You're Taking a Big Chance Not Engaging Families to Participate in Addiction Treatment

Make an effort to reach families of employees who enter treatment for addictive disease. The behavior of the family and concerned persons upon admission of the patient, while seldom discussed, is important to treatment success.

You already know this, but it is extremely easy to postpone or not take initiative to work with the family. Do not assume the treatment program will do it. They may make only one try to engage the family, and typically, this won't cut it. Family denial and pathology necessitates more assertiveness on your part as an EAP. If you want successful treatment of the employee, be short of aggressive in convincing the family to engage with their own recovery and why.

Successful intervention does not mean successful treatment. But, this is what families desperately want. What can families do to contribute to the likelihood of successful treatment after intervention?

Here's a list of Do's and Dont's (Not Exhaustive, But a Good Start)

1) Do Attend The Family Program. The Family Program is an intensive educational/ counseling experience to help participants understand addiction and its treatment,

and to help them curtail provoking and enabling behaviors. Some family members may avoid counseling for themselves after years of "managing" an addicted person at

home. Without the correct information, however, these family members are at risk to continue enabling which may sabotage treatment.

2) Don't Take A Vacation Now. After years of self-denial, some concerned persons see admission of the patient as the best time to take a vacation. They reason, "Now that someone else is in control of my addicted person, I can let go and relax." Such attitudes can reinforce the mistaken belief that control of the alcoholic must continue after treatment, not to mention prevent participation in the Family Program.

3) Don't Phone Frequently. Avoid excessive contact with your addicted family member early in treatment. Such contact can distract the patient and thwart bonding with other patients in the inpatient community. Avoid emotionally charged issues that can wait until after treatment. Many patients have prematurely left treatment due to focusing on outside events that could have easily waited.

4) Do Speak With The Detox Counselor. The detox counselor is an expert at supporting patients and guiding family members in communication. Since family communication dynamics are highly associated with provocative behavior, intervention with this sabotaging pattern is essential. The detox counselor or other person working with families can best steer the family member toward "the right thing to do" to support the addict in treatment.

5) Do Attend Al-Anon. Don't stop attending Al-Anon now that your alcoholic is in treatment. If you haven't started you're overdue. Remember, Al-Anon is for the family, not the alcoholic, and education prior to the first meeting that helps family members stay engaged with Al-Anon is crucial. “De-mystify” 12-step programs. Don’t let family members stumble their way through these programs. If you don’t they will drop out. Alcoholism education video at WorkWell Videos.

Neil Armstrong vs. EAPs

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969. That is just about the same time that EAPs and the human "behavioral risk prevention/intervention dynamic" they naturally possess was also discovered. If you are an employee assistance professional, your first task is not to help employees. It is to help your organization understand how employee assistance programs reduce behavioral risk and help to prevent devastating losses from human behavioral factors in the workplace. No workplace program, profession, or mechanism other than a legitimately installed and functional EAP can perform this task as well. Unlike the celebration of man's landing on the moon, the EAP discovery has not been as well celebrated. A recent survey of Americans showed that 5% of people still believe that the landing on the moon was staged. (Gallup Poll, 2012) Unfortunately, the percentage is much higher if we are discussing EAPs and how many people really believe they are special programs with inherently unique life-saving dynamics that will reduce losses and save lives when properly established. Your mission is to help workplace professionals, especially CFOs, HR managers, and benefits consultants understand this reality. If you do not, you will play a role in diminishing and forcing the profession into extinction. Don't be fooled. No cost-benefit analysis or EAP program evaluation will overcome an organization's desire to financially save money by cutting your program if this belief does not exist.It takes an effective relationship between you and management and between you and employees to pulls this off. That includes communication. You must establish communication channels between you and these two sections of the workforce that are omnipresent in order to accomplish this goal. Never be a "waiting in the wings" EAP. Be proactive and omnipresent.

Human Resource Managers: Are They Your EAP Experts?

If you disagree with me, I want you to reply back: Human resource managers, the CEO, or maybe the CFO of the organization you serve all have power over your EAP. These folks cut your paycheck and control your contract or position. But, here this: These folks are not experts on EAPs, the EAP Core Technology, or reducing behavioral risk and human factors exposures to risk with regard to troubled employees. (So far, I hope we are in agreement.) You're the expert. If you took their direction on how you should run the EAP, who you should see, when you should see them, how to do assessments, what EAP activities firmly grounded in the EAP core technology that you should or should not participate in, etc. you would increase risk to your organization, lower your EAPs effectiveness, and increase risk of being "farmed out" or closed down. (So far, I hope you still agree.) Then why do so many EAPs do all of these things out of fear when the HR department phones and says "do this", "don't do that"?

Here is the problem. You live in fear. Do what the "customer says" or you may not have a job in the future. This "HR is boss paradigm" over EAP mechanisms has played a major role in diminishing the value of the EAP field. Human resource managers are educated about EAPs not from materials produced by EAPA or EAP old-timers, traditional resources, or accurate core-based materials. Instead, they have been educated by managed care, newspaper articles, feature articles in HR journals written by freelance writers, human resource management instructors in the classroom with zero EAP experience or at least nothing long term, human resource management textbooks, the Chief Financial Officer (who has been educated by the benefits consulting firm), and that's about it. (Are you still in agreement with me?) Okay, the kamikaze statement for this blog: These folks don't know what they are talking about, but you are doing what they say--modifying your EAP and its activities to match their "model" of what they think EAPs are supposed to do!

The EAP field could, in theory disintegrate in front of your eyes if you do not claim the high ground and decide that you are the expert and say so. I cannot tell you have many times I have heard this phrase from HR managers -- "EAPs don't do that". Too many EAPs are changing what they do to please customers. Would you change they dynamics of "calculus" because your student doesn't understand math? Calculus has not changed since Newton invented it. So, what are you doing with your EAP? Why are you making changes to the program to match the boss's misguided understanding of EAPs are all about? Better yet, who is backing you up as "authority" should you hold your ground? That's another blog note for the future.

Help Employees Help Their Friends

Not all attempts to help a friend are major interventions like the class substance abuse intervention. Many more are simply conversations between friends that inspire behavior change. Help employees understand more effectively how to have these conversations and you'll reach family members with the influence of your EAP. Even better, hold a brown bag or short seminar on this topic and watch your attendance at such an event sore. When guiding employees, the key is to ask if the client is seeing signs of denial in a friend with a personal problem requiring urgent action to resolve it? Personal problems with tough choices usually include denial. Others use minimization (the friend knows there’s a problem but denies it’s serious) or projection (the friend admits it is serious but says it is not their responsibility to deal with it for some reason). Absent a crisis, the friend simply isn’t motivated to get help yet. Discuss the forgoing concepts in the counseling session. Denial-laden personal problems include compulsive shopping, refusal to see a doctor, ignoring creditors, struggling with alcohol dependence, staying in an abusive relationship, and many more. Here's some brief guidance to consider offering to the client: Start by talking with your friend. Mention your concerns, but don’t threaten or be aggressive. Key is stating your observations and their impact on you, loved ones, and your friend’s life. Ask to help. Mention your obligation to support him or her as a friend. If you sense anger or defensiveness, remain calm and understanding. Rarely do friends part ways over honesty, at least not permanently. If needed, talk to an expert about the problem to get more pointers. This could be a counselor, an attorney, or even the police. Stay healthy, detached, and objective. Remember, your goal is to encourage the first action step toward help, not to “own” the problem of a friend who won’t seek it.

EAPs: Quick Tips for Supervisors On Giving Feedback

New supervisors often struggle with how to give feedback. When their misguided attempts flop, it can set the stage for ongoing conflict. That makes important for EAPs and EA professionals to have a quick and effective way to counsel supervisors, even seasoned supervisors, with the technique of giving feedback to an employees. Here's what to say, "to make it easier, try what is known as the "sandwiching technique."  The technique of providing constructive feedback or correction of an employee's performance allows the message your sending to be received more easily by "sandwiching" the unfavorable comments between favorable comments.  For example, say: "Nancy, I've been pleased with the way you've stepped up the speed of assembling the monthly reports.  You've made real improvement there.  I am concerned, however, about the quality.   There are frequently mistakes in the charts that need to be corrected.  I hope you'll work to improve the quality as well as speed.  I feel good about your attitude toward the schedule we are trying to keep, so I know you'll do fine."  Notice how the message you wanted to communicate was placed between two true but positive statements.  This technique reduces defensiveness and makes your feedback more acceptable, particularly with employees who are more sensitive toward constructive criticism. Related: Supervisory and Leadership Tips

No Mention of EAP's True Role Anymore--Why?

In the 1970's, "employee assistance programs" and their role in the supervisor referral process to help identify troubled workers and reduce enormous and varied costs associated with workplace drug abuse would have been front and center in an article on the subject. This recent article Kentucky's "The Lane Report",  "Abusing the Bottom Line: State's Drug and Alcohol Misuse Rates Highlight the Need for and Value of Good Workplace Policies" omits any notion of this critical application of EAP theory. The areticle appeared in the May 2012 issue. It was written by Lorie Hailey. Ms. Hailey is the publisher of the The Lane Report and has been there since March 2012, approximately. The fascinating question is, "What was her research path to develop the content for this feature?" Ms Hailey is a writer, not an EAP expert, so she had to rely upon experts who gave her leads and contacts so she could interview or gather information. Where to go or who to call upon for expertise and content is an important question. I can see from the content of this article that an EAP is pointed to as only a self-referral help source. How is it possible that EAPs don't enter this story with their history of performance based intervention success? What are the implications for the this article only educating readers about EAPs being a source of help, not a management tool to preserve the bottom line. It is important not to simply shake each others' hands at EAPA conferences and slap each other on the back, while we discuss how wonderful things are going for the EAP field. This article should tell you they are not. This benefit-only paradigm is a major issue undermining effective growth of employee assistance programs, salaries of professionals, reduction in risk, and it is costing lives. I can rattle off many effective EAPs that have closed their doors this year because financial controllers saw a way to cut them for a less effective EAP model. This article and its omission of the true EAP role in helping substance abusing employees is a commonly observed symptom of a problem facing the EAP field. It should be analyzed, debated, and its solution addressed. If you represent an effective provider of employee assistance programs in Kentucky, you may want delve deeper into this amazing observation and important story. You may learn much from Ms Hailey that could point to solutions the EAP field may wish to consider. Oh, don't blame Ms. Hailey. Blame us.

Educate Employees Before Trauma Takes A Toll

Trauma in the workplace. It's a very scary time for victims and helpers. You can actually feel of sense of panic and responsibility and fear all at the same time. Will you...can you...respond to help people, and also impress management with your capabilities. I've been there. Listen, no matter how prepared you are, that shock hits your system. My last EAP served the fire department unit closest to the Pentagon on 9/11 (100 feet away on the helicopter pad!) so, I know that feeling of "oh man...." First, second, third...go here. You go there.''

But, here's the point: Periodically I get urgent emails from people asking if I have a handout on trauma. These requests frequently come after a critical incident when the urgent need of the caller is to help employees or affected persons understand traumatic stress, motivate victims to take advantage of support services like CISD groups, or participate in effective self-care, like getting enough sleep, eating correctly, laying off the alcohol to get to sleep, and anticipating "normal" symptoms associated with traumatic stress after witnessing a critical incident.

It would better I think to educate new first responders immediately upon hiring about traumatic stress and participating in CISD help after a critical incident and a heck of a lot more about why. A lot of these first responders are mentored, not by buddies who are savvy on critical incident stress, but a work culture that heads out after a shift with a six-pack in tow to "process the bad call". This is a prescription for PTSD or at least lowered productivity from the affects of traumatic stress over time. What can be done about this problem? Consider education about traumatic stress as part of an orientation session. Train employees in other workplaces and industries too where trauma is possible--like industrial settings, etc. Help employees understand and be psychologically prepared for the aftermath of trauma so they understand it as a wound or injury to the psyche that should be managed. Take a look at this product on "Facing a Traumatic Event" from WorkExcel.com and see if could help you accomplish these goals.