Staff: need someone to talk to?

Published: 10 October 2016

UofG's Employee Assistance Programme can help with all sorts of personal and work related problems, whether from anticipated life events or something that takes you by surprise.

UofG's Employee Assistance Programme can help with all sorts of personal and work related problems, whether from anticipated life events or something that takes you by surprise. 

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is provided by Optum, whose counselling staff are from a variety of clinical and counselling backgrounds. They provide confidential emotional support through telephone and face-to-face counselling, free of charge. Telephone counselling is available on an ad hoc basis and, if a telephone counsellor thinks it's appropriate, you can also have up to six sessions of face-to-face counselling.

Optum also provides a free online resource where you can seek information and advice on a wide range of topics concerning work-life, personal support, and health and wellbeing. There are hundreds of factsheets and useful links, all drawn from professional sources and presented in a format that’s easy to read and download.

What to expect when you contact Optum

To request counselling, simply call Optum on 0800 282 193.

Your call will be answered by one of the trained triage team at the EAP centre. They will ask a few questions to confirm that you are employed by the University, and to establish the general nature of the issue you are calling about. This is to ensure they pass you on to the telephone counsellor best qualified to offer you support.

The telephone counsellor will aim to call you back within two hours of your triage call, and will offer you a formal 30 minute session by phone. Your telephone counsellor will also be able to determine if face-to-face counselling is required.

Everything to do with the EAP is confidential; the University receives no personal information at all from Optum.

More information

First published: 10 October 2016

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