EP #403: Employee Assistance Plans - One Size Doesn't Fit Anyone — with John Troutman

This week's episode is all about determining which EAP is best for your organization. Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, John Troutman, National Director of Mazzitti & Sullivan EAP, discusses the vast range of possibilities and what to look for in an EAP.What You’ll Learn From This Episode:1:50 What is an EAP?2:30 Reasons why some EAPs have gotten a bad reputation over time.3:40 Problems with APIs that are built into plans.4:48 How COVID impacted EAP utilization.5:35 Range of services that you should look for in an EAP.8:03 What range of services should an employer look for?9:33 Assessment of employees’ needs and referrals for diagnosis and treatment of mental health.11:52 EAP Coverage.12:50 The stressors that you’re EAPs dealing with. 14:24 What platforms they’re using to assist employees. 18:42 What’s missing and what is coming in the field of EAP? 20:03 Will EAPs prioritize mental health?Quotes:6:26 “If I was an employer, I would want to make sure I have a dedicated person assigned to that account. That’s one of the most important things I believe.”10:07 “EAPs were never set up to be a long-term solution to a person’s mental health needs. They’re meant to be something ideally on the front end that is a preventative measure, just like a wellness plan, for example.”14:07 “Understanding our mental health, understanding the value of a pause and taking a break, taking time for that self care mentally, is something that really translates over to burnout and I believe you know, that’s just a one that’s on the rise and I believe we haven’t seen you know, the worst of that yet.”15:38 “That benefit of just knowing that there could be a location within 15 minutes of your home to talk to a clinician can go a long way to ease stress.”19:01 “Mental health is a crucial part of everyone’s well-being and should never simply be as if it’s on a piece of paper, we’re going to check it off and move on to something else. It should never be the very last thing because our mental health affects everything else that we do. So what’s lacking is the passion across the country to address mental health on an equal platform. It shouldn’t always be the last five minutes of an open enrollment session at that time of meeting with the employee. It really should be given equal time and opportunity to be explained so that the employees understand the benefit.”