University Times

Three years ago, Pitt began offering its faculty and staff free, short-term, on-campus counseling for personal problems — ranging from depression to family crises to job-related stress — through the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP).

Since then, FSAP has provided individual and family counseling to 1,017 employees (about 900 of them staff), program director Carolyn Maue told Faculty Assembly this month. That number doesn't include telephone inquiries, she said.

Of the total, 27 percent of cases involved family problems such as marital and parenting troubles, domestic violence and the strains of caring for elderly parents; 20 percent were for medical and emotional conditions including depression and eating disorders; and 19 percent involved job-related problems such as conflicts with co-workers and coping with layoffs and reassignments.

The remaining cases covered a mixed bag of problems including sexual harassment, stress management and substance abuse, Maue said.

Some 5.4 percent of Pitt staff took advantage of FSAP services, but only 1.1 percent of faculty, she reported. Those percentages are typical among employee assistance programs, according to a national survey Maue cited. Faculty seem to be more worried than staff about the confidentiality of employer-provided counseling services, said Maue — although she emphasized that FSAP services are strictly confidential. Faculty also tend to have greater access than staff to private counseling, she said.

In addition to counseling individuals and members of their families, FSAP provides workshops for employee groups. Recently, the program began offering a workshop called "Moving On" for survivors of departmental layoffs and reorganizations.

Recently, Pitt's administration renewed its contract with FSAP for another two years, Maue said. The program costs the University $263,000 per year, but the administration estimates that Pitt recoups more than twice that amount annually in improved employee productivity, reduced absenteeism and lower payments to health care insurers, thanks to the program.

One of the oldest programs of its kind in western Pennsylvania, FSAP started at Presbyterian University Hospital 28 years ago. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employees had access to the program for years before Pitt contracted with it in 1994.

FSAP publicizes its services through brochures, a newsletter and monthly advertisements in the University Times. For information or to schedule an appointment, call FSAP at 647-3327 or 1-800-647-3327.

— Bruce Steele