Richmond, Va., Employee Assistance Services in Demand after Attack.

Byline: McGregor McCance

Sep. 15--While much of the nation's work force slowed or stopped last week, those providing employee assistance programs and services got busier.

In Richmond, the REACH Employee Assistance Program, a subsidiary of Diamond Consulting Corp. of Richmond, saw a spike in requests for employee assistance services.

Specifically, said Employee Assistance Program coordinator Lynne Daley, companies are interested in what's known as "critical incident stress debriefings."

The sessions give employees an opportunity to discuss traumatic incidents such as the terrorist attacks and explore how to cope with emotional side effects. …