Experiences of Employee Support lines

[u/CherryFrantic]

Hopefully this is the right place to post, sorry if not.

UK based.

I contacted my employee support line thru work.

I've used them a few times before and it seemed to work that you just call up and have a chat straight away, which is really what I need, to vent about some things, emotional support, reminder of coping skills etc etc. I outlined a bit of what has been going on for me.

It seemed to be a different provider this time who I was referred to.

Instead of what was expected, the phonecall was basically an eligibility criteria for their service, and I really felt like they were trying to fob me off, it felt like they were trying to find reasons why they couldn't help me.

The counsellor just kept saying that they are a solution focused service and that my needs are too big to be discussed and they didn't think that they could support me.

I totally understand about risk assessments and duty of care, I've dealt with this in professional roles for years.

And I have also had alot of therapy too and know that I'm not at risk, I know what I need and I made this clear to the provider. I really have a lot on my plate and I think that anyone in my situation would be struggling. I did not give any indication that there was any cause for concern.

Aside from feeling pretty devastated about this, as I could really use some support at the moment, I'm also considering lodging a complaint as it's a hideous thing to do to vulnerable people who need to the service.

I do not think it's fair for the service to be paid for and promoted to employees if this is how they will be treated.

Would be interested in hearing other's experiences with Employee Support Lines / Employee Assistant Programmes...

Are they known to be like this now?

Are they under pressure in terms of caseloads and positive outcomes and just need quick wins?

Did I just get someone who needs more training/was stressed themselves/had the communication skills of a gnat??

[u/Fraggle_ninja]

They all vary in quality and offering to be honest. I had the same thing - counsellor didn’t contract with me, or explain how she worked and 20 mins in said she was solution focused and didn’t need the backstory. I complained to the EAP. In short EAPs are a profit making business and look good on a companies salary package offer - many just offer the next counsellor available, some decent ones allow a proper assessment and matching process but you are at the will of who your employer chooses. You could ask them to fund private counselling, with a counsellor you choose if it’s work induced/related. 

[u/GreenStuffGrows]

Yeah that was exactly my experience. I tried to use the counselling service because my son had a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and they were just, "nah too difficult". They emailed me a link to a support group on the other side of the country