Employee FAQ – Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
What is my EFAP coverage? Is there a new defined amount of coverage provided?
The EFAP is a flexible program to assist employees and their families with a focused approach to
addressing a range of issues. The number of sessions/hours is determined after an assessment of the
needs and is based on a Solution Focused Therapy model.
Counsellors will work in consultation with the Regional Clinical Manager to develop an appropriate
action plan to prioritize and address the issues to support you. There is no fixed amount of coverage or
sessions when seeing your counsellor. You will get the support you need for as long as you need it.
How is this service different than before?
The province is committed to ensuring that employees and their families have the supports and services
they need to live a healthy and balanced life. Morneau Shepell will continue to provide that same level
of support with some improvements for you and your family. Support will continue to be available
24/7/365 and services, such as counselling, will be available for as long as you need them.
Are there any new services available?
The service will continue to provide clinical support for employees and their family members to manage
issues like stress, depression, addiction and divorce. In addition to the staple services, the new service
will also provide a suite of enhanced services to support employees in areas such as nutrition, legal
issues, financial issues and eldercare or childcare issues. Material will be sent to your home so you and
your family can learn more about the services available.
I’m already receiving support services. Can I keep seeing my current counsellor?
Yes. The province understands the relationship you develop with your counsellor is important and we
want to work together to help transition all current counsellors to the new service provider. If you
already have appointments booked you can keep those appointments up to January 1, 2014. During the
next month, every counsellor will be given the option to move their services to Morneau Shepell so you
can continue working with your current counsellor.
What happens if my current counsellor doesn’t move to the new provider?
Every counsellor will have the option to provide their service through Morneau Shepell. If they choose
not to move you will have the opportunity to work with one of the many qualified counsellors available
through Morneau Shepell. You will not be left without the support and service you need. Alternately,
you can explore use of other coverage provided under your employee benefits program.
How do I get help?
There are two ways to get the support you need. You or your family member can call 1-800-777-5888
and identify yourself as an employee of the Province of Nova Scotia and you will speak to a real person
and they will help you get the supports you need.
As of December 1, 2013, you can also access support through the Morneau Shepell website. When
prompted to register under the name of your organization, type Province of Nova Scotia and then follow
the steps to register and access the information specific to our new EFAP.
To register in English:
https://www.workhealthlife.com/Tools/AccessTool/EAPCreateProfile/div/InPageDivNarrow
To register in French:
https://www.travailsantevie.com/Tools/AccessTool/EAPCreateProfile/div/InPageDivNarrow
What happens when I call on December 1st?
The phone number remains the same. Please continue to call 1-800-777-5888.
1. Client calls the 1-800 toll free number and is asked to identify their language of choice (1 for English
and 2 for French)
2. Client is prompted by the automated message and will be asked to choose from 4 options:
a. by pressing 1, the caller is identifying an urgent personal or crisis situation
b. by pressing 2, the caller is identifying a non-urgent request for counselling services or life/work
services
c. by pressing 3, the caller is requesting a representative of our Trauma Response Services team to
request for a workplace trauma intervention
d. by pressing 4, the client may change an existing appointment
What happens to my personal information collected by EFAP?
Personal information is held in the strictest confidence in accordance with all current privacy laws.
Protecting client privacy is central to systems and program design. No employee information will be
shared with any third party without the employee’s consent where not required by law.