Free counselling for UniSA staff
by Greg Thompson
UniSA has extended the contract of the Employee Assistance Program
provider for a further 12 months.
The Employee Assistance Program provides access to counselling services to all staff members and their immediate families for any issue, regardless of whether the issue is work-related or personal. Counselling can be provided face to face or by telephone and aims to help clarifying problems, identify options and develop strategies to address the issue.
During the two years that the EAP has been provided by Davidson Trahaire Corpsych it has been well utilised with more than 60 per cent of the issues being of a personal nature. Staff from all parts of the University have accessed the service but usage has been higher among non-academic staff.
Davidson Trahaire Corpsych have provided counselling following several critical incidents and it is important to remember that this service is available to the University on a 24 hour, seven day a week basis. It is also important to note that prompt and appropriate action following any critical incidents can greatly improve the quality of the outcomes for those people affected.
One area of service which has been increasingly used over the last two years is managerAssist , which aims to provide an immediate source of information or guidance for managers in dealing with difficult staff situations. It is available to any staff in supervisory or managerial positions and can be accessed on the EAP contact number (see below). Wherever possible, callers are linked to an available consultant, or at the very least will be called back within the hour.
Satisfaction with the EAP is surveyed on a continuing basis and data indicates that satisfaction levels are high. It is also pleasing to note that users of the service are being increasingly attentive to the need to provide adequate notice of cancelled appointments, which avoids such missed appointments being counted as part of their allocation.
Please contact your EAP provider, Davidson Trahaire Corpsych, on 1300 360
364 for further information or assistance.