Sources checked on
What is an EAP?
An employee assistance programme (EAP), or employee assistance program in the US, is a confidential, work-based service that an employer pays for. The US Office of Personnel Management describes it as a voluntary programme that offers free and confidential assessments, short-term counselling, referrals and follow-up to employees with personal or work problems[1].
In the UK, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA UK) says an EAP helps employees resolve personal concerns that may affect their work, such as health, family, money, alcohol, drugs, legal problems or stress[2]. Many EAPs also include a phone line open 24 hours, legal and financial information, and crisis support[3][4].
Bliss focuses on therapy and coaching. It does not offer a 24/7 helpline, legal or financial advice, or crisis support.
Traditional EAP vs Bliss
How a typical EAP compares with Bliss. The EAP column uses the sources listed at the end of this page.
What it is
First contact
Sessions
- Traditional EAP
- Short-term counselling: about five sessions per case on average in the UK[5]
- Bliss
- 5, 8 or 10 sessions for each covered employee a year, chosen by the employer
How sessions happen
- Traditional EAP
- In person, by phone, by video or online CBT[5]
- Bliss
- Video or audio, from anywhere
Language
- Traditional EAP
- Not part of EAPA UK's provider criteria[3]
- Bliss
- Therapy in the employee's own language, with therapists who speak many languages
Legal and financial information
- Bliss
- Not included
Crisis support
- Bliss
- Not included. Bliss is not an emergency service
Employer reporting
- Traditional EAP
- Management reports that protect individual confidentiality and anonymity[6]
- Bliss
- Anonymised employer reporting
What's included
Every plan includes:
- Confidential one-to-one therapy or coaching, by video or audio
- Therapist matching
- Employee onboarding
- Booking and reminders
- Self-guided exercises between sessions
- Anonymised reporting for the employer
Therapists and coaches on Bliss speak 30+ languages, including Albanian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian and Zulu. There is no waitlist, and sessions are by video or audio, so employees can join from anywhere.
How it works for employees
- 1
Onboarding
Bliss onboards your employees, so each person knows how to use their sessions.
- 2
Matching
Each employee is matched with a therapist, with therapy in their own language.
- 3
Booking
Employees book video or audio sessions and get reminders. There is no waitlist.
- 4
Confidentiality
Sessions are confidential. The employer sees anonymised reporting only.
Plans and pricing
You choose an annual allowance of 5, 8 or 10 sessions for each covered employee. Plans start from €410 a month for 20–49 employees (5 sessions each, billed annually). The price depends on how many employees you cover and the allowance you choose.
- Prices are in euros and exclude applicable taxes.
- Unused sessions expire at the end of the contract year.
- Extra sessions can be arranged.
- For 2,000 or more employees, we agree a custom price.
Why it matters
In Great Britain, 964,000 workers had work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25, and 22.1 million working days were lost to it[7]. Worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates that 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety[8].
The evidence that EAPs help is modest and mixed. A 2018 systematic review of 17 studies found that using an EAP improved presenteeism (working while unwell) and functioning, but results for sickness absence were mixed. A common weakness was the lack of a comparison group[9].
Uptake is often low. UK EAP providers report that about 3 in 100 employees with access (3.34%) contacted their EAP over a year. These figures are self-reported by 13 of the largest providers[5]. In a survey of US public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the top reason given for not using an EAP was difficulty accessing it[10].
Bliss puts the therapy first: a set number of sessions for every covered employee, with no waitlist.
Why therapy in your own language matters
In one large review of culturally adapted therapy, therapy in the client's own language (where that was not English) worked about twice as well as therapy in English[11]. A later pair of meta-analyses found that culturally adapted therapy works better on average, and that clients' ratings of their therapist's cultural competence were linked with better outcomes[12]. NICE guidance on generalised anxiety disorder says to consider offering treatment in the person's preferred language if possible[13].
Who it's for
- International teams with people from many countries
- Multilingual teams, where people would rather talk in their own language
- Remote and hybrid teams spread across countries
- Employers whose people want more therapy than their current EAP offers
Bliss can contract with employers in the UK, Ireland, the US and elsewhere in Europe.
Replace or add to your current EAP?
Replace a basic EAP for therapy
If what your people use most is counselling, a Bliss plan can replace a basic EAP and gives each covered employee a set number of therapy or coaching sessions a year. You would no longer have the services Bliss does not offer, such as a 24/7 helpline, legal and financial information, and crisis support.
Add Bliss alongside your EAP
Keep your EAP's helpline and advice services, and add therapy in your employees' own languages with Bliss.