If public officers ever feel the need to talk to a counsellor about work or even personal issues, there’s someone ready to listen, representatives of government’s Employee Assistance Programme reminded the public last week.
Staffers from the Human Resources Department’s EAP were at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park on Friday spreading the word about the services the programme offers in celebration of inaugural “EAP Awareness Week,” which ended Friday. During a family fun event held at the park Friday about 60 public officers participated in games, including dominoes, cards, skipping and other activities.
Loreen Callwood-Lewis, an EAP counsellor, said that during the week organisers held a series of meetings at several government departments to explain what the unit does.
About 75 percent of the public officers they spoke with were not aware of the services that the EAP provides, according to the counsellor.
“The EAP has been around since approximately around 2003,” Ms. Callwood-Lewis said. “The services are free, confidential and convenient. It is important that we take care of our mental health with the same energy that we use to take care of our physical health.”
Some public officers regularly use the programme, but more could benefit from its services, Ms. Callwood-Lewis said.
“I think that is mainly because as a people, we are not too accustomed to going to a counsellor,” she said. “Some have confidentiality issues. They have been a bit hesitant but with activities such as this, we hope they would at least give us a chance.”
See the Oct. 11, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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