Student Assistance Program
Through EFR’s Student Assistance Program (SAP), students and anyone in their household are eligible for free, confidential counseling sessions. Counseling appointments are offered in person or virtually.
EFR’s Student Assistance Program offers you and your student immediate help and resources to support your mental health and well-being, navigate challenges, and achieve personal and academic success.
Some reasons students utilize SAP include:
- Anxiety, worry or stress
- Depression, suicidal thoughts or self-harm
- Bullying or conflict
- Relationship concerns
- School activities or stressors
There are a few ways to utilize your SAP! You can chat with our counselors through our EFR app, call us at 515-244-6090, or schedule a session with one of our counselors in-office or virtually. Check with your school counselor to see if your school has one of our on-site counselors to receive sessions at school.
You can connect with your SAP benefits from your mobile device with the EFR App. Click here to learn more!
How to Use Benefits
Please call us at 515-244-6090 to see if your school partners with us for SAP, and if so, how many sessions you may be eligible to use.
If you would like to pursue counseling beyond your SAP sessions, you can use insurance (including Medicaid) or private pay. Our counselors work to ensure referral recommendations are appropriate, beneficial, and affordable.
EFR’s SAP Intake Process
1. Make the Call
To make an appointment, call our call center at 515-244-6090 or 800-327-4692.
The call center counselor will help you with any urgent needs or issues, explain the program to you, and help you make an appointment.
2. Make an Appointement
The call center counselor will collect information, such as name, phone number, and date of birth. The intake specialist will call you with a reminder the day before your scheduled appointment. Make sure you know whether your appointment will be in-person or virtual, and if in-person, know the location you will be going to for your appointment!
3. Go to Your Appointment
What To Expect
Success Stories
Maria, a 7th grader from a quiet rural town, reached out to an EFR Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselor seeking someone who would genuinely hear her struggles. Overwhelmed by mental health challenges, Maria felt invisible and unheard, even as she bravely voiced her need for hospitalization.
Recognizing the severity of her plea, the SAP counselor immediately acted, bridging the gap between Maria’s silent battles and the help she desperately needed. The counselor’s assessment, advocacy, and collaboration with her parents led to Maria receiving inpatient hospital care, marking the beginning of her healing.
One month later, Maria returned to school and embarked on a journey of recovery with her SAP counselor. Over the following months, Maria and her counselor crafted a toolkit of positive coping strategies, explored methods to recognize and challenge negative thoughts, and helped Maria identify her inner strengths.
By her final session, Maria emerged with a robust set of coping strategies, a blossoming self-confidence, and a bright vision for her future. In her last session, Maria reflected on the pivotal role her SAP counselor played by validating her voice and empowering her self-advocacy—a gift that Maria will carry forward as she confidently steps into her future.
Emily is a young girl whose days were once overshadowed by sudden, overwhelming panic attacks, her internal distress spilling into the classrooms. A concerned teacher’s gentle nudge led her to open the door to EFR’s SAP services.
At first, Emily was hesitant, her difficulty expressing and regulating emotions creating an invisible barrier to therapy. Through the SAP and the compassionate guidance of an EFR counselor, Emily utilized her SAP sessions and transitioned into outpatient therapy.
With each session, Emily gained newfound skills to manage her anxiety and began the delicate work of opening up the channels of communication with her loved ones. Her growth was marked by milestones—panic attacks ceased to disrupt her school life, and dialogues about her emotional world started to flow at home and with friends.
Emily’s story is a beacon of hope, illustrating the profound change that EFR’s SAP services can catalyze. Her narrative is one of countless others that underscore our commitment to empowering youth, one conversation, one coping strategy, one session at a time.