Employee Assistance Programs: An Overview and Suggested Roles for Psychiatrists
Peter Brill M.D.1,
Joseph Herzberg M.D.,M.B.A.2, and
Jeffrey Lynn Speller M.D.,M.B.A.
1 Adult Development in Philadelphia
2 Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis in Washington, D.C.
The Cambridge Institute, 805 Franklin Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Although employee assistance programs are rapidly becoming the predominant vehicle for the delivery of mental health services in occupational settings, few programs employ a psychiatrist on either a part-time or a full-time basis. After providing an overview of the need. for, cost-effectiveness of, and current status of employee assistance programs, the authors draw on their own experiences with employee assistance programs to present four broad categories of roles the psychiatrist can assume in such programs: clinician, supervisor and educator, administrator, and organizational consultant. Problems encountered in these roles are also discussed.
