Therapy/counselling through Employee Assistance Programme (unum) - anyone done this?

[pinkyogamat]

I'm considering contacting my work's Employee Assistance Programme to request some therapy or counselling for anxiety. We are with unum.

Has anyone had any sessions through EAP and, if so, how was it? Did you find it helpful? Thank you

Yes, I had it. Seven sessions. Although the counsellor spent more time talking about herself & her woes! I did learn some coping mechanisms too and definitely felt I was heading in the right direction after it.

I did via a different provider. I was not impressed by the counsellor but unfortunately didn't realise until afterwards how not great she was (my first counselling experience).

It's tricky when you're not feeling yourself, but i think a good counsellor should make you face into things that feel uncomfortable but should always be helping you to find a way through them and shouldn't make you feel uncomfortable.

Worth googling some stuff on what makes a good therapist /how to get the most out of them.

Ultimately though, definitely didn't feel worse off for having had it.

I got a therapist through EAP for anxiety and depression. It didn't go particularly well as it had to be focused on the 'present' so they could use some kind of CBT, as dictated by the EAP provider. I wanted to talk about the past to put it in context and work my way through to the present. The therapist decided my issues were trauma based, so EAP withdrew my counselling after a couple of sessions, saying I would become too reliant on it and 12 sessions wouldn't be enough. I carried on privately, paying, which pretty much defeated the object of going through EAP, though they did do the work of finding me a (mediocre) therapist.

Not a great experience. EAP seems designed for one-off issues with a definable cause you are currently struggling with rather than long-standing issues. Through of course all EAPs are different - the one my company had was top of the range though.

I did. I had 6 sessions. It was okay, with some useful bits, and helped me get through some of ghe issues after my Dad died.

I was rejected for this as my problem could not be fixed in 6 sessions. You have to have a goal to work on before you get the counselling.