Employee Assistance Programme
Health Assured is our employee assistance program (EAP) that is offered alongside our Occupational Health service to provide a free and confidential service for employees and their immediate families that includes short-term counselling, legal advice, financial guidance, and other support services. All employees can access this service without a referral.
OH support differs from an EAP, as OH focuses on maintaining and promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of employees in the workplace by supporting colleagues and managers with any professional or personal challenges that may impact their work performance or mental health. More information can be found on the OH referrals page.
Note: Occupational Health will no longer be offering CBT. Employees can now access counselling and online CBT through Health Assured.
Health Assured
At Essex, our EAP is provided by Health Assured, whose services include:
- Free 24/7 confidential helpline - 0800 028 0199
- Up to six sessions of short-term, solution-focused counselling, per employee, per issue. This is also accessible to partners of staff (including couples counselling), and dependants aged 16-24.
- Health advice, financial and debt advice.
- Critical incident advice and telephone support
- Management support line and counselling
- Access to supported online CBT via Silvercloud, following a discussion with a counsellor from Health Assured.
- Managers can, with consent, make a for an employee to Health Assured. Managers will only be notified that contact has been made, no other information will be shared.
- Online health portal access via Wisdom, a dedicated health and wellbeing mobile app
Health Assured ran an introductory session to give an overview of the services available. This was recorded, and both the video and slides from this are available on the .
Wisdom
Wisdom can be accessed via your web browser () or by downloading the app from your app store. Use our unique employee code MHA339643 and create an account* to get started!
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Wisdom provides:
- Immediate wellbeing support at the touch of a button
- Access to wellbeing webinars, mental health guides, and Health Assured’s official Peace of Mind Podcast
- A personalised newsfeed with mood trackers, guided meditation, breathing exercises, recipes, fitness plans, and yoga
- 4-week plans for lifestyle changes: Quitting smoking, coping with stress, sleeping better, and more!
- WisdomAi, which combines counsellors’ professional knowledge with the latest artificial intelligence into a search engine you can trust
- User perks and discounts available through Bright Exchange
*Please note that you are not required to use your Essex email address to sign up for Wisdom. Do not sign up/log in via Microsoft with your Essex email, as this service is not available.
Further information
Documents
To find out more about the services available, please see the following documents:
- Health Assured information leaflet (.pdf).
- Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf)
- A guide to contacting your Assistance Programme (.pdf)
- Manager's Guide (.pdf)
- Downloading the Wisdom app (.pdf)
Useful Videos
Health Assured have created a collection of useful videos to help you to utilise the service.
EAP Bitesize
Introduction to the library - |
Welcome pack introduction - |
What to expect when contacting our helpline - |
What to expect from counselling - |
What is involved in a clinical assessment - |
What ºÚÁÏÍø if I need counselling - |
How can I access support - |
Wisdom App Bitesize
Wisdom Demo - |
Features of the Wisdom App - |
Four week plans - |
Improving your physical health - |
Contact us through the Wisdom App - |
Confidentiality
Health Assured is not completely anonymous, as you will be asked for some details. This enables Health Assured to have a record of your previous contacts and provide appropriate advice and guidance.
Details of your contact with Health Assured are not shared with the University. The University will receive an overview of services accessed and the number of users for reporting purposes only.
Health Assured will only break confidentiality where there is an immediate risk of harm requiring the assistance of blue light services (police, ambulance, fire).
