidential?

Duke EAP will protect your confidentiality to the fullest extent permitted by law. Except as noted below, no information of any kind is released to anyone, including your employer, without your written consent (or, in the case of a minor, your parent/legal guardian).

Exceptions to Confidentiality:

• Imminent Danger to Self or Others
  If a client informs Duke EAP of intent to harm him/herself or others, Duke EAP will be required to take reasonable steps to protect the client or others from harm and to arrange for needed professional services. In most situations, it is possible to develop a plan with voluntary consent of the client. When a voluntary plan is not possible, Duke EAP may find it necessary to contact appropriate persons without the client's consent (e.g., family members, emergency or public safety personnel, mental health professionals, law enforcement and court officials, and/or any person specifically threatened by a client).
  
  
• Child or Elder Abuse or Neglect
  If a client informs Duke EAP of behavior toward a child or a mentally incompetent or elder adult which might lead Duke EAP to suspect abuse or neglect, Duke EAP is required to notify appropriate state authorities. These authorities are empowered by the state to conduct an investigation, to take appropriate steps to protect suspected victims of abuse or neglect, and to seek appropriate legal remedies.
  
  
• Authorized Legal Access
  Lawyer and insurance requests for records are authorized only with the written permission of the client or formal subpoena by a court.

What do services cost?

The best part of the EAP is that services are free of charge. If your issue is assessed by an EAP counselor and your issues are determined to be resolvable within Duke EAP short-term counseling, you will have up to the maximum session limit as defined by your company. If your issue is not resolvable within short-term counseling, your EAP counselor will refer you to a counselor in the community that is best suited to address your needs. Once you are referred outside of Duke EAP, you will be fully responsible for payment to your provider either through insurance or out-of-pocket.

Credentials of EAP counselors?

Duke EAP's providers are licensed professionals who have been credentialed and carefully screened. Our providers have a minimum of a master's degree in an allied mental health field. Most of our mental health providers are doctoral level licensed clinical or counseling psychologists and master's or doctoral level social workers.

What happens when you call?

When you call Duke EAP (1-800-336-3853 or 919-286-1244) to make an appointment, a staff member will ask you for the following information:

• your name and the name of the family member for whom you are making the appointment, if someone other than yourself;
• the name of the company for which the employee works (and the location if the company has more than one location);
• the employee's job title;
• home and work phone numbers. (You may indicate if you do not want to be contacted at home or work, or do not wish to have messages left at one or both numbers.);
• whether you or a family member have even been seen by Duke EAP;
• whether you are currently in treatment with another counselor;
• a brief description of the problem. It is up to you to decide how much information to give. A brief description, such as "job stress" or "marital problems" is usually more than adequate. This information provides your counselor with an idea of your concerns and can allow him/her to do some advance preparation, depending on the issue.

Once the staff member has documented this background information, she will assist you in setting up an initial appointment with an EAP counselor in your area.

Note: If you are seeking services on behalf of a child, you will be asked to come to the first session without the child. This initial session will enable you to explain your concerns regarding your child.

What happens at the first appointment?

When you arrive, you will be asked to sign a consent for treatment and to fill out an intake form (you need to have Adobe Acrobat to view) which asks:

• basic demographic information, such as age, marital status, and education level;
• if you have ever had any counseling in the past and, if so, the nature of the issues for which you received counseling;
• whether or not you have any current medical problems;
• how often you are concerned or bothered by problems, such as "feeling anxious/stressed" or "difficulty sleeping."

This form allows the counselor to gather important information and frees session time for you to discuss the issues of most importance to you.

Although some clients feel their issue has been addressed sufficiently after one session, most individuals benefit from multiple sessions. Duke EAP provides counseling for issues that can be handled within a brief time frame. While most issues brought to EAP can be addressed within a few sessions, other issues are more complicated or longstanding, and cannot be handled within the scope of EAP. If you have an issue that may take longer to address, it is important to start with a counselor who can continue working with you until the issue is resolved - rather than begin with one counselor and then begin again with a long-term therapy provider when your sessions end. Examples of issues that are outside the scope of EAP and for which you would be referred out include: drug/alcohol abuse, longstanding depression, or chronic mental illness.

If your issue cannot be handled within the EAP, your counselor will make recommendations for resources within your community that could assist you. If you are referred to a clinician outside of EAP, those sessions will be covered under your insurance benefit.

Help after business hours?

There may be times when you need to speak with a counselor immediately. After normal business hours (8:00am-5:00pm Eastern Time) and/or on weekends, a clinician-on-call is available at all times. When you call 1-800-336-3853, the answering service will page the clinician-on-call if you indicate that you have an emergency. The clinician will return your call to provide immediate assistance.