Counselling and Personal Development
Student Life
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a counselling service offered to all Deakin staff by the Division of Student Life with funding from the Human Resources Services Division. The Program is designed specifically to address and resolve both work related and personal problems adversely affecting work performance.
All University staff can use the EAP. In the Program staff have access to confidential, short-term, professional, voluntary and free counselling by qualified social workers or psychologists who are located on all campuses.
Counsellors maintain strict confidentiality. No information regarding what is discussed within any counselling session is relayed to any other person without your consent. Personal details remain confidential.
Deakin staff may refer themselves and make their own appointments, or be referred by a colleague or a supervisor. The staff member or supervisor should consider that the problem is work-related or negatively affecting work performance.
These can include issues directly related to work such as workplace conflict, difficult working relationships, stress, workplace change and workplace trauma. Personal issues such as depression, grief, chronic anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse can also directly affect workplace performance and behaviour. These issues can cause work problems such as absenteeism, friction, poor productivity, high staff turnover, reduced performance and low job satisfaction. These problems may affect your health and well-being, ability to cope with the demands of everyday life, your behaviour and work performance. Usually, the longer the problem exists, the more aspects of a person’s life are affected by it.
Staff can be assessed by an EAP counsellor and, if appropriate, offered counselling under the Program for one to five individual sessions. A referral elsewhere may be suggested.
Counsellors are experienced, registered psychologists and social workers with an extensive knowledge of, and familiarity with, the university environment. They have also provided consultation and staff training workshops to work units on stress related issues, mediation skills, managing change and coping with difficult behaviour. Counsellors also have experience and training in a range of issues that adults face.
Individual staff needing counselling support for personal difficulties (eg marriage/relationship issues, family of origin issues, parenting issues, performance in study not at Deakin University) may be offered counselling on a fee-for-service basis, accessed through the Division of Student Life - Counselling Service.
