{"id":5619,"date":"2026-10-03T05:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jeddywellness.com\/?p=5619"},"modified":"2026-10-04T09:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T15:12:18","slug":"we-know-who-uses-eap-but-who-are-we-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jeddywellness.com\/blog\/we-know-who-uses-eap-but-who-are-we-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"We Know Who Uses EAP\/EFAP. But Who Are We Missing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rethinking how we measure workplace mental health support<\/h3>\n

World Mental Health Day is coming up.<\/p>\n

We have written about workplace mental health before. So rather than give you another “5 things leaders can do to support mental health at work” article, we wanted to ask a different question.<\/p>\n

Who are we seeing in our mental health data, and who might we be missing?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most large organizations offer some form of mental health support. <\/p>\n

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or Employee Family Assistance Programs (EFAP). Counselling. Mental health education. Manager training. Digital resources. Crisis support.<\/p>\n

We know what is available. But do we know who is actually using it? And perhaps more importantly\u2026 who are we not seeing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do we know about EAP\/EFAP use?
\n<\/h3>\n

A 2026 study by Mark Attridge, PhD<\/a> and Jason C. McDaniel<\/a> examined EAP counselling data from 101,907 users<\/a> in a large U.S. EAP organization.<\/p>\n

Mental health was the most common reason people sought counselling, followed by relationship and family concerns, personal stress, workplace concerns and substance use.<\/p>\n

That is valuable data.<\/p>\n

But there is an important limitation.<\/p>\n

Utilization data tells us about the people who entered the system. It does not tell us about the people who did not.<\/b><\/p>\n

The people we do not see
\n<\/h3>\n

Canadian research raises an interesting question.<\/p>\n

Only about one-third<\/strong> of Canadians reported having access to an EAP\/EFAP. Among those with access, only about 10% said they would turn to an EAP\/EFAP first for mental health support. Mental Health Research Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

If we spend a significant part of our waking lives at work, what happens when people do not use the support available to them?<\/p>\n

Research points to several barriers including awareness, concerns about effectiveness and confidentiality, accessibility, stigma and preference for external providers. Recent research on EAP non-users.<\/a><\/p>\n

These findings do not give us one profile of the \u201cnon-user.\u201d They give us clues about where people may be disappearing between having a need and receiving support.<\/p>\n

The mental health support pathway<\/h2>\n

We can think about mental health support as a pathway:<\/p>\n

Need ? Awareness ? Trust ? Relevance ? Access ? Support<\/b><\/p>\n

At any point along this pathway, people may stop moving toward support.<\/p>\n