Employee Assistance Program
Supporting Our Employees Through Times of Need
The Employee Assistance Program, commonly referred to as EAP, was developed as a way for the university to support our employees through times of need. For example, some faculty or staff may need help dealing with an unexpected crisis such as a death or injury, while others need assistance transitioning into retirement. The University's EAP provider is McLaughlin Young Group (MyGroup).
Employees have access to services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling 1-800-633-3353 or 704-529-1428, or through unlimited website access at mygroup.com with the following credentials:
- User name: USC
- Password: guest
Assessment and Counseling
When employees and family members call the EAP, they are offered a face-to-face counseling session in which a thorough assessment can be conducted by a licensed, experienced clinician in their area. Reasons to use the EAP include: Marital difficulties, parenting, stress, depression, work-related concerns, alcohol and drug use/abuse, grief and loss, or preventative.
Counseling appointments can be conducted on the phone or face-to-face, covering the following areas:
- Short-term individual, family, couples and group counseling, which includes six sessions per person per issue per year at no cost to employees and their families.
Other resources include:
- Monthly online training and seminars
- Work-life services including legal and financial, or child and elder referrals
- Unlimited management and supervisory consultation
- Monthly EAP Newsletter
Legal Access Services
- Telephone and web-based legal resources
- Free 30-minute appointment for a legal consultation with a local attorney
- In most cases, 25 percent discount on ongoing legal services
- Legal forms available to download (such as wills, power of attorney, etc.)
- Online legal encyclopedia
Financial Services
- Free financial counseling appointments
- Issues addressed include bankruptcy, budgeting, buying a home, college savings, retirement planning
- Educational materials and financial worksheets provided prior to appointments
- 40 financial calculators available online
- ID theft recovery through credit monitoring
- Discounted credit reports
Education and Training
As part of our EAP and Work-Life Services, Mygroup.com offers 17 online training programs that are available 24/7 and include certificates of completion.
Additional monthly online seminars are offered live during the month and then archived at mygroup.com. The seminars address a different personal development topic each month.
EAP core training can be presented onsite for personal or professional development. Topics include:
- Compassion fatigue
- Conflict and negativity
- Coping with change
- Conflict resolution
- Dealing with difficult people
- Decreasing financial stress
- Effective communication
- Holiday stress
- Mindfulness in the workplace
- Stress management
- Time management
- Work-life balance
- Workplace bullying
- Workplace violence
Cost
Except for fees associated with the purchase of legal documents, the EAP provides up to six (6) counseling sessions, per issue, per year at no cost to university faculty, staff, and eligible family members.
Confidentiality
All EAP benefits are as confidential as the law allows. The University has no need or desire to know who uses these services, nor will anyone have access to any information without your consent. The only exceptions are when someone's safety is in question. The EAP provider submits statistical reports to the University, but no names or identifying information are ever included in these reports.