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>> SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS, SENIORS, CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES
SUMMER 2017
Not your father’s EAP BY BRENT MCCRAW, DEE RAINEY AND ANDREA CHESHIRE
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tress, anxiety and depression are keeping employees away from their jobs in record numbers. Eighty million workdays are reported to be lost annually to these three mental health issues. As more and more employees struggle to manage the everyday demands of family and work, companies are offering updated employee assistance programs (EAPs) designed to help workers meet the challenges of modern life. EAPs are work-based programs offering confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up services for employees and their family members who are experiencing personal and/or work-related problems that affect work performance. In recent years, there has been an increased use of EAPs by people suffering from behavioral health disabilities and co-occurring health and substance use issues. Sixty to 70 percent of those who seek the help of EAPs today do so for stress related issues. MENTAL HEALTH INTAKE & RESOURCE CENTER, 434.200.4444
Employee assistance programs themselves are not new — they grew out of the industrial alcoholism programs developed in the 1940s. Although they are typically free, they often go unused. According to the American Psychiatric Association, fewer than 5 percent of people with access to EAPs utilize them. Forty percent of employees don’t even realize that their employer provides an EAP or what services are offered. There is also stigma attached to EAPs. While 70 to 80 percent of employee assistance inquiries are self-referrals, employees still worry about privacy and confidentiality. The 20 to 30 percent of workers who are referred to an EAP by supervisors often view the EAP as “punishment.” continued on page 2 Brent McCraw is director of Centra Addiction & Recovery Services. Dee Rainey is director of Centra Bridges Treatment Center. Andrea Cheshire is director of HealthWorks. CENTRA |
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Mateusz Broszko, MD Adult Psychiatrist
EAPs
Melissa Bui, MD Adult Psychiatrist
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Kathryn Quinn Johnson, MA, DO Adult Psychiatrist
Christian Neal, MD, MPA Adult Psychiatrist
Lindsay Caine-Conley, PA-C Psychiatric Physician Assistant
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Today’s EAP Businesses are trying to recast EAPs in a new light by focusing on health and wellness because employees are demanding a better work/life balance. The goal of EAPs is to help employees return to work more quickly while lowering costs of care, improving treatment outcomes and increasing employee satisfaction. As EAPs evolve, they also are adapting to current technologies. In an effort to improve accessibility, today’s EAPs may include interactive assessments for depression, stress and substance abuse, webinars and other online information, cell phone applications for video counseling, supervisor training on wellness programs, stress management, resilience and mindfulness, and email and text messaging to facilitate communication and support.
Services A single phone call to a company’s EAP program can put an employee in touch with the necessary resources to help with personal and/or work-related problems such as: • Personal struggles/life events • Health, wellness and prevention such as smoking cessation, weight loss, nutrition, exercise • Emotional issues, including stress, anxiety, depression • Financial difficulties • Work/family balance • Counseling for crisis situations • Substance abuse • Legal concerns
Today’s progressive EAPs also offer convenience or “concierge” services, such as help with parenting, childcare and elder care management. They integrate well-being solutions to promote healthy lifestyle choices, help employees manage fatigue and provide resilience training to improve employees’ coping skills. Modern EAPs also offer proactive screening and outreach services, especially for employees on workers comp or who are living with disabilities or chronic illness. Special needs assessments, referrals and return-to-work planning services are also part of newer employee assistance programs. Today’s EAPs provide significant benefits for both employees and employers by promoting a better work/life balance and increasing employee engagement and productivity.
Centra offers new EAP
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entra began offering a new employee assistance program (EAP) on July 1 to help employees improve their health and work/life balance. The EAP is offered through HealthWorks, a subsidiary of Centra, which provides occupational medicine and work recovery services in Central Virginia.
HealthWorks Employee Assistance is a free and confidential information, support and referral service for employees and their families. A single phone call to HealthWorks puts employees in touch with a wide variety of helpful resources. To contact HealthWorks Employee Assistance, call 434.200.6000. For more information about HealthWorks, visit hw4me.com.
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MENTAL HEALTH INTAKE & RESOURCE CENTER, 434.200.4444
Offering hope for depression
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n 2004, Cecelia Hammond retired from the Library of Congress as assistant to the chief of overseas operations, marking a 22-year career that began when she joined the federal government as a payroll clerk. After retirement, she became a full-time caregiver for her elderly mother, who Hammond said was “my whole life.” When her mother died at age 93, things began to go terribly wrong.
Seventy-three patients in their 20s to late 70s have received TMS at Centra Piedmont Psychiatric Center since it was first offered in February 2014 “with a notable improvement in depressive symptoms,” said Michael Judd, MD, boardcertified psychiatrist and medical director. Patients have traveled from as far away as Pearisburg, Cave Spring, Lexington, Bassett and Appomattox for the treatment.
Burdened by grief, Hammond said her “mind wasn’t working,” and it wasn’t long before she lost her house. “Next thing I know I’m homeless,” she said. “I had to get rid of all but one of my pets. I went from my 3,000 square foot home to a tiny apartment. No matter where I turned, nothing was going right. Before I knew it, I was in really bad shape.”
“More than 1.3 million TMS sessions have been administered worldwide,” noted Judd. “Research not connected to TMS has shown that people who suffer from depression have an underactive left frontal cortex. TMS stimulates that region of the brain with targeted electromagnetic pulsations. Theoretically, these pulses stimulate metabolism and increase the brain’s neurotransmitters, thereby helping to alleviate depression.”
Hammond began treatment for depression, but after a half dozen years of therapy, her medication suddenly stopped being effective. “I began spiraling further and further downward, and I was referred for TMS,” said Hammond. “The therapy worked miracles, and today, I feel wonderful.”
Effective treatment for depression TMS — Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation — is a noninvasive, outpatient-based form of brain stimulation approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008. TMS is recommended for patients suffering from depression who have not achieved satisfactory improvement from antidepressant treatment. MENTAL HEALTH INTAKE & RESOURCE CENTER, 434.200.4444
According to Judd, TMS has resulted in a 68 percent response rate (reduction in depressive symptoms) in his patients and a 45 percent remission rate (returning to a usual level of function in absence of depression). Judd noted that in order to meet the criteria for TMS, patients must have a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, be 18 years of age or older and have failed at least one trial with an antidepressant of adequate dose and duration. continued on the back
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SUMMER 2017 | VOL. 31 ISSUE 3 Produced by Centra Mental Health Services and Communications/ Marketing Department. For referrals or admissions, call the Mental Health Intake & Resource Center, 434.200.4444, 24 hours a day. For more information about the Mental Health Services division, please call 434.200.4447.
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Hope
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He pointed out that TMS is not meant to take the place of medication or therapy. “It is an additional modality to treat depression,” he said. The outpatient procedure begins with a one or two hour initial mapping of the area to be stimulated. Subsequent treatments are 35 minutes, five days a week for four to six weeks. Judd added that TMS is a safe procedure with minimal to no side effects. The most common side effect of TMS is a mild headache, which is usually limited to the first few days of treatment. Hammond began her TMS therapy last fall, and “after five or six weeks, it started working, and I began to feel better,” she said. A common theme among TMS recipients is the feeling that they have their lives back, said Judd. “Many patients want to be positive and forward-looking. With depression, they become so stuck they can’t see their way out. Approximately 50 percent of people struggling with depression do not respond to medication or therapy.
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“After TMS, they are enjoying life again,” he said. “A large part of what we can offer with TMS is hope. And once people begin to feel better, we encourage them to follow a healthy lifestyle through exercise, proper nutrition and socialization,” said Judd. Hammond has moved to a small house now, and she considers herself fortunate to get two of her cats back. In addition to bringing them home to be with her teacup Chihuahua, another Chihuahua and a Schitzu have joined her and her son in their new home. “I’m so appreciative of having this therapy,” she said. “I can’t say I feel like my old self, because I don’t remember what that felt like. It’s been too long since I felt this good.”
For more information about TMS treatment at Centra Medical Group Piedmont Psychiatric Center, call 434.200.5999.
MENTAL HEALTH INTAKE & RESOURCE CENTER, 434.200.4444
