It can be difficult to find psychiatrists and therapists who are taking new patients. Often local practices are full or there are long wait lists. The problem of accessing care grows as those who cannot find care go without treatment and don’t know where to go next.
Employee Assistance Programs can be convenient first step in finding care. These programs are meant to help employees locate resources for a variety of issues including: mental health stresses, child or elder care, relationship challenges and financial or legal problems. Often they will with their cover 1-3 visits to help an employee establish with a therapist. Some provide much more, such as Swedish Providence Lyra program which provides up to 25 counseling or coaching visits with non-providence providers.
An example experience:
- EAP was subcontracted out to an independent company to maintain confidentiality
- Initial phone call with EAP was 15 minutes long to describe the issue and needs (stressors from clinical work & mental health referral).
- At end of call, received an e-mail with referral to mental health counselor in Washington state
- First appointment was within 1 week of EAP contact
- EAP covered 3 visits then provider continued care under private insurance
Example EAP programs:
- Washington state employee assistance program. For state employees including PEBB eligible UW employees. 877-313-4455
- Veterans Affairs Healthcare EAP. Independently managed by ESPYR: 800-869-0276