Employers contract with Aspirus EAS to provide services for their employees and household members.
Aspirus EAS services for employers are broken down into the following areas:
Counseling Services: Licensed Masters-level counselors facilitate meetings with an individual or individuals in a confidential in-person, video or telephonic visit setting. In-person visits available in Wausau, Weston, Wisconsin Rapids and Rhinelander. Individual, marital, and family short-term counseling services are available to your employees and their household members. Short-term counseling is defined as a limited number of sessions per episode of need. Sessions typically run from 50 to 60 minutes in length.
Referrals: Most Aspirus EAS clients are self-referrals. A supervisory referral may occur when work performance has become problematic, or there are difficult situations with employees. Aspirus EAS counselors are available to consult with supervisors about how to effectively handle complex situations.
Trainings: Employers have a variety of training topics to choose from. Trainings fall into two areas: for employees and for supervisors. Training may be offered in the following formats: in-person or via webinar. Trainings may need to be offered more than once due to the number of employees & supervisors you have, training room size limitations, multiple shifts, or other factors.
Everyone at some time is faced with personal problems. In most cases, we are able to resolve them, but sometimes we or a family member needs some help. Employee Assistance Services is available for stress management, household or marital problems, alcohol or other drug abuse, emotional or behavioral difficulties or personal conflicts.
The employee is the individual who works for a company that has contracted with Aspirus Employee Assistance Services (EAS) to provide services. In addition to the employee, individuals who live with the employee may utilize this program for short-term counseling services.
Eligibility for Services
- Employee (full or part-time).
- A household member who lives with an employee.
Confidentiality
Any contact that you have with Aspirus EAS is confidential, whether that contact is by telephone or at a counseling session. All records of Aspirus EAS are also confidential. No one outside of Aspirus EAS, including your employer, will know that you are using this service, unless you request notification with a signed release. However, counselors are required by law to report situations that indicate a person is a danger to him/herself or others, and cases of suspected of child or elder abuse.
When you contact Aspirus EAS during our normal business hours you will talk with an EAS Specialist who can answer initial questions and schedule a counseling session.
Calling After Hours:
You may contact EAS anytime day or night. If you call outside of normal hours of operation, you will be talking with our answering service. Leave a message and a member of our staff will get back with you as soon as possible the next business day. If you wish to speak with a counselor right away, you will be transferred to an on-call counselor, generally within a matter of minutes.
EAS Helpline: 715-847-2772 or 1-800-236-4457.
Q. When would I call Aspirus EAS for help?
Answer: An employee, their spouse, or other member of the household can call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call in regards to any problem, whether it’s stress, depression, alcohol or drugs, financial, legal, children, parental, or spousal.
Q. How much does this cost?
Answer: There is no cost for short term counseling.
Q. How do I call Aspirus EAS?
Answer: Your first step in receiving help is to call the Helpline at 715-847-2772 or 1-800-236-4457.
Q. What is short-term counseling?
Answer: Short-term counseling is best described as short-term problem resolution. The counselor is following what we call “solution-focused counseling.” This means the counselor is helping you with problem identification, problem clarification, and problem prioritization, working towards resolution.
Q. Does Aspirus Employee Assistance Services utilize my health insurance?
Answer: No, the employer through whom you are eligible has entered into an agreement with Aspirus EAS to provide short-term counseling.
Q. How many times can I attend counseling?
Answer: If it is determined by the counselor that short-term counseling is warranted, the client is entitled up to the contracted sessions per episode of need.
Q. What is an episode of need?
Answer: When a client meets with a counselor and each session relates to that same personal issue, then those sessions fall within the same episode of need. For example, if a client sees a counselor for six sessions due to the death of a spouse the six sessions fall within the episode of need.