Who we work with
Employee Assistance Programs for Small Businesses in Calgary
Mental health support that fits your team, your budget, and the way your business operates.
A small business does not need a large HR department to make professional mental health support available. Your Counselling's Employee Support Solutions (ESS) helps Calgary employers arrange confidential counselling and practical workplace support without requiring every organization to use the same program model.
Whether your team has a handful of employees or is steadily growing, we can work with you to identify the services you need, establish a clear access process, and put the terms in a written proposal.
Employee assistance designed around a small workplace
In a smaller team, one person's absence, a difficult customer interaction, or ongoing workplace stress can affect everyone. The owner or manager may also be the person handling benefits, scheduling, employee questions, and sensitive conversations.
A practical Employee Assistance Program (EAP), sometimes called an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), gives eligible employees a way to seek professional support outside their reporting relationship. Depending on your agreement, support can also extend to eligible family members.
ESS focuses on the things small employers need to make that benefit workable: a simple way to access care, predictable service arrangements, confidential clinical support, and a team you can contact when questions arise.
What can your small-business EFAP include?
Confidential employee counselling
Employees may seek support with stress, anxiety, low mood, grief, relationships, life transitions, and other personal or work-related concerns. Our Client Services Team helps connect each person with a clinician based on their concerns, preferences, and clinical needs.
In-person appointments are available in Calgary, with virtual services providing additional flexibility for eligible employees in other locations. Our clinicians are part of the Your Counselling team; we do not outsource ESS clinical services to a brokered counselling network.
Guidance for owners and managers
Small-business leaders can encounter complex employee situations without an in-house human resources team. Clinical consultation offers a professional space to discuss how to approach concerns, communicate respectfully, identify appropriate supports, and recognize when other expertise may be necessary.
It is not a substitute for legal advice or your organization's employment policies, but it can provide practical mental health guidance.
Workshops and prevention
When a team needs shared skills, employers can arrange clinician-led workshops on topics such as managing stress, preventing burnout, and supporting workplace wellbeing. Sessions can be part of a planned annual program or arranged separately.
Choose the level of support that makes sense
On-Demand: start with specific needs.
No annual program fee. Arrange counselling, a workshop, or consultation as required, with services billed individually at agreed rates. This can suit a small employer that wants flexible access before committing to a broader calendar of activities.
Essential annual plan: establish a foundation.
Starting at $1,500 per year, Essential includes annual planning, one 90-minute workshop, two Clinical Advisory Hours, a critical incident resource pathway, and a yearly review with a written report.
Plus annual plan: support a growing team.
Starting at $3,900 per year, Plus includes additional workshops, advisory hours, readiness support, and twice-yearly reviews.
Important: Counselling is billed separately per session used under all of these options. Adult and youth 50-minute counselling is generally $110–$180 per session, with the exact rate and eligibility confirmed in your agreement. Fees and applicable taxes are confirmed in a written proposal.
What could this look like for your business?
These are illustrative ways a small employer might arrange support—not preset packages or promises about utilization.
A small owner-operated business
An employer wants staff to be able to access professional counselling but does not need scheduled workshops. An On-Demand agreement can focus on the referral process, who is eligible, payment arrangements, and how employees contact ESS privately.
A growing team with several supervisors
The employer wants counselling access and guidance for managers responding to stress or difficult workplace situations. An annual plan can provide scheduled education and advisory time, with counselling billed according to actual use.
A business with seasonal or shift-based workers
Employees may have changing hours and find it difficult to access services during a standard workday. The employer can work with ESS on a straightforward access pathway and identify suitable in-person or virtual counselling arrangements.
The right choice depends on the workforce, the available budget, and what your organization wants to accomplish—not on a generic employee-count threshold.
You do not need an HR department to get started
Our process is designed to make the practical decisions clear before employees begin using the service.
- 1Tell us about your workplace.We discuss workforce size, schedules, priorities, current benefits, and budget.
- 2Choose the services and boundaries.We agree on counselling eligibility, any session limits, access arrangements, other services, and fees.
- 3Receive a written proposal.You can review the scope, pricing, and terms before agreeing to proceed.
- 4Introduce the program to employees.We establish an access pathway and provide the appropriate information so staff know how to contact ESS, what is covered, and how confidentiality works.
Employees may access services through an organization-specific code, dedicated ESS channels, or a referral arrangement, as agreed with the employer. Our team then helps match each employee with an appropriate clinician.
How is employee privacy protected in a small team?
Confidentiality is especially important in a small workplace, where even broad details could unintentionally identify someone.
Employees' counselling discussions, clinical records, and personal treatment information are not shared with employers as part of routine program reporting. ESS provides privacy-safe program information where agreed, with small groups suppressed or combined when reporting might reveal an individual's identity. Consent and applicable legal requirements govern any disclosure of personal information.
This should be explained to staff before the program launches—not left as a question when someone needs help.
Why work with Your Counselling?
ESS is delivered through Your Counselling's own regulated clinical team, including social workers and psychologists, whose average professional experience exceeds 10 years. Our Calgary practice has provided mental health services for more than a decade, and ESS has supported organizations for more than eight years.
Our approach combines individual therapist matching with employer collaboration. We work with organizations to determine how employees will access services, how managers can seek appropriate guidance, and how the program should evolve as needs change.
FAQ
Questions Calgary small-business owners often ask
Do we need a minimum number of employees?
Can employees contact you without going through their manager?
Can we pay only for counselling sessions used?
Can eligible family members use the program?
What happens if an employee needs more counselling?
Give your team a clear way to reach support
You do not need to build a complicated benefits department to start supporting employee mental health. We can help your small business decide what to offer, how staff will access it, and how the arrangement will be funded.
Want to understand the planning process first? Read our step-by-step guide to setting up an EFAP for a small business.