The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a resource employers use to provide confidential counseling benefits to their employees and employees’ families. Employees of participating EAP companies have easy access to professional help with issues that impact their personal, family and work lives. We have licensed and certified counselors in Columbus, GA and Valley, AL. In addition, we have counselors all over the nation that participate as affiliate providers.

	Information for Employees
	Information for Employers
	Mandated Referrals
	Counseling Services Outside Columbus, GA
	Monthly EAP Newsletter
	Current EAP Companies

Information for Employees

All of us have issues, concerns and stressors that we need to work through. It helps to have a caring and objective counselor to listen to us and help us find our way. Counseling at the Pastoral Institute is confidential and the initial sessions are paid by your employer through your Employee Assistance Program. There is no cost to you.

Our counselors can help with:

• Life Management Issues – marital and couples conflict; divorce, intimacy issues, parental skills, blended families, social and relationship issues, stress and anxiety, financial issues, fear and anxiety over medical conditions, elder care issues and caregiver stress, loss of a loved one and bereavement/grief issues, domestic/partner abuse and victimization.

• Emotional Issues – stress, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and compulsive overeating, social issues and relationship problems, adult child-parent relationship issues and parenting concerns about children and teenagers.

• Addictions – addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, sex, gambling, internet, family members affected by drug and alcohol use of a family member, codependency; and teenage substance abuse.

• Job-related problems – Getting to work on time, coworker conflict, issues in working with your supervisor, performance concerns, career counseling, job stress, exhaustion and burnout, fear of being downsized, and difficulties of a new position.

We have counselors who specialize in addictions, eating disorders and working with children and teenagers, ADD, ADHD and giftedness.

If you find yourself in an emergency situation and need to talk to a counselor on the weekend or outside of business hours, just call 706 649-6500 and our answering service will connect you to a counselor.

Information for Employers

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP)  provides confidential counseling services to employees and their families. An EAP helps individuals manage personal and family issues that may negatively impact job performance and create disruptions in the workplace. Research indicates that a viable, active EAP provides positive bottom line results. The business cost of untreated and mistreated mental health issues is $113 billion annually, according to the National Mental Health Association. Much of that represents decreased productivity.

Studies show positive that benefits of an EAP include:

• Decreased utilization of health insurance benefits.
• Decreased absenteeism.
• Decreased turnover.
• Improved morale.

A good EAP translates into an estimated return that's between three and seven times a company's original investment.

To introduce your employees to your company’s EAP and to promote it regularly, we provide:

• Orientations

• Brochures and Wallet Cards

• Payroll Stuffers

• Electronic Newsletters (suitable for placing on your company’s intranet, emailing or making hard copies)

Each company has a dedicated account manager to help you customize your EAP program for your business, create an EAP policy for your employee manual and meet your company’s needs for counseling, training or trauma response.

Our staff also provides management and supervisory consultations, back-to-work services and coordination of trauma response for your employees should a death, industrial accident, robbery or other trauma occur.

If your company falls under DOT regulations, our Substance Abuse Professionals provide the specialized supervision and training required.

If you are interested in finding out more about our Employee Assistance Program and how it might fit in your workplace, contact us at brc@pilink.org or 706-649-6400. We'd be delighted to serve you.

Mandated Referrals

On rare occasions, it may be necessary to mandate an employee receive counseling. Mandating an employee with performance problems for counseling is a management tool to help companies keep valuable workers. After you've tried everything in your system (progressive discipline, etc.) to correct the issues, you may require that an employee attend counseling as a final effort to help keep his/her job.

To mandate an employee to receive counseling, it is important to discuss the situation with your Employee Assistance Program or Caring for the Mind consultant. After doing so, complete the Mandated Referral Form and fax it to us at 706-649-6430. For more information on Mandated Referrals, contact us at brc@pilink.org or 706-649-6400.

Nationwide Network of Counseling Providers

Need a counselor in Jacksonville, FL; Columbia, SC; New York City; or Salt Lake City, UT? Regardless of where you or your company is located, our Employee Assistance Program will find a counselor for you from among our extensive network of counseling professionals. For the names of approved counselors in your area, call our toll-free number 1-800-649-6446 from 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. (ET) Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays.

If you are dealing with any of these concerns, call us at 706 649-6500 for an appointment. In Columbus, we’re open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday. Let’s talk.