New name and new 24/7 services: EFAP is now Employee Wellness!
At VCH, we know that psychologically healthy health care employees and a thriving workforce are the foundation for delivering safe and quality health care services to our patients, clients and residents. Your emotional wellness matters – at work and home – and taking care of yourself benefits us all at VCH – and most importantly you! It starts with ‘good thinking’ and this is where we can help, by promoting positive thinking and providing 24/7/365 confidential and free employee wellness services to employees and their immediate family.
From EFAP to Employee Wellness
The Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) is pleased to announce enhanced and improved access to services and new virtual services that support ‘good thinking’ and emotional wellness, now offered through our new name of Employee Wellness. The new name better reflects and incorporates our expanded services (available 24/7) which support the National Standard of Canada – Psychological Health and Safety Workplace Standards.
Employee Wellness/EFAP continues to offer free counselling, wellness and critical incident debriefing services to employees and their immediate family in compliance with privacy regulations while ensuring all client information remains confidential.
Employees and their immediate family members can now access the following new and enhanced services:
- Counselling Services
- More responsive confidential counselling and consultation services, and a 24/7 crisis line, offered to employees and their immediate families by senior level clinicians.
- NEW: Evidence based online therapy program. This program offers immediate access to online CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) program, tailored to reducing stress, depression and anxiety. “No need to call first, now you can just click to access the online program and begin right away.”
- NEW: Virtual Counselling services are now offered by video, and coming soon by email and text!
- Wellness Services
- Taking Care of Me (TCOM) workshop series – Individual and group wellness services to help you balance and thrive; at work and at home in the areas of health and wellness, career and work, and relationships and family. Customized group sessions require a manager consultation as your first step.
- Critical Incident Debriefings
- Available to you one-on-one, or to your team, and include triage, consultation, and debriefing time, to talk about the impact of the critical incident in a confidential, safe and supportive environment.
- NEW: The Enhanced Critical Incident Stress Management (ECISM) program (requires preapproval) offers more efficient service, now available 24/7 with a minimum of just 2 hours’ notice.
- NEW: Booking an appointment can now be done directly through the website’s online booking form.
Due to popular demand, our Dear EFAP column will continue to be published in VCH News.
Good thinking: Being Mindful
Employee Wellness/EFAP promotes ‘good thinking’ to help encourage a culture of positivity at VCH. “Good thinking is about making a conscious effort to think differently to support your psychological health. When you think about something differently, you feel differently – it’s about being mindful and reframing your thoughts and experiences,” says Dr. Stacy Sprague, Executive Director of Employee Wellness/EFAP. The new employee wellness enhanced and online services can help you do this.
Print this Employee Wellness poster, and help spread the word to your colleagues and promote good thinking in your work area and at home.
Who is Employee Wellness/EFAP for?
All VCH employees, including full time, part time and casual staff and their immediate family, can access 24/7 confidential and free employee wellness services. Since EFAP, and now Employee Wellness, started providing wellness, critical incident, and counselling services to VCH staff in 1993, they have helped over 100,000 clients and annually support over 3000 – 4000 VCH employees and their immediate families. The top three reasons employees access services are for Mental and Emotional Health (Anxiety/Panic, Stress, Depression, Grief and Other), followed by interpersonal/relationship concerns, and work related concerns such as bullying and work stress. Employees can now access our services face to face, by phone and through our new online therapy program and virtual services.
Accessing the new website (from work or home)
Tip: Save the link to your ‘favourites’ for easy access, and remember we are here to support you and promote good thinking when you need it – 24/7/365.
Get Social with Employee Wellness/EFAP
Let’s stay in touch! Visit and like our Facebook page at EmployeeWellness.ca and follow us on Twitter @EmplWellness.
We’re always here to help
Review the FAQs on the new Employee Wellness/EFAP website for answers to commonly asked questions. To access confidential and free Employee Wellness/EFAP Services in your area, contact us at 604-872-4929 or by email booking@employee-wellness.ca. For urgent 24/7 assistance, please call 1-800-505-4929.