What is an EAP?

A: An Employee Assistance Program is a counseling benefit your employer pre-pays — typically 3–8 free sessions per issue per year with a licensed counselor, plus referrals onward. It's confidential from your employer (they see usage counts, never names), usually covers your household, and requires no diagnosis, no insurance claim, and no crisis to qualify.

Worked example: 6 EAP sessions at a $180 market rate = $1,080 of therapy you already own. Most employees never use one session.

Do this: search your benefits portal for "EAP," or email HR one line: "Do we have an EAP, and what's the number?" Then use the transfer question from the full EAP decoder → so you're not restarting with a stranger when the free sessions end.

Source: U.S. OPM, EAP overview — opm.gov.