Supporting Your Well-Being, Confidentially

Travis CMS Safe Harbor Counseling Program provides confidential counseling or therapy services to physicians as a benefit of medical society membership.

TMLT will pay for up to four visits with the Travis CMS network of counselors for any TMLT policyholder (four visits for physicians and four visits for their spouses) — no matter where they live in Texas.

Safe Harbor is similar to an employee assistance program (EAP), which is frequently added on to health insurance policies. An EAP provides employees the opportunity to seek a limited number of counseling sessions, usually paid for 100 percent by the employer or the health insurance plan.

Although 97 percent of large employers in the U.S. offer EAPs, they are not widely used by physicians. In the medical profession, there is great stigma around asking for help and intense scrutiny by boards of medicine and credentialing bodies over mental health issues that might cause impairment. Thus, it is no surprise when large employers or hospital HR personnel report that “very few” physicians access their EAP.

By providing a PWP outside of employment, Travis CMS and TMLT offer a way for policyholders to find the same types of counseling services without the fear that their employer, practice partners, or medical board will find out that they’ve accessed it.

CMS-sponsored physician wellness programs have a history of success. The nation’s first counseling and coaching program sponsored by a medical society was launched in 2012 in Lane County, Oregon. This program began after a series of physician suicides in Eugene, Oregon’s medical community. Physicians implored the medical society to “do something,” and the medical society decided it would not be “another” poorly attended conference on physician suicide. Instead, staff and the CMS board of directors launched a program that has since been replicated in more than two dozen societies, including Travis CMS.

After studying physician wellness programs of all sizes and types, the TMLT Board of Trustees concluded that the Travis CMS Safe Harbor Program is highly effective in providing direct, meaningful help to physicians.

TMLT wants to complement the success of the Travis CMS Safe Harbor Program and bring the program to physician policyholders across Texas.

TMLT will pay for up to four visits for you and four visits for your spouse with a counselor from the Travis CMS panel.

These doctorate-level counselors were researched, interviewed, and selected by TCMS staff and physician members of the PWP Steering Committee. Travis CMS reviews feedback from those accessing counseling services to make sure these counselors are providing excellent care. Counselors are Austin-based and available for in-person or virtual visits.

No. The names of those accessing counseling are not passed along to TMLT or to Travis CMS.

No. There is no identifying information shared between the counselors, TMLT, or the Travis CMS Safe Harbor Program.

No. Since information that could identify you is NOT shared with TMLT, accessing the program will not affect your rates or your insurability with TMLT.

No. Information that could identify you is not shared with TMLT. Accessing the program will not affect your claim history at TMLT.

No. The names of those accessing counseling are not passed along to TMLT.

No. Access to the program is confidential. Information that could identify you is not shared with TMLT or the Texas Medical Board.

Yes. To have your four counseling sessions paid for by TMLT, you must use a counselor from the Travis CMS panel. These counselors have been vetted and selected by Travis CMS based on their credentials, experience in working with physicians, and feedback from those who have accessed the program. They are also able to offer priority and flexible scheduling to physician wellness program participants.