Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have become an extremely viable and useful method for companies to assist their troubled employees, as well as to lower costs related to these employees' decreased productivity. Recent estimates reveal that there are now approximately 8,000 EAPs in American work organizations, as compared to 5,000 in 1981. this chapter will present the concept of Employee Assistance Programs spanning a historical perspective to possible future directions in the field. It will also describe program characteristics and statistics, related costs and value to industry, as well as descriptions of program evaluation, models, and essential ingredients.