Improving Care for Depressed Clients in an Employee and Family Assistance Program

Clinical depression is common among workers and leads to significant personal and economic burden. Previous research has shown that almost a third of workers presenting to Interlock, an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), reported symptoms of depression. Although all clients show significant improvement after EFAP intervention, depressed clients continued to have higher scores on work impairment and work absence than clients seeking help for other concerns. In response to this, Interlock incorporated several initiatives to improve care for clients with depression, including use of a standardized assessment and outcome scale and a pilot project using telephone-based cognitive behaviour therapy. In this project, the intern will systematically evaluate these initiatives by interviewing clinicians using these measures and by analyzing outcome data on more than 10,000 clients using Interlock services. The results will be used to develop pathways of care to improve outcomes for clients with depression attending an EFAP.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Raymond Lam

Student:

Kevin Lutz

Partner:

Interlock Employee & Family Assistance Corporation of Canada

Discipline:

Psychology

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

University of British Columbia