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Here are some of the questions we are most frequently asked by our clients. If you have a specific question that is not answered here, please call us at
An employee assistance program (EAP) is a program provided by an employer designed to assist employees in addressing personal issues, concerns, or problems. An EAP may be an internal department of the company or external and provided by an independent third-party. EAP services are commonly offered to allow employees to privately address personal issues to allow them to perform their best at work.
EFR is Iowa’s first Employee Assistance program provider- serving employer groups since 1975. Our EAP is full service! In addition to providing up to 6 counseling sessions (per set of circumstances per year), we have a number of other services to meet the needs of employees and employers. We integrate wellness program deliverables into our EAP including monthly motivators, quarterly campaigns, access to assessment resources and an annual Culture Audit at no additional charge. We provide support via our 24-hour call center staffed 365 days a year with Master’s level clinicians. Our response time to crisis is unparalleled and we customize our approach to meet the specific needs of each company situation.
EFR’s EAP counseling services include assessment,
referral, and brief counseling. Therefore, your EAP counselor will do a thorough assessment of your current situation. This means your counselor will work with you on your presenting concerns, but will also gather information about other areas of your life to assess how they all come together to create your current circumstances.
Within your EAP sessions, your counselor will help you to identify your priorities and goals to make a plan to address your concerns. If your life circumstances change within the (rolling calendar) year, you are eligible for a new set of EAP sessions. For instance, I accessed the EAP 6 months ago for a family concern and resolved that issue. Now I just found out my spouse has a serious health condition. Because my life circumstances are now different, I can access the EAP again.
EFR protects the identity and confidential records of each client as required by its professional, ethical standards, state laws, and the federal laws of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and 42CFR, Part 2.
No, EFR’s trainings are available to any companies or groups, however they are available to EFR’s EAP customers at a reduced rate.
The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a counseling program that is here to help students and their family members navigate life’s challenges. Students and family members can receive immediate help by phone or chat, or they can schedule counseling sessions. The program provides assessment, referral and brief counseling and is confidential and free of cost for students and their family members. Check with your school or call EFR to see how many sessions your school district provides.
You can connect with an EFR masters-level counselor two different ways:
1. Call our help line 515.244.6090 or 800.327.4692. We are available 24/7/365!
2. Use our chat feature during normal business hours. You can chat at efr.org, via the chat tab on the right side of the page next to the scroll bar. You can also chat using our mobile app. Simply download the app on your android or apple device, and access to the chat feature is on the bottom of your screen to the right of “Home”.
SAP services are confidential as outlined in federal regulations (42 CFR, part 2 and HIPAA). Students or their family members can access the services privately and information will not be shared with others without the client’s permission, unless one of the following conditions occur:
1. A life-threatening concern arises requiring disclosure to family, employer, school, medical or other professional personnel
2. Information indicates suspected child or dependent adult abuse or neglect, requiring a mandatory report to Child/Adult Protective Services
3. A judge’s order requires disclosure of information
4. A licensing/accrediting body requires auditing or program evaluation
EFR’s SAP services include assessment, referral, and brief counseling. Therefore, your SAP counselor will do a thorough assessment of your current situation. This means your counselor will work with you on your presenting concerns, but will also gather information about other areas of your life to assess how they all come together to create your current circumstances.
Your counselor will help you to identify your priorities and goals to make a plan to address your concerns. If your life circumstances change within the year, you are eligible for a new set of SAP sessions.
EFR believes emotional wellbeing is the foundation of optimal health and that Employee Assistance Programs are an important component to workplace wellness programs. For that reason, EFR’s wellness benefit is integrated with our EAP and focuses on multiple dimensions of wellbeing. Our wellness deliverables help promote other EFR benefits like life coaching, counseling, and financial consultation, helping to increase the knowledge and familiarity of what our full-service EAP can provide.
Because our wellness benefit is integrated with our EAP, an organization would need to have EFR’s EAP in order to receive our wellness benefits and resources.
Our wellness benefit can help organizations start, supplement, or expand existing wellness programs. We work with wellness committees, HR teams, and wellness teams to determine the best way to integrate our resources with your existing program.
505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600 Des Moines, IA 50309
6th floor of the Insurance Exchange Building in downtown Des Moines
800-327-4692
Counseling Services
1001 Office Park Rd, Suite 205
West Des Moines, IA 50265
2nd floor of the building
515-471-2357
The Healing Space
1001 Office Park Rd, Suite 209
West Des Moines, IA 50265
2nd floor of the building
515-471-2357
Monday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
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Student Assistance Program (SAP) & Outpatient Counseling
Maddox*, an elementary-aged student, struggled with anger outbursts, physical aggression, and difficulties with problem-solving. After spending years off-and-on in therapy seeking treatment with various providers only to remark that “none seemed to want to listen,” Maddox’s parents sought SAP services through their district.
Today, Maddox is completing his SAP sessions and moving towards outpatient counseling. He has reduced his anger outbursts and has learned skills to help him successfully navigate challenging days.