Behavioral Health Services

Behavioral health services encompass the range of habits and choices that affect both mental and physical well-being. From the way we eat to our daily routines, our behavioral health determines our ability to thrive in life.

Employers are focusing on incorporating behavioral and mental health services into their primary care systems to better manage their employees’ chronic conditions. Integrated care is the key to providing high-quality services and ensuring parity with medical treatment.

Employee Assistance Programs

Employee assistance programs, or EAPs, are benefits offered by employers to help their workers with a wide range of personal and work-related issues. Some of these issues include family care, financial challenges, legal support, and addiction counseling.

Typically, employees who use an EAP will begin by speaking with an intake specialist who will ask some questions and then refer them to a solution-focused counselor for short-term therapy sessions. These specialists can also assist with finding more long-term treatment services for those who need it.

EAPs can also offer a variety of training programs that discuss work-life balance, stress management, coping with trauma and loss, and navigating workplace conflict. Managers and supervisors can be trained to understand these programs better so that they can be effective in referring their employees when necessary.

Many EAPs are managed internally by the company, while others are outsourced to third-party providers such as AllOne Health. These external providers are often able to provide more comprehensive options for workers, including access to the Anthem Network.

Employee Wellness Programs

Offering wellness programs is a great way for employers to attract and retain top talent. Employees are increasingly looking for workplaces that support their physical, mental, and financial well-being.

Conducting health risk assessments, establishing budgets and goals for participation rewards, and designing program activities are all important elements of an effective employee wellness program. Incentives should be carefully designed to avoid coercion or penalties and should respect employee autonomy.

Many of the most popular employee wellness programs are focused on physical health, such as smoking cessation and weight management programs. These types of programs can be highly effective, but it’s equally important for organizations to offer employee wellness programs that focus on emotional and financial wellbeing as well. Employees who feel a strong sense of belonging at work are less likely to use sick days and can work more effectively in the office. This can increase productivity and help companies save on healthcare costs. Providing financial wellness programs and workshops on money management can help employees alleviate stress and build healthy spending habits.

Employee Assistance Counselors

An EAP counselor can provide help with a variety of issues, such as substance abuse, family problems and work-related stress. They may also offer help in navigating financial or legal problems. They can also offer specialized trauma-intervention services.

EAPs can provide a number of benefits to employers, including reduced absenteeism and enhanced employee retention rates. They can also derisk a company by improving employee morale and productivity. They are also an important tool to promote wellness and build a culture of mental health in the workplace.

EAP counseling is typically a separate benefit from an employer’s insurance coverage, so employees will not incur any co-pays or deductibles for this service. Some EAPs have their own therapists who will provide these sessions for their employees, while others may contract with outside therapists to deliver them. In either case, they will be licensed and certified professionals who can deliver a variety of short-term counseling or therapy services.

Licensed Professional Counselors

Behavioral health services are provided by a variety of healthcare professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, social workers and counselors. Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) offer psychotherapy to patients focusing on their specific behavior disorders. They can also help patients identify the underlying issues that are contributing to their disorder and recommend treatment programs.

Integrated behavioral health is the practice of linking mental and physical healthcare to provide more comprehensive care for individuals. This approach allows medical providers to better address patient challenges, reducing ER visits and other costly healthcare costs.

Behavioral health services can include any type of therapy or intervention that helps people manage mental illness, life stressors and crises, substance use and health behaviors. Most insurance plans must cover these services in the same way as they do physical healthcare. However, some insurers still make it more difficult for members to access these services. That’s why AllMed’s network of behavioral health specialists is dedicated to providing detailed, legally defensible determinations that support optimal outcomes and compliance.