The Congregational Assistance Plan (CAP) is a way that churches can offer high quality Christian counselling to all of their members - anonymously and at no charge to the parishioner receiving the service.
Churches are a place where many people turn in times of need. But in our increasingly complex society, this has placed higher demands and expectations on Church leaders. To address these demands, many churches have extended the hand of Christ to their members by providing financial support to help them get professional counselling.
Shalem's Congregational Assistance Plan builds on this practice. The CAP program is easy to use and accessible. By making a single toll free call to Shalem, congregation members are linked to pre-approved, local, Master's degree - level Christian counsellors, all of whom belong to reputable professional associations. Our local rosters include a variety of expertise as well as male and female therapists. The persons using the service do not pay a fee, and the church does not know who is receiving the counselling. Shalem provides the church with quarterly reports about usage rates and presenting issues - but no identifying information, including names.
Shalem has modeled CAP after the Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), a counselling program widely offered by companies to their employees as a health care benefit. Churches purchase the CAP plan based on the number of households in their congregation. We use a formula from the EAP world to calculate the fee to the church. Some churches have found that the fee is not much different than the monies they already allocate for supporting people to receive counselling.
This process removes possible barriers for members to access counselling. Such barriers may include:
- feelings of shame in having to ask for financial support;
- wanting confidentiality in dealing with personal issues; or
- seeking out an appropriate counselling service in times of need.
CAP is empowering to churches. It locates and leaves community responsibility at the local level, and it pays careful attention to accountability. In addition, CAP helps build community for people struggling with isolation. Mental health problems by their very nature cause isolation.
To date, all feedback from churches, clients, and counsellors has been hugely positive (see Testimonials).
For more information, view this brochure. To schedule a presentation of our CAP program, or for more information please contact Shalem's Director of Congregational Assistance Plan services, Marg Smit-Vandezande, either by email or phone: 905-515-4758.