Alaska is an enormous land of extreme challenge. The beauty in some places can be astonishing, while in other spots the environment is depressingly dull and desolate. Summer days of warmth and seemingly endless light radically stimulate our energy levels and sleep seems almost unnecessary. Through the long winter of brutal cold and dark even human residents hibernate and hide indoors.

And then there’s the isolation. It’s not like you can hop in the car and keep going until you reach a choice destination to visit family or friends. We’re stuck here. Pretty much the only way to reach mainland America is a three-and-a-half hour flight from Anchorage. Even getting to Anchorage from another part of Alaska can be a huge and expensive ordeal. Indoors alone in the dark icy winter with nowhere to go. An exteme challenge.

After 35 years in Alaska, I speak from the hollows of experience. My resume: eleven years in Southeast, sometimes with no planes flying for weeks in winter. Fishing offshore in old wooden boats then pulling into tiny coastal villages. Traveling through the Interior to the homestead my husband’s parents cleared. Finally, living the last long stretch outside Anchorage, Alaska’s only real city.

Teachers in rural Alaska bear a heavy burden. They are far from cultural familiarities in tiny outposts where they’re often misunderstood, sometimes unwelcome. Housing provided is often right next to the school. It can be like living in a undersized aquarium. There may be no one available to offer a listening ear, a knowledgeable perspective.

This is why I offer long-distance Alaskan counseling. If you are a teacher, usually your insurance will pay all or most of the cost. I have Skype and Windows Messenger but it may be easier for us just to speak by telephone. When you come to Anchorage, we can meet in person.

I understand the Alaskan lifestyle. My experience with children covers many years and circumstances. If you are struggling, perhaps telephonic sessions may help.

You can email me at impactak@mtaonline.net to pursue the possibility of long-distance Alaskan counseling.