Life coach through employer: Good idea?
September 17, 2014 11:09 AM   Subscribe

I'm struggling in a few areas of my life (mostly related to doing the bulk of the parenting for two little kids, with a spouse who works long hours and travels frequently) and having a bit of trouble staying focused at work. I was looking into our employee assistance program, which is run through HRI, and they offer "short-term counseling" and online/telephone life coaching. I would like to hear the experiences of anyone who has used this type of service; I have never used any flavor of mental health care.

The idea sounds promising, but the website is short on details. (For example, how short-term is short-term counseling?) An obvious solution is to just call them already, and I will, but I'm a little self conscious about it and I hate the unknown. This is reconnaissance.
So: Any cons to seeking out counseling via employee assistance program? (it's supposedly confidential.)
Anybody ever used a life coach (bonus points if you used one from HRI)?
I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Here's what the life coaching website promises: "When you join our program, you’re matched with your own coach who can provide you with the guidance, support and personal attention your need to create positive change. Your coach is always there – at every step – to offer the encouragement, accountability, and support you need to create a vibrant and fulfilling life."

Sounds lovely, doesn't it? Sigh.
posted by telepanda to Human Relations (18 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Note that a life coach is NOT a mental healthcare professional, at all. The qualifications barrier varies from state to state and the regulation is basically non-existent. In several places, anyone can call themselves a life coach. That is not to say specific life coaches cannot be tremendously useful but you need to just be wary. When you ring, ask about the qualifications for their coaching pool.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:19 AM on September 17, 2014 [5 favorites]


They make available, but don't actively provide, usage statistics in aggregate to your employer, so you won't be discovered unless your workplace is small enough for them to deduce who called (if they even care to look.)

It's pretty much a pleasant person in a call center. Don't expect too much, but a 30 minute call could be good for you if you benefit from talking things out since they essentially serve as a sounding board. Don't expect them to be proactive or too opinionated.
posted by michaelh at 11:27 AM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure the people at EAP at my university are LCSWs or have similar qualifications (I know someone who works there). I think short-term is like 6 sessions? Not sure how the life coaching aspect works, but the counseling is legit, at least here.
posted by leesh at 11:42 AM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Clarification: There are two separate non-exclusive options here.
One is the life coach thing, which yes, is not a mental healthcare professional. I have my doubts that they can singlehandedly generate a vibrant and fulfilling life, but might help a little.

This is the other one: [Program] provides ... confidential, no-cost, 24/7 access to professional counselors who will assess your needs, provide counseling and support, and connect you with appropriate benefit programs and/or community resources.

I'm not yet sure if I need a counselor or a cheerleader, so I'm curious about both options. Thanks!
posted by telepanda at 11:46 AM on September 17, 2014


My EAP's short term counseling benefit is 5 sessions per incident.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:48 AM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


anybody can be a life coach; i just appointed myself one, see? since these folks aren't mental health professionals, i suspect that they aren't bound by HIPPA and that everything you tell them gets back to your employer. remember that if your employer is paying for the service, he's the customer, and your personal information is the product.
posted by bruce at 11:52 AM on September 17, 2014


I had two sessions through my old-old-old work when I first arrived where I live now. The first session consisted of the guy lighting an aromatherapy candle and telling me to live in the moment. I only went back for the second session because his dogs were really terribly cute.
posted by kariebookish at 11:58 AM on September 17, 2014 [3 favorites]


A few years ago my line manager referred me to short-term counselling through an EAP when she saw I was struggling to hold it together at work (my then live-in boyfriend was having an ongoing affair). It was a phone call followed by six sessions in-person with a registered, licensed counsellor and it really, really helped.

Since then I've used occasionally used telephone sessions offered by EAPs at other jobs for less dramatic conversations about job choices or worries when taking on new responsibilities etc - these have been great for providing a neutral ear in a moment of indecision but not particularly useful in terms of actual practical career assistance. These were staffed, I suspect, more by the life coach type than the emotional crisis type of counsellor.

On the confidentiality front, as a line manager I've referred staff to EAP counselling from time to time and have never heard a peep back. The only time you'd expect to be informed is if it sounded like the employee was in danger, or in breach of the law and even then the services would report to HR rather than the manager themselves.
posted by freya_lamb at 12:07 PM on September 17, 2014 [3 favorites]


I used my EAP program once for a crisis and they matched me up with a therapist in my area who could help me. I see no downsides to this, it's no different than finding a mental health therapist on your own except you get 5 free sessions.
posted by shornco at 12:09 PM on September 17, 2014 [3 favorites]


I used my employer's EAP almost two years ago in the wake of a miscarriage. Having never sought out any sort of therapy before, I figured it was 1) as good a place as any to start, and 2) free, so I had nothing to lose.

I called in and had a brief conversation (maybe 10-15 minutes) with a surprisingly compassionate intake person, who set me up right then and there with a licensed therapist whose office was near my house. I got three free sessions and was told that if I felt I needed more, we could reevaluate at that time. The therapist turned to be very helpful, actually. I don't know that I would have necessarily used her specifically if I'd had an ongoing need for therapy, but for getting through that particular period of my life, it worked out very well. And as far as I know, no one at work was ever the wiser.

A good friend of mine used his EAP with good results a few years ago when he was having a lot of boundary issues with his dysfunctional family, and he worked with a therapist who helped him develop a bunch of tools for protecting himself and managing the situation.
posted by anderjen at 12:27 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


EAP coverage at my employer is 5 free sessions per person, per problem, per year. This covers talking to a therapist (not a life coach). Once the 5 sessions are up, if you still need more, it goes through the regular health insurance.

They do have quite an intrusive questionnaire over the phone to get EAP coverage, which is annoying, as it's stuff I'd rather discuss with the therapist rather than some stranger on the phone. Then again, I prefer to do my own therapist searches -- the EAP program is OK with that, but they are more than happy to give referrals.
posted by tckma at 12:38 PM on September 17, 2014


Reputable EAP programs use licensed therapists and are not much different from seeing a therapist on your own. They usually cover 3-5 sessions, and you can almost always pay out of pocket to continue past that (not always with the same therapist, but often).

Some EAP programs have much less stringent requirements for the people doing the counseling, and those counselors are more like HR employees with a bit of extra training. I would not provide confidential information to anyone without a therapy/MD license or registered internship (MFT, LCSW, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist).

I consider Life Coaches about the same utility as AskMetafilter, minus the crowdsourcing. No regulation, a good but loose code of ethics, no guarantee of specialized knowledge or training. Could be potentially very helpful if you stay critical of the advice given and don't depend on it for life or death crisis situations.
posted by jaguar at 1:21 PM on September 17, 2014


For context: I was taught that "short-term therapy" was generally about six months of weekly sessions. Short-term crisis counseling might be 10 to 12 weeks of weekly sessions. It may be because I was trained with those numbers in mind, but I find that they're fairly accurate -- working through one concrete, really-bothering-you-right-now problem takes about 10 to 12 weekly sessions; working through slightly more complex current-day issues that touch back on past issues or patterns generally takes about six months; working through deep-seated patterns that touch on multiple parts of one's life takes longer. I have heard from therapists specializing in personality disorders that three to six years of therapy is generally required to resolve that type of global disorder.

I have also found that clients who have never had therapy tend to progress a bit more slowly than clients with past experience, because part of doing therapy is learning how to do therapy.

So five sessions or so is very short-term therapy, and if I were you, I'd figure on wanting additional sessions and therefore finding out how that's going to be possible before going in.
posted by jaguar at 1:29 PM on September 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I totally agree that seeing a life coach could be a helpful step for you right now. I also think that EAPs can be a great resource. If you do go that route, I'd first make sure to fully understand the disclosure agreements and more before proceeding. For example, would HR just know that you attended the sessions or would the particular matters discussed and outcome also be included in your personnel file in some shape and form? If that's the case, I know it's a little paranoid but I'd prefer to see someone unrelated to work, albeit hopefully covered by your (work-based) insurance. I say absolutely do get that outside help, be it a life coach and/or therapist, but check out the options and details of your particular HRI before jumping in.
posted by smorgasbord at 1:35 PM on September 17, 2014


I'm a mental health professional and coach so people can be both but generally aren't. Yeah check out credentials if this is do-able. I would hope coaches in organisations would be of a reasonable calibre but having worked in 'high end' mental health care and encountered coaches trained by the coaching academy there (very big, possibly powerful and in my view an extremely concerning effecively cult like organisation) this definately isn't always the case.

A well trained coach can be worth their weight in gold. I have prior contact with union officials who've been very suspicious re: any type of input like this and how confidential it is but don't know how legitimate this concern is or not.
posted by tanktop at 1:53 PM on September 17, 2014


I would add some emphasis to kariebookish's comment. It is possible to have an overall-negative experience with even the most highly-credentialed life coach. I know of one who has a reputation for yawning while his clients talk. :-)

I also have a client who is a life coach, and she does a terrific job from everything I've heard. However, she would not necessarily be the life coach I would pick. You may want to determine up front what your options are for discreetly switching to another life coach should the need arise (discreetly because you seem to be more of a stealth recon-preference personality, not because the life coach necessarily needs the discretion).
posted by circular at 2:12 PM on September 17, 2014


I've used EAP counselling before - as others have said, it is five in-person sessions per incident or as many phone calls as you need (my longest was an hour). I found it very, very helpful - the in-person sessions with a licensed counsellor were as good or better than any I've paid for. They are emphatically not for long-term treatment for mental ill-health or trauma, but will help you to access resources to address such issues if needed. They're more suitable for helping you to identify issues and develop a plan to work through the issues yourself.

As a manager, the only info I've received is aggregate statistics - how many people used the service per month, what sort of issues they sought assistance for (grouped into categories) and for how long (phone calls and numbers of in-person sessions). Absolutely no identifiable information.
posted by goo at 3:09 PM on September 17, 2014


Definitely use EAP short term counseling. Very very helpful. It's not just for external crises.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:26 AM on September 18, 2014


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