Employee Assistance Programme – staff counselling

The HSE Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a work-based support service for staff and the organisation. This is a confidential independent service. It supports employees with psychosocial issues (psychological and social factors that influence mental health). These issues may be personal or work-related, affecting your job performance or home life.

The service is free and available to all HSE employees.

Call 0818 327 327 to speak to someone who can help.

Your manager can make a referral for you, with your agreement, if they have concerns for your wellbeing.

Referral Form Employee Assistance Programme (PDF, 792 KB, 2 pages)

Services provided by the EAP programme

Counselling
Consultation to managers on staff wellbeing and psychosocial issues
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Response - individual and group support and pre-incident training
Workshops on staff wellbeing issues

Number of counselling sessions you can have

EAP counselling is usually a short-term service.

If you use the EAP service, initially you will be offered up to 6 sessions.

Managers making an employee referral to EAP

Managers can use the EAP service to get advice on staff wellbeing and welfare issues.

Use the EAP referral form to refer a staff member to the EAP service. Return the completed form to your regional EAP office, which can be found on page 2 of the form.

For managers with concerns about your staff’s mental health it might be helpful to take the module:

Supporting Your Staff's Mental Health: A Programme for HSE Managers which is available on HSeLanD

A confidential service

EAP counselling is a confidential service. No information about your issue will be given to anyone without your written consent.

Confidentiality is strictly maintained, except where:

the client, other employees, or the public are at serious risk
a criminal offence is committed
ordered to disclose by a court of law
there is a child protection concern

EAP and professional standards

The EAP counselling service uses internal and external practitioners.

EAP counsellors are accredited and maintain continuous professional development standards.

The counsellors attend regular clinical supervision with an accredited clinical supervisor.

Inspire Support Hub

Inspire is the HSE's external staff counselling partner. All HSE employees have access to Inspire Support Hub. Log into the hub at any time to access online resources. These may be useful to you while you wait for your appointment with a counsellor, or deciding whether to proceed.

How to start using the hub (PDF, 350 KB, 1 page)

Suite of useful resources - Inspire Support Hub