What are Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)?

The Northeastern University Advantage

Flexible Options

There are many potential options for interested students:

1. An EAP Certificate Program taken for Professional Development Hours (PDHs) that includes the following three core courses, plus one elective.

Core Courses*:
Introduction to Employee Assistance Programs
EAP Services
Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of EAPs (or Addictions in the Workplace)

Electives*:
Clinical Components of EAP Services
International EAPs
Addictions in the Workplace (or Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of EAPs)
EAP Accreditation / Quality Management

(*see course descriptions below)

2. Individual courses that can be taken for PDHs.

3. An EAP specialization as a part of a Master’s Degree in Human Resources, Human Services, or Leadership (for information, visit http://www.spcs.neu.edu/grad/degrees/).

4. An EAP Graduate Certificate for graduate credit (for information, visit http://www.spcs.neu.edu/employee_assist/).

Faculty: Leaders in the Industry

Director- Dr. Dale A. Masi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland
Dr. Masi has been a tenured full professor for 25 years, teaching the Master’s in Social Work at the University of Maryland. She also directed the EAP Residential School with the Maryland’s School of Business for ten years. Dr. Masi has authored 13 books on EAPs and workplace issues. She is a Fulbright scholar.

Other faculty members include:
Jay Avella, Ph.D.
Janet Hosford-Lamb, MSW
Bernard McCann, MS
Naama Neeman, MBA
Timothy Stockert, MBA, MSW

For students with a particular interest, special programs can be offered.

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EAP Course Descriptions

Introduction to Employee Assistance, 24 PDHs

This course introduces the participant to the conceptual framework of EAPs. Participants are exposed to the history of EAPs, their essential components, employee education and supervisory training, program models, marketing, and EAP account management. Participants will also learn about policy development, legal issues, pricing and funding EAPs. This course serves as an EAP primer and should be taken as the first course in the certificate program.

Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of EAPs, 24 PDHs (currently pending EAPA approval) 
Focuses on techniques of client-satisfaction reporting and how to reconcile specific company reports with one's book of business. The topics of how to audit telephone call centers and instruments and how to audit clinical records with appropriate confidentiality protections, as well as the procedures and instruments for reviews will be presented. Management information system reporting, including specific utilization counts and comparing results with a program's book-of-business data, will be broken down by industry type and presented. A major emphasis of the course is on cost-benefit analysis. The question of how to determine and calculate cost drivers from health insurance, disability, workers compensation payments, and prescription drug costs will be addressed.

EAP Services, 24 PDHs
In addition to providing the core EAP provisions, such as counseling and supervisory training, EAPs offer a wide variety of other services. This course will cover the optional offerings. They include: Critical Incident Stress Management, Prevention of Workplace Violence, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Child Care, Elder Care, Legal Services, Wellness Programs, AIDS in the Workplace and, finally, a description of Managed Behavioral Care in the Workplace.

Clinical Components of EAP Services, 24 PDHs (currently pending EAPA approval)

The course focus is on the understanding and management of clinical and service delivery aspects of EAPs. Topics covered include telephone access, assessment/referral and short-term counseling, appropriate screening instruments, clinical supervision, confidential record keeping, resource referral networks, and counselor credentialing. Appropriate protocols for telephone and e-counseling will be included.

International EAPs, 24 PDHs (currently pending EAPA approval)
The course explores global trends in EAPs and reviews the work of over twenty-four internationally known EA professionals and programs from a number of other countries and in various settings. Several EAP service models, both public and private that are currently in use around the world will be reviewed and discussed.

Addictions in the Workplace, 24 PDHs (currently pending EAPA approval)
The course approaches the concept of addiction from a disease model perspective. It provides an historical overview of alcohol and substance abuse in the workplace and focuses on the historical role of EAPs in addressing workplace substance abuse and associated negative effects on health and productivity. The course also surveys and explores newer waves of illegal workplace drug use, eating disorders, gambling, and Internet pornography addiction. Finally, the course will present effective policy development, procedures for interventions, appropriate screening instruments, and current best practices and psychopharmacological treatments.

EAP Accreditation/Quality Management, 24 PDHs (currently pending EAPA approval)
Introduces the participant to the concept of and procedures for evaluating EAPs. Subjects include total quality management and accreditation of employee assistance programs. The accreditation process from the application stage to writing the self-study and reviewing all the standards will be presented in detail.