University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Employee Assistance Program
- Check out your personal concerns
- Connect with resources
- Professional and accessible staff
- Prompt attention
- Confidential
"You can't run away from a problem. You must sometimes fight it out or perish.
And if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"
- Robert Louis Stevenson
What is it?
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a referral service for employees and their families who need help with personal problems. Everyone has problems from time to time. Some can be solved alone, while others require help.
Sometimes living in the center of a problem makes it difficult to recognize. Sometimes it can be seen but it seems there is no help - no way out of it. That is where your employee and family assistance program comes in. Simply call for an appointment to meet with a professional counselor to help you address problems in relation to the following areas: job, marriage, children, drugs, alcohol, legal matters, finances, depression, getting along with others, tobacco cessation, tension and stress.
It's Confidential
Your employer will not be informed that you are seeking help unless you request it. Your visit to the EAP counselor will not be entered in your personnel record. The program is totally confidential because UW-River Falls wants it that way.
If your problems are interfering with your job performance, your supervisor may recommend the service to you. In either event, UW-River Falls is concerned about you, and encourages your use of the program when needed.
Who Pays?
UW-River Falls pays for the services of the EAP. There is no charge to you for the initial assessment, and if it is determined that further professional help is needed, the EAP counselor is well-acquainted with the community resources which offer assistance. Refer to your insurance documents for additional covered expenses.
How Does It Work?
Employees or members of their families may contact EAP directly. Employees may be referred by supervisors. For direct contact with a counselor, call the number provided below. An appointment will be scheduled at your convenience. As an employee, you may ask your supervisor or the Office of Human Resources to make the appointment for you, if you prefer.
In a private interview, the EAP counselor will help you determine the nature of your problem and help guide you in making an appropriate referral.
Why Wait?
The longer you wait before help is sought, the more serious the problem becomes. Often a problem can be "nipped in the bud" by seeking help as soon as it begins to affect your sense of well-being - at home or on the job.
Asking for help isn't always easy - until you do it. When that important step is taken, you immediately begin living in the solution instead of living in problem.
If You Wait..
If you wait too long, your problem becomes a problem to other people - to your spouse or partner, the rest of the family, or to the University. Sometimes a person with a problem is the last to know, and this presents the greatest obstacle to getting help.
Job Security
No employee's job security or promotion opportunities will be endangered by a request for assistance. UW-River Falls is providing the Employee Assistance Program because we prefer to help valuable employees return to full productivity.
Why Do We Care?
Every business is composed of the people who operate it. It's simply good business to help employees work at the top performance level. Personal problems cause absenteeism, tardiness, higher accident rates, poor business relations, faulty decision-making and an overall decline in work performance. It has been proven that helping an employee with problems to help himself/herself is far less costly than firing, rehiring, and retraining.
Common Reason Why People Hide Their Problems
- Fear of what other people will think or say.
- Social stigma connected with alcoholism or mental health problems.
- Misconceptions such as the mistaken attitude that people with serious problems are "weak-willed" or are not "good people."
- The defeatist attitude which says: "I'm a born loser, and my case is hopeless."
- The procrastination syndrome that operates on the theory of: "I'll snap out of it soon; everyone has his/her ups and downs."
- Denial syndrome that has an elaborate set of rationalizations which include such self-deceptions as: "I can't be that bad off - I still have a job."
- Believing the stereotype - and incorrect - descriptions of problem people, such as the erroneous picture of the alcoholic as a skid row derelict. In truth, only three to five percent of America's nine million alcoholics are on skid row while the rest are employed or employable.
- Fear of not being accepted.
- Fear of not being normal.
Distress Signals in Marriage and Family Relationships
- Feelings of loneliness or isolation...sharing and togetherness no longer exist.
- Lines of communication are broken down...nothing to talk about anymore...seems like strangers under the same roof.
- Constant fatigue...bored with life in general.
- Unhappy, depressed, gloomy.
- Financial difficulties...can't stick to a budget...buying too much on credit.
- Concern about sexual problems...confused and unhappy about your feelings of being unfulfilled, unloved or rejected.
- Frequent anger and frustration with children.
- Missing work because of family quarrels and problems.
- Conflict and tension about authority over children.
- Conflicts over religious values and standards.
- Feelings of being swamped by social, religious and civic responsibilities.
- Parental interferences and in-law conflicts.
- Low tolerance levels between family members.
- Preoccupation with time and events outside the family circle.
- Feelings of inadequacies in educational and cultural background.
Distress Signals and Progression of Symptoms in the Illness of Alcoholism
- Increase in alcohol tolerance - "I can drink them all under the table."
- Occasional or Partial Memory Lapse - "Did I really do that last night?"
- Drinking beyond one's intentions - "I was only going to have two beers."
- Increased dependence upon alcohol - Drinks in the morning.
- Sneaking drinks - "Needed that extra one...besides, who's to know?"
- Preoccupation with alcohol - lives to drink - alcohol comes before everything else.
- Resentful when one's drinking is discussed - "It's none of their business...I can handle it."
- Making promises to quit, but breaking them.
- Rationalizing loss of control - "If they had my problems, they'd drink too."
Al-Anon, a mutual support group of families and friends of alcoholics, is a helpful resource. For more information, visit their web site at: www.al-anon.org or call 1-888-425-2666
FOR AN APPOINTMENT CALL:
Counseling Services
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
410 South Third Street
211 Hagestad Hall
River Falls, WI 54022
Phone: (715) 425-3884
www.uwrf.edu/counseling
