New EAPA chair sets out objectives for a stronger future for the sector

New EAPA chair sets out objectives for a stronger future for the sector

Incoming EAPA UK chair Karl Bennett has emphasised the importance of co-operation in order for the sector to deal with the growing pressures, and develop its role as a foundation to mental health provision nationally.

Previously a Director at Care first for 15 years, Karl Bennett is Wellbeing Director at employee benefits provider Vivup. He has been an EAPA member since 2005 and on the board since 2017.

Come together

“In the short-term we need to define more clearly what an EAP is, what it does, and how it supports our employees,” said Karl Bennett. “Not just now, but in the future. This should include parity around the management information EAPs provide to their customers, and clarity around the glossary of terms such as defining what is meant by ‘contacts’ versus ‘new contacts’, the issue types being reported on, and how we measure clinical outcomes. We will only achieve this by working together around a single goal. And that goal should be how we ensure our businesses are providing the right service to the right people at the right time.”

Expanded role?

In a forthcoming EAPA UK report looking at the growth of the sector in the context of limited NHS resources for supporting mental health, Sir Cary Cooper has commented that there is a need for an extension to EAP services, ensuring there’s provision for longer-term counselling programmes through to recovery.

“One conversation I’d like to start with you, our members, is: is this something we as providers are equipped to do and if so, is there the appetite to do it? I think once upon a time the answer to this would have been ‘yes’. But when the average cost of an EAP per employee has seen a significant decrease, and with the reliance on our services becoming much higher, I think the answer might be, how can we? If EAPs take on more of a role in supporting the NHS, how do we protect our resources, including our therapists, and what should our standard nonclinical EAP services be?

“There is certainly a lot of work to be done — but this is also an opportunity for us to drive change and improvement, working together as a community. Mental health is now a C-suite issue in a way that it just wasn’t pre-Covid-19, and establishing a role for EAPs and the value they provide needs to be a key focus for all of us in the months and years ahead.”

You can read the full welcome statement here.