Eastern Ontario Family Services Employee Assistance Program

About the Agency

K3C Community Counselling Centres offer a vast number of services that are geared to help people overcome adversity. Our mission is to provide high quality counselling and support in order to encourage individual and family strengths. K3C is a not-for-profit agency governed by a volunteer board of directors. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including generous support from United Way donations, government grants and voluntary contributions. This allows K3C to offer professional counselling at an affordable cost or for certain programs, no cost. Click on any of service links on this page to learn more about our different programs and further steps you can take to improve your life now and in the future.

Our Principles

All people have the right to dignity and respect and to be treated fairly and honestly. All people have the right to access resources in their community. Open and honest communication is to be fostered and encouraged between and with all people.

About Our Staff

Melanie Steers, MSW, RSW

Melanie is the EAP Manager with Family Services Employee Assistance Program in Kingston. She has worked in the EAP field for 8 years, assisting employees and organizations through the provision of counselling services, workshop presentations, consultation to management, organizational development interventions and critical incident stress debriefings. Melanie has presented at the Employee Assistance Society of North America Conference and the Symposium on Employee and Family Assistance Programs in the Workplace. Melanie is currently enrolled at St. Lawrence College in the Human Resources Program.

Deane Cornell, MSW, RSW

Deane has 17 years of experience in the mental health and counselling field, both in hospital and community-based settings. She has expertise in addiction issues, depression, self-esteem and childhood trauma and is certified as a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). As the Assistant EAP Coordinator, Deane's responsibilities include program management as well as workshop presentation and critical incident stress debriefings. Deane is a member of FSEAP's National Quality Assurance Committee.

Jan Worsley, M TS, AAMFT, OAMFT

Jan is a graduate of the Marriage and Family Therapy / Pastoral Counselling Program (Master of Theological Studies) at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and of the Postgraduate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT accredited) at Interfaith Counselling Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. She has been a Clinical Member of AAMFT / OAMFT since 1996 and is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist with the Canadian Registry. Jan has been providing counseling / therapy services to individuals, couples and families since 1993, and sees clients with a wide range of presenting problems. Workshops she has facilitated include: Dealing with Change; Stress Management; Self-Esteem; and Balancing Work and Home.

Michael Melles, M Ed, OAMFT

Mike is a counsellor in both our EAP and Community Programs. He has had a diversity of careers. His first career was as a secondary school teacher. Following this, Mike lived and worked in Japan, Malaysia and Uganda as a Community Development Worker. Mike has extensive experience working with youth and obtained his Masters degree in counselling prior to beginning his career in mental health. His areas of interest are couple therapy, anger management and anxiety. Mike is registered with the Ontario Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and teaches part-time at St. Lawrence College in the Social Service Worker Program.

Brian Howell, SSW Diploma

Brian Howell is our Youth Worker. He began his career in human service work in 1977 assisting elementary school age children. Since 1984, Brian has been responsible for all aspects of the Youth Support Program including counselling of youth clientele, consultation and support for parents, program development and community liaison. He has been involved in program development and consultation and support with parents. In an additional role, Brian is the coordinator and chair of the Residential Placement Advisory Committee which is responsible for review in the placements of children in large scale youth treatment facilities. He also does third party assessments for youth needing advocacy in their application for financial assistance through Ontario Works.

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Workshops and Courses

Family Services EAP provides educational and wellness sessions. Our popular Lunch and Learn presentations provide a basic introduction and overview of topics of interest to employees. While interactive andeducational , these presentations do not serve the purpose of workplace restoration, managing employee performance problems or organizational development. We would be pleased to discuss our other EAP services which more effectively address these needs.

Lunch 'n' Learn Sessions are designed to be 1 to 1 1/2 hours in length with a minimum of 10 participants. The sessions need to be booked a minimum of 1 month to 6 weeks in advance to allow for you to promote the event and time for the presenter to schedule and prepare the presentation and handouts.

The following is our current topics list. We are pleased to discuss additional topics that are of interest to your organization.

Workshop Topics

Workplace Wellness
Financial Wellness
Personal Wellness

Workplace Wellness

Assertiveness Skills addresses the difference between passive, aggressive and assertive styles of communication. The risks and benefits of being assertive as well as basic assertiveness techniques are discussed. Individuals are offered the opportunity to inventory his/her assertiveness skill level.

Coping with Change in the Workplace explores the impact and typical reactions to organizational change, the phases of transition that employees experience when adjusting to the changes and healthy, and effective change strategies for employees, teams and management.

Dealing with Difficult People involves identifying and naming disruptive behaviours, deescalating conflict and diffusing verbal abuse. The presenter shares steps to dealing with disruptive people and self-care strategies.

Enhancing Harmony in the Workplace identifies the main components to creating a harmonious workplace: constructive communication and behaviour, managing conflict effectively and a sense of connection and shared culture. Skills and strategies for employees and teams to promote harmony in the workplace are discussed.

Shift-work and Lifestyle addresses developing an understanding of how the body responds to shift-work. This includes helping to build an understanding and ability to manage the negative effects of shift-work encompassing issues such as the impact on sleep, alertness and energy levels, family relationships and social activities. Tips on utilizing the positive aspects of shift-work to your advantage and developing healthy sleep and lifestyle habits are presented.

Shift-work and Lifestyle addresses developing an understanding of how the body responds to shift-work. This includes helping to build an understanding and ability to manage the negative effects of shift-work encompassing issues such as the impact on sleep, alertness and energy levels, family relationships and social activities. Tips on utilizing the positive aspects of shift-work to your advantage and developing healthy sleep and lifestyle habits are presented.

Financial Wellness

Demystifying Investments is presented by a Credit Counsellor who helps participants understand investment language, the distinction between GICs and Bonds and the advantages/disadvantages of Mutual Funds. The presenter gives tips on how to choose an investment strategy that suits your circumstances.

Money Planning: ABC's for New Employees and Recent Graduates is presented by a Credit Counsellor who tackles the issues of managing student loans, basic budgeting for the newly independent person and applying for credit cards: pros and cons.

How to Manage your Money a Credit Counsellor walks participants through the process of becoming financially aware, learning to live within your means; ensuring your lifestyle choices do not exceed your income and managing your debt load.

Retirement Reality Check... Being Financially Prepared for Retirement Retirement is presented by a Credit Counsellor who covers areas such as how to lessen the tax bite when you retire, understanding your CPP and company pensions and income tax implications for retirees.

What's the Score? provides you with the information regarding Credit Bureau amd Credit Scores. Learn how information is collected, calculated and used. Get tips on how to improve your standing. Learn to protect yourself from Identity Theft.

Personal Wellness

Balancing Personal and Work Life gives you an opportunity to complete a life satisfaction inventory, evaluate your balance by determining time and energy spent in the major life areas of work, family, school, social and sleep. Strategies to rebalance your life based on personal beliefs and values are discussed.

Boost your Self-Esteem by Changing your Thoughts is important for identifying the critical inner voice and learning to understand how cognitive distortions impact self-esteem. Participants will also learn to recognize types of distortions and how to use a thought record to boost self-esteem.

The Basics of Stress Management Management includes the signs and types of stress and techniques to manage workplace or personal stress including: communication and people skills, cognitive skills, time management skills, and social network and work-life balance skills.

Managing Caregiver Stress addresses personal stress as a caregiver to an elderly or disabled family member. Learn the skills of managing decision-making dilemmas and what emotional and practical resources are available to help you to cope with the demands of the caregiver role.

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Specialized Services

Organizations play a central role in creating a work environment where their employees can excel. Guided by this principle, FSEAP has additional Workplace Health Services available from our K3C Consulting Services line of products. This consulting division of FSEAP is dedicated to providing innovative products and services to enhance organizational health and productivity. K3C Consulting Services offers a suite of premium services including:

Executive and Management Coaching

Executive and Management Coaching related to organizational and personal wellness topics as well as to assist managers and executives to reach their full leadership potential.

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Manager's Toolkit

Access to the Manager's Toolkit an expanded suite of On-line Learning, Tools, Tip-Sheets, Resources, and Forums for Supervisors and Managers

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Re-integration Facilitation and Support

Re-integration Facilitation and Support to ease employee and workgroup transitions related to disabilities and health-related absences, including: needs evaluation, clinical intervention, co-ordination of required support services, and assistance for managers and workgroup members during transition periods.

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Team and Organizational Effectiveness Assessments
and Interventions

Team and Organizational Effectiveness Assessments and Interventions including the analysis of interpersonal relationships and mental safety in the workplace through the Vital Workplace and Neighbour at Work Program.

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Facilitated Conflict Resolutions

Facilitated Conflict Resolutions, including as required: counselling on stress and anger management, dispute resolution in the workplace, and moderated discussion groups to aid in rebuilding and reinforcing a sense of team and cooperation with management.

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Education, Training and Group Programs

Education, Training and Group Programs on workplace issues, such as: stress management, team building, dealing with difficult co-workers, conflict resolution, and overcoming workplace negativity.

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Commissioned Surveys, Analysis, Reports, and Consulting

Commissioned Surveys, Analysis, Reports, and Consulting related to issues affecting the human factors in organizational performance and intended to identify and empower effective strategies for modifying EAP initiatives so that they can contribute directly to corporate goals and objectives.

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Consulting, Training, and Support

Consulting, Training, and Support in creating client-run programs and services that benefit employee health and well-being.

Critical Incident Support

We provide immediate on-site 24 hour response. A call to our 1-800 crisis line activates this trauma response service. Our professional intake counsellor mobilizes the Crisis Response Team.

Interventions are offered both to individuals and groups. Sessions are recommended in the immediate aftermath of the traumatic event and may be advisable at a later time as well. Separate debriefings are often beneficial for a heterogeneous group of employees. For example, front-line workers may have different needs from management or feel uncomfortable with management personnel present in the same session. We accommodate these needs and other specifics based on our clinical judgment and experience in providing this service.

The effective management of critical events involves the following individual, group and organizational interventions:

Pre-incident planning and organizational training
Post-incident data gathering, consultation, assessment and planning with management and employees
Appropriate post-incident group interventions
Follow-up with individuals at risk and the organization as a whole

We provide longer term assistance to individuals and groups when a traumatic event has occurred. These services include:

Supportive Counselling: manage stress reactions, adjustment to loss and delayed or complicated grief
EMDR: a specific treatment modality that assists in the processing of traumatic memories
Case Management: referral, liaison and coordination of community resources
Psychological and Psychiatric Referral: assessment and treatment for PTSD, high risk clients or clients with a pre-morbid psychiatric history
Follow-up Debriefings: to continue the adjustment process, these are often beneficial at a significant event or after a significant milestone, such as an anniversary, memorial or dedication
Educational Presentations: to teach coping strategies specific to the trauma experience

FSEAP Trauma Expertise

We are experienced in assisting companies to establish internal resources to facilitate peer-to-peer interventions and support. For example, we have worked with Canada Post and Paramedics to develop a unique "Peer Defuser Team" model and training program. This model uses employees as the first responders to emergency incidents in the workplace. The program includes an initial assessment of employee sensitivity and abilities, followed by comprehensive training with periodic performance evaluations and refresher sessions.

FSEAP has also worked extensively with organizations in the areas of Critical Incident Stress Management and disaster planning. Across our company, we have developed expertise in the particular issues facing Hospitals, Emergency Medical Services, Police and Fire Services when critical incidents occur. We have designed and facilitated a range of training programs and materials for these employee groups on Post-Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma. We are also actively involved in the disaster community response planning process with the City of Kingston.

Locations

Main Office - 417 Bagot Street, Kingston, ON, K7K 3C1