How to provide distance counseling in education in Greenland, by Heidi Lindholm, Tarnip pissusaanut ilisimasalinnut pisortaq / Chefpsykolog

1. Distance Counseling
in Greenland
Challenges combined with practical Experiences
National Student Counseling in Greenland

2. National Student Counseling in Greenland

3. National Student Counseling in Greenland
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Stable connection
Unstable connection
OFFLINE vs. ONLINE
WI-FI stability map of Greenland

4. National Student Counseling in Greenland

5. 11. September 2008
National Student Counseling in Greenland

6. Greenland Connected
North Greenland?? NOT

7. Challenges in distance counselling
in Greenland
National Student Counseling in Greenland
• Education in 18 cities and small settlements.
13 of these are placed outside our district offices.
• Great geographical proliferation between cities and settlements
• Wide target group with multi-sectorial areas: state,
statedepartments, municipality.
• Unstable internet-connection. Delayed sound and picture in the
northern part of the country.
• Challenges in internal ressources
- Employees – different experiences.
- Lack of equipment – hardware og software in the counselling
offices.
- Economics? The cost?

8. Continued…
National Student Counseling in Greenland
• Challenges in external ressources
- Many schools do not have hardware and proper internetconnection
- Many have not arranged a private place for the students to sit.
- Economics
- Some students sit in the principals office when having online counseling/-therapy.
• In some parts of the country almost a half of the students do not own a computer.
• It is still an unanswered question of who is going to pay for what.

9. THEN WHAT!?
National Student Counseling in Greenland
• Meeting with the headgroup of the Department of education
and association of municipalities/local authorities

10. A new discovery! A new experience!
National Student Counseling in Greenland
Interdisciplinary possibilities across the counseling offices
Different skills can be spread across the five counseling offices
Students have therapy across the country – with the psychologist
in SIsimiut, the interpreter in Ilulissat and the student in
Maniitsoq.
Lowering cost on traveling
Inhability – a wide problem, which does not have to be a problem
– any longer…
Double counseling two counselers: one in Ilulissat, one in Nuuk
and the student in Upernavik
Web counseling is actually more stable than satelite-calls!

11. Thank you! Qujanaq!
National Student Counseling in Greenland