The UI Employee Assistance Program (UI EAP) is here to provide support for the emotional wellbeing of the faculty, staff, post docs, medical residents and families of the UI community. We offer short term confidential counseling as well as information about community resources and support for supervisors.  If your goal is to find a therapist in the community, you do not need to make an appointment. Our services are here for everyone regardless of race, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. UI EAP counselors will work with you to identify a provider in the community who will meet your individual or personal needs. We can help with this via email, phone, zoom or in person.

EAP Offers

The UI EAP sees children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. Any permanent, faculty or staff who has a 50% or greater appointment is eligible. Our counselors can work with you about a variety of concerns.

There is no cost for our services.

• We offer 6 sessions a year per person and many feel that this is enough to help get through the current stressor.
• You do not have to use all 6 sessions, however, if more are needed, your EAP counselor will work with you to find an ongoing resource. We will bridge you to your first community appointment even if that requires more than 6 sessions.

We are an internal EAP so that means that your EAP sessions can only be used with our counselors; they cannot be transferred to a community resource. However, one does not need to go through EAP to see a counselor in the community and our UI insurances (UI Choice/UI Select) do not require you to have formal referral.  If you want to engage in counseling to respond to your current distress and/or to engage in counseling to improve your life overall, please know we are here to help.

We are continuing to use Tele-Mental Health platforms as well as face-to-face appointments to accommodate the needs of the University of Iowa community. We are primarily using the Tele-Mental Health platforms of Zoom or Skype. We have face-to-face appointments available at UI Health Care and the University Services Building. To schedule an appointment, employees may contact us by phone at 319-335-2085, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email eaphelp@uiowa.edu. Limited evening appointments are available, and for crisis situations, we will make every effort to offer a same-day appointment.

Due to state-to-state licensing laws, our counselors may not be able to provide counseling to faculty and staff residing in other states and, unfortunately, cannot provide counseling to faculty and staff residing in other countries. If upon checking, it appears that the UI EAP cannot provide Tele-Mental Health therapy due to your location, we will work with you around connecting to someone in your community. Visit: Making an Appointment with a Community Provider for more information.

Release Time for Appointments

People often ask, how should I account for the time spent at my EAP appointment if it is during scheduled work hours. Employees may request release time from work for the initial EAP evaluation period. For subsequent appointments, employees may use available sick leave or vacation time as provided for in Sections III-22.2 and III-23.2. of the University's Policy Manual. Employees scheduled to work third shift may schedule appointments during office hours or by emailing EAP at eaphelp@uiowa.edu.

Location of Counseling Services

Please call (319-335-2085) or email us to find out how to connect to our services.  We are offering tele-mental health visits are available to provide in person visits at UI Health Care and University Services Building.  

Many of our faculty and staff work  remotely and might even work from outside of Iowa. Our clinicians are licensed to see clients in Iowa. During the pandemic, some U.S. states had authorized mental health practitioners in Iowa temporarily to provide counseling to individuals residing out of state. These allowances in other states have mostly stopped.

If the UI EAP is unable to provide counseling to you due to you being in a state or country in which our counselors are not licensed to practice, we will try to assist with finding resources to meet your needs. Should you have questions about how to navigate your options, the UI EAP might be able to provide a brief case management appointment via phone or Zoom to provide guidance in seeking services in your area. 

Referrals for Ongoing Needs or Specialized Services

If you are interested in securing ongoing counseling in the community without using your EAP visits, please visit:  Making an Appointment with a Community Provider. Or, your EAP counselor might suggest that you continue in counseling after your EAP visits are exhausted for the year. Either way, we  will assist in identifying appropriate resources and can help facilitate referrals to other university or community providers. We often make follow-up contacts to ensure your individual needs are being met. Employees are responsible for payment of services obtained from other agencies or providers.