Educating the Employee Assistance Professional: Cornell University's Employee Assistance Education and Research Program

Abstract

This article outlines in considerable detail Cornell University's Employee Assistance Education and Research Program which is funded by the New York State Department of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, in cooperation with the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation of Mill Neck, NY. It utilizes an academic curriculum in combination with field experience to further develop the EAP profession. It has been on-going since the Fall of 1985 in various New York State cities (Syracuse, New York, Rochester, and Albany) and will soon expand to include Buffalo and Long Island. The authors were assisted with implementation of the program by Bernard Flaherty, who acts as its co-director, and who is Director of the Central District of Cornell's Extension Division of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. In addition, the article addresses a dilemma faced by personnel executives as they try to reach decisions about how to assure quality in the EAP programs, and in the personnel who staff them. On the one hand, they seek practical, applied programs that can be readily implemented and attractive to employees. On the other, there is a need to feel confident that the EAP personnel they employ are thoroughly acquainted with the workplace, and with the treatment place, and have a sound understanding of the emotional disturbances that cause troubled employees to be poor performers.