Mental Health Counseling

State employees have access to 8 counseling sessions per rolling year. Counseling provided by CSEAP is always free-of-charge. State employees may take advantage of individual counseling or may include family members in family or couple counseling sessions. View information on how we are able to serve family members of state employees. Family members must be age 15 or older in order to participate in family counseling provided by CSEAP. Individual counseling - per state statute and personnel rule - is only available to state employees. CSEAP counselors are licensed only in Colorado; in order to receive counseling, you must be located in Colorado at the time of service. Counseling can be provided with live American Sign Language interpretation when requested 2 weeks in advance of a scheduled appointment.

You can find more information about counseling and the counseling relationship by reviewing this document.

The state offers other options to address your mental health concerns. If you believe you may need more than 8 counseling sessions OR you prefer to meet with a counselor more frequently than every 3 to 4 weeks, consider using your health insurance to access mental health support. If you are a Kaiser or Cigna member, you have access to various mental health support options. In addition, many state agencies provide peer support though specially trained coworkers who can provide initial response to your needs associated with workplace or other stress. View more information about insurance-related mental health support or peer support. 

State employees seek counseling support for various reasons including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and/or stress; identity considerations, personal relationship concerns, workplace stressors, phase of life challenges, perinatal support, substance use or addiction management, grief and loss, parenting and caregiving, sex and sexuality. Many other issues are presented in counseling sessions - we invite you to openly discuss your primary concerns with any of our counselors.

We receive many requests for ‘trauma work’ or counseling to address recent or past ‘traumas’. CSEAP staff are all trained as generalists in addressing trauma while some of our staff are uniquely trained to address recent or past traumatic experiences through EMDR, Trauma Incident Reduction, and Written Exposure Therapy. It is important to understand that not all who have experienced an incident or timeframe that could potentially cause trauma response will be ‘traumatized’ by the situation. While we do not provide diagnoses, our clinical staff are trained to assess symptoms and provide relevant services or refer to other providers if most appropriate. 

Consider your logistical needs as well as content or topic needs prior to attending an initial counseling session.

For example, 
Do you prefer in-person contact with a counselor? 
Do you have a private location in which to participate in video counseling? 
Are there times of day that may work best for you for counseling appointments?

View more information about preparing for a counseling appointment.

And, of course, consider your desires and needs in working with a counselor. For example,

What is your primary concern? 
Do you feel your primary concern could be reasonably addressed in a short-term setting? 
Are you willing to seek more specialized services - if suggested - for more frequent sessions or longer-term focus on your concern(s)?

View more information on what to expect from counseling.