Free counseling available to public school employees statewide

Agency promotes free service for employees, their families

Free counseling services are available to all public school employees, including their household members, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

The Employee Assistance Program offers free counseling services through New Directions, where employees are able to connect with a licensed professional 24 hours a day by calling (877) 300-9103, according to a Facebook post from the Education Department.

Beth Maphys, school-based mental health coordinator with the department, said the service has always been a part of public schools' employee benefit package. The only new component is the department's decision to increase awareness about the resources available for employees.

Maphys said she had been in the classroom until June 2020. She said she still has many friends who are in the classroom who have expressed the stress they are undergoing.

With quarantine guidelines and the delta variant of the coronavirus, teachers have realized "this is happening again," Maphys added.

She said she believes the initial panic of the pandemic has become part of life, and that employees are adjusting to this "new normal" and realizing they need to take care of themselves.

Services are available regardless of insurance status and there is no deductible or copay, according to the post.

Any household member, including college students up to age 26, also can receive services free of charge as part of this program. Employees or their family members can receive services in person, via text or over the phone.

Maphys added that the initiative from the department to make employees aware of the resources available to them is important because school districts are independently operated, so it could be difficult to send information across the board.

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