To celebrate this 30 year milestone of community service, Upper Island Counselling has launched a new website (http://www.uics.ca/) that features local photography and design and new branding as an opportunity to further reach out to upper island communities.
Their story began in the mid-1980’s when business and labour leaders in our communities were determined to develop local counselling resources for individual employees and their families. Through their collaborative efforts, Campbell River Assessment and Referral Services was born on October 1, 1987.
Now known as Upper Island Counselling, in that same spirit and with that same determination, they continue to make upper Vancouver Island a healthier, safer and more productive place for their member company’s employees and their families.
Upper Island Counselling offers a not for profit membership based Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) that provides professional counselling support to member employees and their families during challenging times at no cost to them. They also provide resource materials, referrals, workshops and presentations, private counselling, and critical incident response.
Common areas of support that their professionally trained counsellors address include but are not limited to: relationship issues, stress management, anxiety and depression, parenting, addiction issues, workplace concerns, grief, and broader healthy lifestyle goals.
Studies have shown when employees have access to an effective EFAP, absenteeism declines and workplaces become safer and more productive. Engaged, productive employees working safely is something that benefits our communities as a whole.
Upper Island Counselling is unique to EFAP’s because they are a not for profit society governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. They do not set limits on the amount of services a client can access, and work with each client in a goal oriented manner to achieve the changes they are seeking in life.
Over the last 30 years, what began as a collective of forestry related employers has grown and diversified to incorporate more than 75 companies and over 4,200 employees spanning from the Comox Valley to Port Hardy.
Upper Island Counselling invites any company, big or small, to contact their office to learn more about how their EFAP can help improve the health and wellness of your employees and their families, reduce absenteeism, and increase safety and productivity.
Upper Island Counselling is grateful for the 30 years of support it has received from upper-Island communities, as well as the opportunity to help many thousands of people cope through challenging times and strive toward healthier lives. They look forward to continuing to provide valuable services for years to come.