Employee Assistance Programs for the New Millennium: Emergence of the Comprehensive Model

This article reviews the historical evolution of employee assistance programs (EAPs) in the United States over the past 40 years, and concludes that the future of employee assistance lies with its adoption of a Comprehensive Service Program model. To be successful, EAP providers also will need to move away from their current “commodity focus” and “return on investment [ROI] paradigm.” Instead, they must begin to identify the critical functions EAPs perform for work organizations that make them indispensable strategic partners in employers’ universal pursuit of productivity and innovation. To achieve this goal, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) and Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA) must focus on developing a uniform university-based EAP curriculum; moving assertively toward universal state licensure; and actively promoting an evidence-informed, program-based research agenda.