1. Confidential Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provided by Family Services Ottawa
  2. AVAILABLE SERVICES
  3. Crisis Counselling
  4. Personal Counselling
    1. Counselling Modalities
    2. Therpist-Guided iCBT (MindBeacon)
  5. Work/Life Consultation Services
    1. Career Counselling
    2. Child/Eldercare Consultation
    3. Financial Coaching and Credit Counselling
    4. Health Coaching
    5. Legal Referral and Consultation
    6. Life Coaching
    7. Nutritional Counselling
    8. Resource Kits – Family Stages
    9. Resource Kits – Personal Issues
    10. Smoking Cessation Support
    11. Web-Based Health and Wellness Resources

Confidential Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provided by Family Services Ottawa

Make an Appointment: Family Services Ottawa is located at 312 Parkdale Avenue.  To make an appointment to speak with a counsellor, call 1-877-725-5676. Request the EFAP Coordinator and identify yourself as a Carleton University employee or family member.

Download a copy of the EFAP brochure and find out how the EFAP can help you.

EFAP website: myFSEAP Login | Employee and Family Assistance Program | Canada | FSEAP

  • Username: Carleton
  • Password: Carleton

AVAILABLE SERVICES

Crisis and Personal Counselling Services

  • Crisis 24/7 Telephonic Access to Counsellors
  • Personal Counselling (assessment and short-term counselling)
  • Therapist Guided iCBT
  • Accessible from anywhere in North America

Crisis Counselling

Family Services Ottawa offers direct access to professional, master’s level counsellors for crisis counselling and immediate assistance.

Personal Counselling

Family Services Ottawa’s personal counselling service includes assessment, information, referral, short-term/goal focused counselling, and when needed, case management and follow-up.

Service is accessible as scheduled office (in-person), telephone or on-line (e-counselling) appointments. Counsellors are caring, competent and collaborative in working with clients to discover a solution that is right for each individual situation.

They use a flexible, short-term, solution-focused approach and are trained to address a wide range of personal, family and/or school/work-related issues, such as:

  • Addictions (i.e., alcohol, drugs, gambling, internet, sexual)
  • Anger
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Career development issues
  • Change and conflict
  • Childcare and eldercare issues
  • Communication
  • Conflict resolution
  • Debt, financial or legal issues
  • Interpersonal relationship issues
  • Family concerns
  • Family/relationship violence
  • Grief and loss
  • Harassment and abuse
  • Health
  • Life transitions
  • Marital and relationship
  •  Nutrition concerns
  • Sexuality
  • Substance use concerns
  • Trauma/critical incident response/debriefing
  • Personality
  • Parenting
  • Sexual abuse/trauma
  • Stress management (work or home)
  • Work-related concerns

Counselling Modalities

Family Services Ottawa offers individual clients the flexibility to access service in the following modalities:

In-person or Face-to-Face – In-person counselling is available nation-wide through Family Services Ottawa’s highly experienced and qualified network of over 1000 clinical providers. 96% of Family Services Ottawa are delivered face-to-face.

Telephone – Telephonic counselling is available for clients who have time, transportation, accessibility limitations, or who are perhaps not comfortable meeting a counsellor in person.

E-Counselling – Email counselling can provide the ideal solution for mobile professionals, single parents, shift workers, or tech-savvy individuals, who don’t want to be constricted by having to
schedule appointments.

Video-Counselling –Video counselling is similar to in-person counselling; however, communication occurs through the use of a secure internet platform, webcam, and microphone. It allows users to access service within the comfort and privacy of their own surroundings.

Therpist-Guided iCBT (MindBeacon)

Family Services Ottawa offers MindBeacon’s iCBT (internet delivered cognitive behavioural therapy) as an additional treatment modality for EAP counselling. iCBT allows employees to access an evidence-based, self-driven, therapist-led, 12-week CBT program from the comfort of their home or on the go on any device.

Work/Life Consultation Services

  • Career Counselling
  • Child/Elder Care Consultations
  • Financial Coaching and Credit Counselling
  • Health Coaching
  • Legal Referral and Consultation
  • Life Coaching
  • Nutritional Counselling
  • Physical Fitness
  • Resource Kits – for Family and Life’s Stages
  • Resource Kits – for Personal Issues
  • Smoking Cessation Support

Career Counselling

Career specialists provide consultations on issues including educational planning, career advancement and career changes, interview preparation and resume preparation.

Career services include options for: comprehensive career assessment and consultation to identify and target career goals; identification of opportunities and options for personal and professional growth; and taking action towards meeting these new goals; professional assistance with resume writing and strategies for employment research and professional networking; and specific coaching to assist clients with preparing for an interview, including techniques for pre-interview research, planning and follow-up; and role-playing to practice communication skills.

Child/Eldercare Consultation


Family Services Ottawa  offers consultation with and assistance from a master’s level family care specialist, around identifying community resources to help clients take care of their families, including daycare centres, childcare services, care for children with special needs, home support services, long-term care and seniors’ housing, day programs, heath services, and social and educational programs.

Financial Coaching and Credit Counselling


Family Services Ottawa  offers consultations with CPAs and Certified Credit Counsellors to assist clients with budgeting, setting financial goals, managing changes in personal situations and debt management.

Health Coaching


Family Services Ottawa connects clients with certified health coaches who embrace a holistic wellness philosophy that involves working with individuals from an “inside out approach”: achieving small, incremental steps based on the individual’s goals, readiness, values, beliefs, pace, and tolerance to change and priorities.

Coaches assist clients in making positive lifestyle changes (i.e., weight management, nutrition, stress management, etc.) through a combination of assessments, health and wellness resources, exercises and 1-to-1 personal coaching. This unique coaching approach, combined with web-based resources and wellness workbooks, result in a positive experience and a high level of lasting change.

Legal Referral and Consultation


Family Services Ottawa connects clients with practicing lawyers who are skilled in their areas of need, for a 30- minute telephone or in-person consultation. Lawyers are available to provide guidance in matters of civil, family, motor vehicle, wills and estates, real estate, immigration and criminal law. Should a client elect to retain the lawyer to whom he or she was referred, a discount of up to 25% on fees is offered.

Life Coaching


An alternative to traditional counselling, coaching service guides clients and employees at all levels to achieve personal and professional growth. Life coaching is present and future oriented and helpful for individuals looking to identify goals for change, overcoming challenges, and unlocking their potential. Coaching is provided through telephone consultations with a Certified Life Coach and provision of individualized resources.

Nutritional Counselling

Family Services Ottawa offers advice about issues such as weight loss, healthy eating, and specific health and diet risks related to conditions such as cancer or diabetes. Further, these services include an evaluation and interview with a dietician qualified to recommend and monitor a structured diet plan, including follow-up and support.

Resource Kits – Family Stages

In addition to personalized telephone consultations and information packages, Ottawa Family Service’s Child / Eldercare Consultation service offers resource kits for caregivers. These kits cover a variety of general topics including: Expecting a Baby; Your New Baby; Your Growing Toddler; Parenting Your Preschooler; Parenting Your 5-8 Year Old; Parenting Preteens; Terrific Teens, and Healthy Living for Seniors.

The kits provide tips, resources and information designed to help strengthen family relationships. Kit contents vary, but may include pamphlets, booklets, books, posters, and toys. The items provide information for caregivers as well as information or resources for children or seniors.

Resource Kits – Personal Issues


In addition to providing resources kits for various family and life stages, Family Services Ottawa offers resource kits for individual personal issues as well. These kits cover a variety of general topics including: Working Through Anxiety, Self-Help for Low Mood & Depression, Coping with Grief & Loss, Financial Empowerment.

The kits provide tips, resources and information designed to help strengthen mental health and reduce stress. Kit contents vary, but may include pamphlets, booklets, books, posters, and miscellaneous items.

Smoking Cessation Support


As behavioral health specialists, Family Services Ottawa recognizes the psychological significance of the decision to quit smoking and the challenge of overcoming nicotine dependency.

Smoking cessation support services provide information to support the decision to quit, information about treatment options for nicotine dependency, and clinical counselling support (where needed), to help “quitters” stay on track.

Web-Based Health and Wellness Resources


Through the EFAP website, myfseap.ca, Family Services Ottawa provides an online health and wellness resource library, offering articles, newsletters, eBooks, learning modules and links to web resources for employees’ self-study online. Each topical area includes an overview of related information, resources, and strategies for personal change and development.

With this online resource library, clients have the ability to study in the privacy of their own homes or offices, and to choose the pace at which they wish to proceed.