The Employee Assistance Program is Now Employee Assistance Services!

 

With financial pressures impacting the County, employees are facing greater challenges that can create difficulties at home, at work and in relationships. The good news in all of this is that employees and their dependents still have access to a marvelous benefit to help them and their dependents get through these tough times. Changes (positive or negative) lead to stress and all of us who work for the County are undergoing change and therefore experiencing stress. 

 

Amidst these changes and challenges we are going through, EAP has also changed to more effectively respond to the immediate needs of employees and their dependents regarding all personal and work-related struggles. To reflect how our services are expanding to better meet your needs, we have made a name change from EAP to EAS (Employee Assistance Services). Our mission is to expediently help all County employees, their dependents or managers as soon as a problem arises. By intervening early, a more serious crisis can be avoided. The sooner you reach out for help, the better off you will be in the long-term.

 

As of July 1, 2009, EAS started offering immediate, confidential access to a licensed therapist or psychologist at the very moment that you call our new toll-free phone number. The clinician will assess your issues on the telephone and determine what the next steps need to be in order to resolve your difficulties. Anyone who calls EAS between 9 AM – 4:30 PM Monday – Friday at 1-888-829-8999 will obtain  professional help immediately. 

 

Leading EAS in this new direction is Dr. Carol Carlson (who we call Dr. Carol). Her vibrant personality along with her compassion to reach out to people in need make her a great asset to our changing department. Also, Dr. Carol’s credentials and extensive experience dealing with employees who are undergoing a lot of change, have made her the “just right” visionary leader at this point in time. With Dr. Carol’s arrival to EAS, all staff members are now licensed by the State of California and therefore bound by State Law to maintain confidentiality.

  

Dr. Carlson is a seasoned Psychologist and Human Resources executive with vast expertise treating individuals with emotional difficulties and helping organizations to thrive while undergoing great change. As a Psychologist, Dr. Carol has eighteen years of experience treating highly diverse populations of adolescents and adults in the private and public sectors. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, her master’s degree from Pepperdine University and her doctorate from Boston University with a specialty in trauma / crisis / loss. She completed her residency at the University of California – Berkeley. With eight years of leadership in internal Employee Assistance for Wells Fargo and for the University of California, Dr. Carol has a strong track record of boosting workplace productivity by addressing the organizational, personal and professional needs of employees at all levels of the organization. Working extensively in both in-patient and out-patient settings with adolescents, couples, families and individuals in teaching hospitals, universities, emergency rooms, private practice, on San Quentin’s Death Row and for corporations, Dr. Carlson is highly sophisticated as a clinician, diagnostician, treatment provider and assessment specialist committed to excellence in the field of psychology.

 

In addition to leading workshops, training individuals and developing curriculum, Dr. Carol has taught thirteen graduate and undergraduate courses at several exceptional universities on the East and West Coasts.

 

Committed to helping people at their point of pain, since joining us in February, EAS wait times to be seen in our offices have gone from 3-4 weeks to less than one week. Dr. Carol has also challenged us to reach for a broader vision and mission.

 

EAS’ highly qualified, professionally trained, licensed staff are experts in human behavior who will see to it that employees and their dependents receive the help they need to get through and out of the pain they are in. Here are the types of services EAS provides: 

 

*Immediate Access to a Licensed Therapist or Psychologist

*Comprehensive Assessment and Referral

*Management Consultation

*Short-Term, Solution-Focused Counseling Sessions (up to 6 Free per calendar year)

*Crisis Intervention

*Group or Departmental Consultation

*Trainings and Workshops

*On-Site Interventions

*Case Management (Authorizing, Referring and managing employees’ Exclusive Care mental health benefit)

 

Our new overarching vision for EAS and for Exclusive Care’s mental health component is to become known as, “The Center for Clinical Excellence,” in the way psychological issues are assessed, diagnosed and treated. Dr. Carol states, “Just like going to any other type of doctor, when a person has psychological problems, effective treatment means patients are accurately and thoroughly assessed, diagnosed and treated. The notion that someone with mental health problems is doomed to a lifetime of therapy is ridiculous – that is only the case with ineffective treatment. Individuals are motivated by pain and such pain drives us to do what is necessary to become healthy in our behavior, emotions and relationships.” For Exclusive Care members, EAS is reconstructing its referral network of providers in order to recruit therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists onto the panel who are skilled at results-oriented treatment.

 

Here are some of the types of issues or problems you may be facing that EAS can help you or your loved ones resolve:

 

*Emotional or Psychological

*Marital and Family

*Alcohol and Drug Abuse

*Work-Related

*Trauma or Violence

*Health or Medical

*Financial

*Legal

*Vocational

 

 A further vision of our Center for Clinical Excellence is the establishment of psychological testing centers in the Riverside and Cathedral City areas. Such testing will provide for greater diagnostic accuracy for psychological problems in order to obtain the most effective treatment planning by your mental healthcare provider. "This expanded service provides for a cost-effective and time efficient way to receive psychological treatment that really works,” Dr. Carol reports. She continues, “The reason why people with psychological problems tend to remain in therapy / counseling for long periods of time is because they have been misdiagnosed. If you are being treated for an ear infection when the real problem is an ulcer, your ulcer isn’t going to go away. All people deserve to get well, receive the best of the best treatment in order to move beyond the emotional pain that has bound them. Riverside County employees are so fortunate to have this exceptional benefit available to them.”        

 

So, as you can see many changes happening here at EAS, including some right here on the website! The changes are so that we can offer Riverside County employees and their dependents an even higher quality of care and service given these tough times that do indeed impact one’s emotional, relational and behavioral functioning. Times are difficult so reach out to EAS for confidential, professional assistance to help you get beyond the pain. We are here to serve you in an even more effective and efficient manner. Remember, the only thing worse than being in a struggle, is being in it all alone. With EAS, you won’t be alone. We will partner with you in your struggle and help you to move beyond it.

 

Explore our website changes realizing that even more are to come. Please reach out and give us a call at 1-888-829-8999 for confidential assistance.  

 

 

 

 

Sometimes you need a second opinion – beyond your own. We all have our opinions about what’s best for us and our families. Our opinions guide our daily lives both at work and at home. Often, we rely solely on our own opinions and thoughts because we know them so well and they have carried us so far. And, of course, we like to think we can solve our own problems. 

 

But, you know what? The world today is complex, fast-paced and economically uncertain. We are inundated with information, responsibility, schedules, goals, competing demands, requests and interruptions from everybody – managers, co-workers, clients, even our own family. Throw in the constant change that we are facing here at the County and we can become overwhelmed before we even realize it. Sometimes, we’re the last to realize we’ve got a problem, or the next to last to realize our spouse, partner, child or parent has a problem. 

 

So, what do you do? Ignore the problem and hope it goes away? Wait until a crisis occurs and something really bad happens? Make yourself sick with worry? Take the problem to work or take it home from work? 

 

Problems that we try to ignore or deny only become bigger and bigger. It’s important to get a second opinion – besides your own – from a professional who has special expertise in understanding human behavior. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to – confidentially – at your convenience to make for a quiet moment away from all the pressure.

 

EAS professionals are just a phone call away (toll-free at 1-888-829-8999). We are available to you on an immediate basis from 9 AM – 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and for appointments from 8 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday. In fact, there is no good excuse not to call us. We are as near as your phone and we respond to every call. Every call is completely confidential. And we have just one purpose – to help you when you need it.

 

Our Employee Assistance professionals have already helped hundreds of Riverside County employees and their families who weren’t sure where to turn for advice. We are all professionally trained to give advice and counsel. We have a world of experience too! We have seen or heard just about every type of emergency or problem that one can imagine. You name it – emotional problems, marital and family problems, alcohol and drug abuse, spouse and child abuse, work-related stress, anxiety, depression, financial and legal problems, health-related issues, harassment, trauma or workplace violence. We have seen them all. We have helped lots of people with challenges like the ones you may be seeing or realizing for the first time. 

 

If you have a family member or co-worker who is struggling with a problem, or causing a problem for others, EAS can help! Give them our toll-free phone number. That’s 1-888-829-8999. 

 

And did we mention … Employee Assistance is FREE! It’s one of the benefits of being employed by the County of Riverside. We are just good people with special expertise in human behavior who are helping other good people to get beyond the struggles we face today. So, go for it! If you just need someone to talk to – pick up the phone and dial 1-888-829-8999. It’s confidential. It’s voluntary. And it’s a great way to get an excellent second opinion. 

 

If you are a supervisor or manager concerned about the well-being of your staff, feel free to give us a call too. Find out about our consulting, referral and training services. We are here. We are near. We would like to help!