Redefining the EAP Field

Abstract

The very question of whether EAPs are a business or a profession implies that there is a problem in our field of practice. We would like to believe that EAPs 10 are a profession and can operate and thrive under a business model and be able to turn a profit. Unfortunately, this belief is not supported by the actual practices of the EAP field in the United States. By embracing the business model to the exclusion of professional practice, U.S. EAPs now face the consequences of barebones pricing (and services) and even the popularization of free EAPs through bundling practices by health care providers. This Q4 article has been written with the intent of alerting the international EAP community, and of reexamining the practices of EAPs in the United States, so the EAP field can move from a field of study to a professional practice group that successfully uses a for-profit business and professional practice model.