We all experience challenges in our personal and professional lives, and these are challenging times for everyone. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of anxiety, depression and bereavement.

In 2009, the UFT created the Member Assistance Program (MAP) to help members cope and, over the years, it has supported thousands dealing with issues including work stress, marital or parenting difficulties, eating disorders and alcohol or substance use.

MAP offers in-service UFT members free, confidential and voluntary individual and group counseling and resources provided by licensed mental health professionals.

It responds to members’ needs through assessments, psychiatric consultations, mental health referrals, innovative professional development programs and other offerings. MAP follows all HIPPA-compliant privacy practices.

In response to the pandemic, MAP began offering all its services virtually, helping members stay emotionally connected while remaining physically distant. Since March, virtual support groups on coping with stressors of the pandemic and remote learning have been offered multiple times a day, as have support groups for UFT-represented hospital nurses on the front lines.

Virtual grief and loss groups were added, as were professional development workshops on trauma recovery, complicated bereavement and stress management.

MAP’s web page of resources for self-care during the pandemic is available. It includes free mindfulness and meditation apps, hotlines and trauma counseling, resources for children and more. MAP’s Classroom Café podcast has added three new segments on dealing with the pandemic, available on your favorite podcast platform.

Other support groups offered by MAP include art therapy designed for new educators and LGBTQ+, a group where members can connect with colleagues. MAP’s Partners Through Experience pairs a new teacher with a recent retiree for support.

MΑP is a state provider of continuing education credits for social workers and licensed mental health counselors. As UFT members, school counselors and psychologists have access to an array of clinical courses (some discounted and some free) to help enhance their work.

MAP co-hosts conferences for staff and students related to substance use and mental health. This year’s “Let’s Talk About It” virtual field trip engaged 1,000 middle and high school students and featured Darryl McDaniels of the music group Run-DMC, who shared his journey and a message of hope. See Let's talk about it."

An on-staff psychiatrist is available within 24–48 hours for consultation and assessment. UFT in-service members can utilize this free MAP service up to three times a year.

MΑP provides on-site counseling in a school crisis in conjunction with the union’s Victim Support Program.

It also refers in-service members to outside practitioners and agencies that accept members’ health insurance in all five boroughs and some suburban locations.

You can contact MAP by calling 212-701-9620 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday during the school year, or from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Monday to Thursday during the summer, or by emailing mapinfo@uft.org. You will get a reply within one business day.

Anyone experiencing an emergency at night or on a weekend should call 911 or NYC WELL — a confidential, free mental health information and crisis hotline available to anyone, any time — at 888-692-9355.