Welcome to the Office of Employee Assistance (OEA)
Help Within Reach
The Office of Employee Assistance (OEA) is the faculty and staff employee assistance program at FIU. The OEA provides free confidential professional assistance to help employees and their families resolve personal problems that affect their lives or job performance. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of FIU faculty and staff, improve personal effectiveness, and to create a healthier campus community by providing mental health assessments, brief interventions and/or referrals, small group facilitations, crisis responses, and customized educational and training programs.
Program Confidentiality
The OEA carefully adheres to professional standards of ethics and confidentiality. Appointments and services are confidential to the fullest extent permitted by law. Legal exceptions are fully discussed in the initial consultation session. Except when legally mandated to breach confidentiality, no information is released without the specific, written consent of the individual. Information maintained by the OEA staff is not part of, or accessible by any other university record system. The OEA operates with scheduled appointments, and does not communicate personal information via e-mail without specific, written consent of the individual, as we cannot assure the confidentiality of that medium.
If you would like to contact us to request a new appointment or follow up on your scheduled appointment, please email us at: oea@fiu.edu or call 305-348-2469.
Important: In your message, please state:
- Your name
- Call back phone number
- Email address if you prefer an email reply
- Brief message with your preferred day/time for a call back
OEA clinicians will respond to your message via phone or email, as you prefer.
Appointments are available virtually via Zoom Telehealth, a HIPAA-compliant platform or in person, as preferred.
We are here to help and look forward to hearing from you!
The OEA Team,
Isabel, Dalismar, and Veronica
Contact Us
To schedule an appointment for any of our services or to request information for courses, workshops, group events, and more call (305) 348-2469, or email us at oea@fiu.edu.
Appointments are available between 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Early morning and evening appointments are available by request.
Emergencies
In case of an emergency, call the FIU Police Department 24/7 at (305) 348-5911 (MMC) or (305) 919-5911 (BBC).
Please do not leave emergent or urgent messages on the OEA answering machine.
The OEA is staffed from 8:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Non-urgent messages left after hours will be answered the following morning.
Office of Employee Assistance (OEA)
Modesto A. Maidique Campus – GL-473
Biscayne Bay Campus – ACII-214
Meet the OEA Team
Isabel Alfonsin-Vittoria
Licensed Psychotherapist
Isabel.AlfonsinVittoria@fiu.edu
Isabel Alfonsin-Vittoria is a licensed psychotherapist and employee assistance administrator with 30 years of diverse clinical programs management experience. Her administrative career includes organizational consulting, quality assurance and improvement, employee training and professional development, service excellence, provider network management, health services accreditation and establishing best practices in the employee assistance field. Her clinical profession has included development and oversight of local and national behavioral health clinics and hospitals, as well as employee assistance and health and wellness programs. She is a skilled workshop facilitator, a life coach, a management consultant, a certified employee assistance professional and a certified workplace mindfulness facilitator. Isabel is an FIU alumna, having completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling. As Director of the Office of Employee Assistance, Isabel is invested in creating and sustaining a culture of health and wellbeing at FIU. She oversees program operations and employee assistance clinical service delivery. Among her duties she provides confidential consultation and assessment, brief counseling and/or referral to community organizations, care coordination and follow-up. Additionally, she consults with faculty, staff, and university administrators and serves on committees related to the health and wellbeing of the FIU community. She is also an advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She responds to crisis management issues affecting individuals and/or departments and is the Chair of the Faculty Staff and Threat Assessment Team. Lastly, she develops and conducts psycho-educational training sessions to enhance faculty and staff quality of life, resiliency, work/life integration and balance.
Dalismar Morales
Licensed Psychologist
Dalismar.Morales1@fiu.edu
Dr. Dalismar Morales is a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed psychologist with experience in the assessment and treatment of mental health conditions including depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Dr. Morales is an FIU alumna, having completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Albizu University. She is certified in critical incident stress management, an integrated multicomponent set of psychological interventions intended to support individuals experiencing a crisis because of an acute adverse event, trauma, or disaster. She is also a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, which is a designation earned by professionals with a depth of knowledge, experience, and expertise in supporting employees in the workplace. She has also received training in areas such as grief and loss, chronic pain, substance abuse, chronic anxiety, and suicide prevention. Dr. Morales has worked in diverse settings such as community mental health clinics and private practice. She has provided psychological services (including outpatient/inpatient psychotherapy, psychoeducational groups, and psychological evaluations) to children, adolescents, adults, and elders. She has conducted anger management and substance abuse therapy groups. She served as a first responder to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida by providing emotional support and psychological services to survivors and their affected family members. In her current role as an employee assistance clinician, she offers short-term mental health counseling, develops, and delivers workshops for personal enrichment, and facilitates support groups for caregivers and those seeking to cultivate a healthy relationship with emotions. Dr. Morales utilizes a holistic approach (body, mind, and spirit) to help individuals establish and/or maintain healthy lifestyles contributing to a sense of empowerment and fulfillment.
Veronica Pozo Alza, LMHC
Licensed Psychotherapist
vpozoalz@fiu.edu
Veronica Pozo Alza, LMHC brings over a decade of diverse experience as a mental health professional. Veronica’s career history encompasses diverse settings, including community health clinics, outpatient services, and private practice. She has served as a therapist in the Specialized Therapeutic Foster Care Program designed and dedicated to assist children, adolescents, and family members in need of intense therapeutic services. She has provided crisis intervention, mental health treatment, ongoing psychoeducation and collaboration with therapeutic foster parents and professionals within and outside the foster care system, ensuring the best care and interventions for the community served. Veronica’s experience extends to providing individual, couples and family therapy guided by a holistic approach that encompasses mind, body, and spirit.
The OEA Experience - Help Within Reach
As much as we would like to separate our work life from our personal problems, it is often difficult to do so. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of active and retired FIU faculty and staff and their immediate family members, improve personal effectiveness, and to create a healthier campus community by providing mental health assessments, brief interventions and/or referrals, small group facilitations, crisis responses, and customized educational and training programs.
All student employees should contact the Counseling and Psychological Services Center. For information about walk-in hours at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, call (305) 348-2277, and the Biscayne Bay Campus, call (305) 919-5305.
Services
The OEA offers services including consultations, professional assessments, interventions, and/or referrals depending upon the nature of the problem and the specific circumstances. You will be able to consult with an experienced clinician who will listen to your concerns, discuss and explore your options, and work with you to determine a plan of action.
At the OEA, we utilize a brief problem-resolution focused model of intervention. Our services begin with an assessment of the presenting issues and concerns. Based upon that assessment we will make recommendations. If the OEA professional determines that the brief intervention model will be appropriate for your presenting problems or concerns, an OEA clinician will provide an intervention without charge. When the issues are beyond the scope of this brief model, appropriate referrals to community-based services will be provided to you. Your health insurance may help defray most or some of the cost of services.
Many people delay seeking help until problems pile up. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness nor personal flaw. Everyone needs help with something at one time or another.
Feelings can be a useful guide to deciding when to reach out for help. If you are experiencing any of the following feelings more often than you would like, do not let self-doubt keep you from consulting with the OEA:
- Distressed, upset, hurt
- Sad, depressed
- Helpless, confused, stuck
- Anxious, worried, suspicious
- Over-stressed, fatigued
- Guilty, ashamed
Any problem or concern that is bothering you is appropriate to discuss with us.
Issues
Some people have difficulty in contacting a resource for personal issues or deciding whether it may be beneficial. The OEA professionals often talk with people experiencing a range of personal, family, or work-related problems including:
- Marital and relationship difficulties
- Family issues, parent-child concerns, eldercare challenges
- Psychological distress – anxiety/depression
- Alcohol and drug concerns
- Workplace adjustment challenges
- Career issues, work conflicts, burnout, retirement
- Stress-related emotional issues
- Financial or legal situations
- Grief/Loss experiences
- Domestic and interpersonal violence
- Supervisory Consultations
- Trauma
- Managing Change
Workshops
The OEA provides psycho-educational sessions on a variety of mental health and wellness topics for departments and workgroups throughout the university. These workshops can be customized to meet specific needs and objectives.
Topics include:
- Work-life balance
- Effective communication skills
- Increasing resilience
- Stress management
- Mindfulness
- Caregiver fatigue
- Time management
- Conflict resolution
- Enhancing relationships
- Responding to the challenges of change
- Capitalizing on diversity
- Trust in the Workplace
- Cultivating compassion at work
- Alcohol and drug awareness and education in the workplace
Crisis Intervention
Psychological First Aid/Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Includes support services offered following a stressful event such as an incident, injury, death, disaster, threat or act of violence, or other traumatic event at the workplace. An OEA clinician will come to the work site to provide support and consultation to the affected individuals who choose to be involved. Private grief counseling is also available.
Employee Assistance for Resident Well-Being and Resilience
Residency is a stressful time, with residents facing professional, financial, and personal demands. Florida International University has a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees. The FIU Office of Employee Assistance (OEA) provides free, confidential, short-term mental health services for the individual and family, referrals for more extensive treatment, as well as other services, such as psycho-educational workshops that address stress management, worklife integration, resiliency, mindfulness, inclusivity and belonging, mindful leadership and compassion in healthcare, support groups and book clubs.
The Office of Employee Assistance works in partnership with the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Graduate Medical Education Program, to offer Residents emotional well-being services year-round, 24 hours a day. The FIU OEA office at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus (MMC) is available Monday – Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
OEA Clinicians often talk with people experiencing a range of personal, family, or work-related problems including:
- Marital and relationship difficulties
- Family issues, parent-child concerns, eldercare challenges
- Psychological distress – anxiety/depression
- Alcohol and drug concerns
- Workplace adjustment challenges
- Career issues, work conflicts, burnout,
- Stress-related emotional issues
- Financial or legal situations
- Grief/Loss experiences
- Domestic and interpersonal violence
- Trauma
- Managing transitions and change
To request an in-person or telehealth, free and confidential appointment please call: 305-348-2469 or email at oea@fiu.edu.
Additional Resources:
https://dl.acgme.org/pages/well-being-tools-resources
National Suicide Prevention & Crisis Hotline: (800) 273-TALK (8255)
Online Mental Health Screenings
The OEA offers free, online, anonymous mental health screenings for a number of different emotional conditions such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, bipolar disorder, and substance abus
Within a brief few minutes, the online program will produce a report based on the selected answers and will immediately be available to save, print, or email. Beyond the report, the program will offer recommendations, suggest related resources, articles, and information intended to help in taking the next step. Early detection, assessment, and connection with treatment can have a significant impact on individuals experiencing mental health issues.
Disclaimer
The Office of Employee Assistance maintains this Internet site as a service to the university community. It is intended as a resource to inform and educate. Included are direct links to other Internet sites which we believe may be helpful. However, this does not imply that the OEA endorses any or all of the information provided at each of these sites. Furthermore, while we attempt to monitor and update our listings on a regular basis, the OEA cannot make any claims or assume responsibility as to the reliability or functionality of the Internet addresses (URL’s) provided, or the information contained at these sites. The OEA does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these third party sites. By using this board, all users agree to the Privacy Statement and Terms of Use of Florida International University. Readers are encouraged to evaluate the material and to use what they find to be helpful. Information provided on our web page and at other Internet sites are not intended as a substitute for assistance from a qualified health professional. For personal assistance, FIU employees should visit the OEA to schedule an appointment with one of our staff.
If you or your family member take a screening and the recommendations point you in the direction of getting professional help, please call the OEA at (305) 248-2469 and let us help you.
Support and other FIU Community Groups
FIU’s Office of Employee Assistance strongly believes in the benefits of social connections and support. Therefore, it aims to provide faculty and staff with a safe space to cultivate and maintain a sense of wellbeing and empowerment while connecting with colleagues.
Faculty and staff members are invited to participate in the following professionally moderated support groups:
Caring and Sharing Support Group
Caregivers face numerous challenges when caring for their loved ones. This group will provide a safe and nurturing environment where attendees can feel heard, understood and cared for.
- Last Friday of every month at 12:00pm via Zoom
To register: https://go.fiu.edu/care.
Parents Growing Together Support Group
A space for parents to be heard, comforted, and an opportunity to tap into our own natural resources and expand them by connecting with fellow parents and their experiences. Through this process we help each other grow organically and foster a mindful parenting mindset, creating momentum for powerful growth and healing, within ourselves, extending to our children, and expanding into our community.
- Second Friday of every month at 12:00pm via Zoom
To inquire about joining the parenting support group please email us at oea@fiu.edu.
Mindfulness in Togetherness
Mindfulness is “the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment — and accepting it without judgment.” These group meditation sessions foster a sense of community, a safe place to relax and promote balance and emotional well-being. As part of cultivating a culture of health and well-being the OEA offers mindfulness and meditation sessions. These sessions can be attended by any member of the FIU faculty and staff. Experience in meditation is not required. These sessions are evidence-informed and based on secular practices of mindfulness and meditation. The sessions include a lesson and a guided meditation for all attendees to practice in community.
- Second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 12:00pm via Zoom
To register: www.go.fiu.edu/meditation.
Panthers Thrive Book Club
The Panthers Thrive Book Club was created to provided FIU faculty and staff with an opportunity to read and engage in dialogue about books that will enhance one’s personal and professional development. Panthers Thrive Book Club members will meet twice a month and will have an opportunity to increase their reading, diversify their reading list, make new connections, obtain intellectual stimulation, and engage in great dialogue with like-minded colleagues. The book club will read run on a semester basis, beginning in the fall of every calendar year and then again in the spring and summer.
- Book club meetings will take place every other Thursday at 12 pm via Zoom
To inquire about joining the Book Club, please email us at oea@fiu.edu.
Management Consultation Services for Supervisors
The OEA lends support to managers when addressing employee behaviors of concern. Management consultations can be geared toward supporting the manager experiencing the situation and/or how to assist the impacted employee(s). Management consultation is a voluntary service.
Management consultations can be offered in person or by phone at either the Modesto A. Maidique Campus or the Biscayne Bay Campus. An initial appointment can be arranged by calling the OEA at (305) 348-2469. Appointments are usually scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, alternative arrangements may be made upon request. If you call and do not reach us in person, please leave a message. In addition, the OEA staff may make arrangements to travel to other locations for consultations, as needed.
Employee Assistance Services
There are three types of employee referrals to the OEA:
- Employee Self-referral
- Informal Supervisory referrals
- Formal/Mandatory referrals
A Quick Guide to using the Office of Employee Assistance for Department Heads & Supervisors.
Education & Support Conversation
Speak with your employees regularly about the services and aid that the OEA can provide. When it is apparent that an employee is troubled or distressed, a supervisor should encourage the use of the OEA services.
Informal Supervisory Referral
A supervisor should informally refer an employee to the OEA after consulting with Employee & Labor Relations (ELR) when job performance is impacted to a minor degree. The supervisor may be advised to simply offer the employee the suggestion to seek assistance from the OEA. However, when the impact on job performance is substantial, the supervisor will be coached by ELR as to how to make the supervisory referral and communicate this effectively to the employee. In instances where the employee permits it, supervisors may receive information about the employee’s participation in an assessment and their participation and engagement with any interventions that the OEA may recommend.
Formal Supervisory Referral
When it is apparent that the employee is troubled or distressed and the supervisor detects a change in the employee’s on-the-job behavior or decline in job performance, a supervisor should formally refer an employee to the OEA after consultation with ELR. It is not the supervisor’s job to attempt to diagnose problems, and it is important that the supervisor maintain the boundaries of the supervisory relationship. As part of the supervisory role, it is reasonable to formally suggest that the employee seek services from the OEA. This is appropriate when patterned absences, unusual mood changes, or clear and apparent decreases in performance are observed. The OEA professional will only provide information regarding participation in the OEA program to the supervisor and ELR representative with the written request of the employee to release information.
A formal/mandatory referral to the OEA requires an employee to participate in the OEA as a condition of continued employment. This type of referral is made only in extreme cases of deteriorating job performance where the individual’s continued employment is brought into question. This type of referral is initiated with the consultation of the OEA, the General Counsel’s Office, ELR, or other administrative entities as determined by university policy.
For formal supervisory referrals you need to print and complete the Supervisor Referral Form and fax it to (305) 348-3903.
Initial Appointment Forms
Please complete the OEA registration forms which are required to set up an appointment. These forms will help us to better understand your needs and they will provide you with information about you can expect from the office. Your personal information will be handled confidentially.
OEA Initial Registration Forms
OEA Statement of Understanding for Mandated Referrals (Only to be completed when instructed by the OEA.)
Faculty & Staff Behavioral Intervention Team (FASTeam)
The Faculty & Staff Behavioral Intervention Team (FASTeam) is a hybrid of a behavioral intervention team and a threat assessment team. The FASTeam combines expertise in the areas of law enforcement, mental health, disability services, academic affairs, employee and labor relations, employment law and emergency management.
In order to promote a campus that is safe, the goal of the FASTeam, in conjunction with the student-focused Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT), is to provide an integrated and coordinated process for identifying and responding to students, faculty, staff and other individuals who may be at risk of harming themselves or others. Achieving this goal involves:
- Utilizing a multidisciplinary team to review, identify and develop specific intervention/prevention strategies.
- Collecting and organizing information to facilitate communication on and off campus.
- Analyzing information, discerning patterns, and following up as appropriate.
- Providing education and training to faculty, staff and students in how to identify and address concerning behaviors that may need further assessment or response.
Wellness Resources
Discover a variety of programs and services designed to support your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. From fitness and mindfulness to lactation rooms and support networks, FIU is committed to helping employees thrive both at work and in life.