Pobos

What Pobos does

POBOS is a Belgian non-profit organization founded in 1990 and headquartered in Temse (with a secondary office in Deurle), providing psychosocial support services to individuals affected by traumatic events or work-related and private psychosocial problems. The company operates an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that serves Belgian employers, insurance companies, occupational health services, and external prevention and protection services (SEPPT), which in turn make services available to end-user employees. Core service tiers include the POBOS Urgency Team (on-location psychological first aid within 3 hours), Crisis Intervention (within 24 hours), and standard Psychotherapy (within 3 working days), with separate pathways for work-related issues (handled by clinical psychologists) and private-life issues (handled by social workers). The technology layer comprises the POBOSlink self-service portal, a 24/7/365 emergency phone line, and two branded digital self-assessment tools (the POBOS Trauma Scan based on the IES-R instrument and the POBOS Burnout Scan developed with neuropsychologist Michael Portzky).

Service delivery runs through a national Belgium-wide network of approximately 260 contracted clinical psychologists and 7 social workers, coordinated by a lean permanent staff of 8 employees based at the Temse headquarters. POBOS commercializes its offering on a B2B2C subscription basis: employers, work accident insurers, employee benefit providers, and sector social funds (e.g., Bus&Car Social Fund) pay recurring fees for EAP access, and individual employees reach services at no direct cost through their organization's subscription, an insurance policy, or a referral from a general practitioner or occupational doctor. POBOS generates revenue exclusively through these B2B subscription and channel-reseller arrangements, with no direct consumer pricing. Distribution is concentrated in three channels: direct enterprise EAP subscriptions, insurance company coverage, and SEPPT / external prevention and protection service resellers, with the POBOSlink portal providing digital self-service entry.

Name

Pobos

Legal name

POBOS

Website

https://pobos.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

POBOS is a Belgian non-profit founded in 1990 that delivers Employee Assistance Program services, including trauma response, crisis intervention, and psychotherapy, to corporate clients, insurers, and occupational health providers through a national network of 260 contracted psychologists and 7 social workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Assistance Program Services

NAICS

Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (621330), Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) Management (HLAEAHAB)

Keywords

• Employee assistance programs
• Psychosocial support services
• Crisis intervention services
• Trauma counseling services
• Workplace mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Temse

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. B2B Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services: POBOS provides psychosocial support services to companies and organizations under EAP contracts. Employers pay for these services as part of their employee well-being obligations and legal compliance requirements. Costs are typically borne by the employer and may be partially covered through work accident insurance or SEPPT (external service for prevention and protection at work).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

POBOS provides Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services and psychosocial primary care through a national network of approximately 260 clinical psychologists and 7 social workers in Belgium. The offering includes crisis intervention (within 3 hours for urgent cases and 24 hours for standard crisis), standard psychotherapy (within 3 working days), and social work support for work-related and private psychosocial problems. Services are sold primarily to employers, insurance companies, and occupational health services as subscriptions, with employees accessing care through their organization's coverage.

Product overview

POBOS is a Belgian mental health and wellbeing service provider founded in 1990, offering a comprehensive suite of psychological support services. The portfolio centers on two online self-assessment tools (POBOS Trauma Scan and POBOS Burnout Scan) for secondary prevention, supported by three tiers of tertiary intervention services: the POBOS Urgency Team (immediate on-site support within 3 hours), Crisis Intervention (within 24 hours), and standard Psychotherapy (within 3 working days). The core offering is an Employee Assistance Program (E.A.P.) addressing work-related psychosocial problems using evidence-based protocols, complemented by a Social Service for private-related issues. All services are coordinated through a national network of approximately 260 clinical psychologists and 7 social workers, with access facilitated through the POBOSlink self-service portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POBOS Burnout Scan: A self-scan questionnaire developed by neuropsychologist Michael Portzky to assess possible signs of burnout. Based on evidence-based assessment tools.
• POBOS Trauma Scan

Products and services

• POBOS Trauma Scan A self-scan questionnaire based on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) that helps individuals assess their emotional state and determine whether professional help may be needed after experiencing a traumatic event. Available as a standalone online tool.
• POBOS Burnout Scan A self-scan questionnaire developed by neuropsychologist Michael Portzky that helps users identify potential burnout symptoms experienced over the past two weeks, indicating whether professional help may be needed. Available as a standalone online tool.
• POBOS Urgency Team Immediate psychological first aid response service providing on-location support within 3 hours after a traumatic event. An assigned urgency psychologist conducts the first intake interview at the location of the incident.
• Crisis Intervention Crisis intervention service providing on-location support within 24 hours through a local psychologist after emergency call registration. Includes first telephone contact within 1 hour of help request registration.
• Psychotherapy (Standard Intervention) Standard psychotherapy intervention with first intake interview scheduled within 3 working days at the counselor's private practice. Guidance cycles typically consist of 3-5 sessions with possible extensions, delivered individually or in group settings (debriefing).
• Employee Assistance Program (E.A.P.) Comprehensive psychosocial support program for work-related problems including stress, burnout, reorganization, work resumption, and COVID-19 related issues. Uses the evidence-based POBOS Plan of Approach Burn-out/Re-integration protocol. First telephone contact same day as registration, with first counseling session within 3 working days.
• Social Service Support service for private-related psychosocial problems including psycho-medico-social issues, financial problems, and addiction. Delivered by experienced social workers with first telephone contact same day as registration and first meeting within 3 working days. Guidance cycle typically consists of 2 sessions with possible extensions.
• POBOSlink Online customer portal for registering help requests and accessing POBOS services. Serves as a self-service digital channel complementing phone-based access, enabling employees to initiate counseling and manage their cases online.

Quantifiable outcome

• First intake within 3 hours for urgent POBOS urgency team cases
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bus&Car Social FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023The Bus&Car Social Fund (Fonds Social Bus&Car) has been collaborating with POBOS for about 20 years for the care and support of workers registered with joint committee 140.01. POBOS provides psychosocial support services to transportation sector employees.
• Cares AssistancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCares Assistance, in partnership with AXA Partners, has created a high value-added offering for assistance around deaths. POBOS is a partner of Cares Assistance and AXA Partners as a service provider in grief counseling. Through its national network of social workers ('Care Managers') and clinical psychologists, POBOS offers help and support to bereaved persons.
• AXA PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAXA Partners and Cares Assistance collaborate with POBOS as the psychological support service provider for their grief counseling and assistance services. POBOS provides the professional counseling component through its network of psychologists and social workers.
• Ecole Sans Harcèlement ASBLminorOthersPOBOS supports this non-profit organization focused on preventing harassment in schools, aligned with POBOS's social entrepreneurship initiatives targeting youth development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Liantis: Belgian HR services group offering prevention, well-being, and personnel advisory to SMEs and larger employers — competes with POBOS in workplace well-being as part of a broader HR service bundle.
• WorkplaceOptions: Global EAP provider offering 24/7 multilingual support, counselling, and well-being services to multinational employers — a broader incumbent that POBOS competes against for international and large-enterprise accounts.
• Securex: Large Belgian HR, payroll, and well-being service provider bundling EAP-style services into a wider portfolio — a broader incumbent that competes for the same employer well-being wallet as POBOS.
• Cigna Healthcare EAP: Global health services company offering EAPs to multinational employers, including counselling, crisis support, and well-being resources — competes with POBOS at the international and cross-border account level.
• Optum Employee Assistance Programs: UnitedHealth Group's EAP and behavioural health division, providing EAP services at global scale with integrated data and digital tools — represents the type of large, technology-enabled competitor POBOS faces for enterprise contracts.
• ACERTA: Belgian HR and well-being provider serving thousands of employers with bundled HR and prevention services — comparable buyer (HR leaders) and overlapping product surface to POBOS.

Direct peers

• Mensura: Belgian external service for prevention and protection at work, providing occupational health and psychosocial support to employers — the most direct domestic peer to POBOS in terms of EAP-style services delivered to Belgian companies.
• IDEWE: Major Belgian external prevention and protection service with a comparable employer-facing mandate on employee well-being and psychosocial risk, overlapping directly with POBOS's customer base and service scope.
• Attentia: Belgian HR and well-being service provider offering prevention, psychosocial support, and HR consulting to employers — a direct domestic competitor in the same Belgian EAP/well-being segment.

Regional players

• Mensura External Prevention Service (Clarigence/Cohezio): Belgian external service for prevention and protection at work delivering occupational health and psychosocial support to employers — comparable regional peer in the same Belgian employer-services ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pobos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pobos