{"276861":{"#nid":"276861","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Assistance Program Is Popular Employee Benefit","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith confidentiality at its core, the Faculty Staff and Assistance Program (FSAP) may be one of the best-kept secrets around campus. But not really.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to FSAP Director Anne McSorley, the assessment and referral counseling program is well utilized throughout the Tech community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEven beyond the academic institution arena, we\u2019re actually above industry average in terms of usage,\u201d McSorley said. And she should know \u2014 having been in the business for some 25 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo what does she attribute the popularity of Tech\u2019s program? That same core tenet: confidentiality.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s the No. 1 reason employees keep coming back to us. They feel confident about absolute confidentiality because they\u2019ve seen it in action,\u201d McSorley said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo her point: She makes reference to her practice of never acknowledging clients around campus unless they take the initiative to do so. McSorley explained, too, that the fact that the FSAP is actually independently operated off campus (1100 Spring St.) goes a long way toward boosting employees\u2019 comfort level in utilizing this confidential benefit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech has been offering this free service for more than 20 years, and for the past 16, McSorley has served as FSAP director and consultant to the Institute through her own private company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcSorley and her team of licensed mental health professionals have wide-ranging expertise in counseling, executive coaching, and consulting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe respond to employees in need \u2014 whether they are having issues at home or at work,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat means employees can depend on the FSAP as a resource for a plethora of issues ranging from family relationships, to substance abuse, to psychological issues, to financial pressures, to work-related conflicts, and other emotional or organizational health concerns. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo how does this service work? Self-referral mainly. An employee can call FSAP at 404-894-1225 for an initial phone assessment followed by up to three face-to-face sessions in one calendar year. At that point, FSAP refers the employee to external resources for continued care.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough FSAP is primarily an assessment and referral service, there is the option for an employee to receive counseling beyond the three sessions from FSAP interns satisfying their critical hours requirement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith regard to management\u2019s involvement, McSorley says if a manager feels an employee may benefit from FSAP support, the manager can reach out to FSAP for coaching on how to encourage an employee to self-refer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe empower the manager to empower the employee,\u201d McSorley said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe FSAP is not an emergency service, though, so employees are urged to call at the earliest sign of a concern. That way, the situation can be assessed and a plan of action determined before the situation becomes a crisis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving provided a snapshot of the FSAP, here is a bit more about McSorley.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something about your background.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOriginally from Philadelphia, I\u2019ve been based in Atlanta for nearly 20 years. I have an undergraduate degree in business administration from Temple University and a graduate degree in counseling and psychological services from Georgia State University. In my more than two decades of counseling, coaching, and consulting, I\u2019ve had a variety of corporate and public sector clients such as Georgia Department of Human Resources, U.S. Marshals Service, Lockheed Aeronautical, and AT\u0026amp;T.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the most satisfying part of your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESuccess. I like to move people from distress into problem-solving mode to successful outcomes. Oftentimes, I\u2019ll talk to someone who feels absolutely hopeless; moving that person in the direction of hopeful is extremely satisfying, and it happens every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you strike a balance between demonstrating compassion and not relaxing professional boundaries?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ECounseling is a very intimate process. It\u2019s a science and an art \u2013 one based on the premise of providing each client with unconditional positive regard. As counselors, being authentic is not just part of our job, it\u2019s who we are.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the biggest myth about counseling you\u2019d like to dispel?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat talking about your feelings is wrong. That notion is especially prevalent at Tech where we operate more with the thinking brain than with the feeling brain. But, in my experience, even the most skeptical of clients have told me they\u2019ve felt better after talking about whatever issue they came to me with.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith confidentiality at its core, the Faculty Staff and Assistance Program (FSAP) may be one of the best-kept secrets around campus. But not really.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"With confidentiality at its core, the Faculty Staff and Assistance Program (FSAP) may be one of the best-kept secrets around campus. But not really."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-02-17 15:26:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276681":{"id":"276681","type":"image","title":"Faculty Staff and Assistance Program","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Faculty Staff and Assistance Program","file":{"fid":"198793","name":"facstaffassistnce.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/facstaffassistnce_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/facstaffassistnce_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2105429,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/facstaffassistnce_0.jpg?itok=mNRA8u_H"}}},"media_ids":["276681"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"86811","name":"Faculty Staff Assistance Program"},{"id":"10342","name":"FSAP"},{"id":"8122","name":"Office of Human Resources"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brigitte.espinet@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrigitte Espinet\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}