Connect with Karla®

Online counseling + support between sessions

MNPS is committed to providing you with benefits that support not only your physical health but also your mental and emotional health. We’ve partnered with Synchronous Health to offer a unique style of support to teachers: virtual counseling. It all happens through your smartphone or laptop — on your schedule, from the comfort of your own space. No travel required!

For individual counseling: You will meet with your licensed counselor or therapist face to face on your smartphone or laptop.
For group counseling: Once enrolled in a group, you will join your group in a live, virtual environment over Microsoft Teams. Learn more below.

Everything you discuss within this program is completely confidential; no personal details are shared with MNPS. Best of all, there is no cost for eligible employees and dependents. See eligibility below.

Get started: sync.health/mnps or call 615-258-6654.

Important notes about eligibility:

Retirees: Connect with Karla is now available to all MNPS retirees and their adult dependents who are enrolled in the Certificated Retiree Health Plan.
Certificated employees with other insurance: While individual counseling is limited to enrollees in the Certificated Employee Health Plan, group counseling is available to all MNPS certificated employees and their covered dependents age 18 or older, regardless of insurance coverage.

Group counseling NEW!

Group counseling (also called group therapy) offers a unique kind of support. While individual counseling is personalized to your specific needs, group counseling is an opportunity for a small group of people who share similar goals and struggles to engage with — and learn from — each other. The ability to see what others are going through and how they are coping can lend strength to all participants, especially when the struggle is shared. The group forms a community that helps members feel less isolated and more supported.

Groups are led by a facilitator/specialist trained in guiding conversations so participants can:

Openly express their beliefs and share their challenges
Normalize, validate and support each other through those challenges
Celebrate each other’s successes

During sessions, the facilitator may form smaller break-out groups for deeper discussions. Members will also be encouraged to download and use the Karla app, which provides:

Personalized support nudges to use skills and interventions learned in the group

An opportunity to support other group members and chat with the facilitator/specialist between sessions

How MNPS groups will work

While you can sign up for individual counseling at any time, enrollment for group counseling will only open when new groups are forming; you'll be notified by email when new groups are forming.

When enrollment opens, eligible MNPS employees and dependents can sign up at sync.health/mnps . Here are a few details to know:

A group will have 6-9 members.
Enrollees will be placed in a group on a first-come, first-served basis. If interest is high, multiple groups will be formed.
Groups will have a specific focus or topic.
Once you’re placed in a group, you’ll receive a confirmation email and link to log onto virtual sessions.
Groups will meet once a week, via Microsoft Teams, for 5 weeks. Each weekly session will last about an hour.
Group sessions are highly interactive; while participants won’t physically be together, they will be able to see/hear each other via videoconferencing.
At the end of the 5 weeks, participants will be asked to take a satisfaction survey and post-group assessment. Some may choose to remain in contact and become part of each other’s social support networks. Many people choose to continue their growth and development in other groups or in individual counseling.

Eligibility

All MNPS certificated employees and dependents of certificated employees age 18 or older can participate in group counseling, regardless of insurance coverage.

Privacy

Privacy and confidentiality of group participants is of utmost importance for an effective group experience. Group members will sign a confidentiality agreement:

Stating they will not share any information about other group members outside the group itself
Acknowledging that each group member has the right to privacy within the group and that while group members are expected to actively engage in group discussions, each member has the right to determine their level of disclosure

The group leader is obligated to protect confidentiality and privacy of group members to the extent of their ethical and legal duties, with the only exceptions being cases of imminent risk of harm to self or others. While group participants will be on camera via Microsoft Teams to facilitate interaction, group sessions are not recorded.

Group counseling