about us

Svalbard is not covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Plan, and according to Longyearbyen Local Council (Longyearbyen Lokalstyret), the residents of Svalbard- both foreign and Norwegian- do not have a right of access to psychological health services on the island. There is thus no right to treatment for mental disorders and no available psychiatrist/psychologist/therapist. For urgent cases regarding mental health evaluation and/or treatment, residents are required to travel down to mainland Norway (fastlandet), often at their own expense. This creates a tremendous barrier for Svalbard residents to both ask for and receive help.

In 2024, the Parliament (Stortinget) adopted the Svalbard Report (Svalbardmeldingen), and the Norwegian Government subsequently tasked Health North (Helse Nord) with investigating if and how mental health services in Svalbard can be strengthened. Yet while the Norwegian Government has acknowledged the deficiency in psychological services in Svalbard, there is yet to be a concrete plan or timeline for improving the situation.

In May 2025, several residents of Svalbard decided to address this gap. We created Mental Helse Svalbard or "Mental Health Svalbard" for residents of all ages, as well as a sister organisation specifically for youth called Mental Helse Ungdom Svalbard or "Youth Mental Health Norway - Svalbard" for those under 36 years old. The objective of both Mental Helse Svalbard and Mental Helse Ungdom Svalbard is therefore to address some of the psychological challenges of living in this unique place by raising awareness, building competence, and creating a stronger, more connected, and caring community. Our primary aim is to provide a lower threshold for the residents of Svalbard to reach out and support one another, and to seek and receive accessible psychological help.

While we have just started our journey,  read below to see how we plan to achieve these aims.

Our first steps are to create a website that has a clear and straightforward list of the resources available specifically to Svalbard residents experiencing psychological stress or needing more information in this area. We will make use of social media as well, where we will make pages/accounts to respond to inquiries for information and be a low-threshold option for people to find out about their options and resources. Finally, we plan to create a psychological preparedness (Psykiske Beredskap) brochure (loosely based on DSB’s Advice on Emergency Preparedness (Råd om Egenberedskap)) that will be available and disseminated to the local community physically. All such information will be free and accessible for all (for example, in multiple languages).

We will focus on fostering a community of members who care about one another and are approachable. Regardless of citizenship or job, or any other differences, we will create spaces for residents to interact with one another in a relatable and human way, and to ensure spaces for people to feel seen and heard. To do this, we plan to organise regularly occurring events, which could include: group meetings, movie nights, speed-friending, yoga/meditation, hikes and outdoor activities, etc. We will also offer support for smaller, more tailored events that may be aimed at sub-groups or specific challenges, based on member wishes. The aim will be to focus on building better relationships and connections among the community and among members.

We will host and arrange periodic or yearly workshops (for example, in October for World Mental Health Day (Verdensdagen for Psykisk Helse)) as well as one-time lectures, where we invite specialists or experts regarding mental health topics. The aim of these will always be to improve confidence, develop skills, and build competence in respective psychological areas. This could include workshops/lectures, for example, with focus on skills such as making SMART goals or creating a Prepardness Plan (Forebyggingsplan)- or a focus on learning about nutrition, cognitive effects of the dark season, health rights in the workplace, etc.

All our efforts will be specifically tailored to the situation of the residents in Svalbard. This means our focus will always be on the challenges actually faced here- and that may be unique to this island- such as foreigners feeling unwanted, new people being excluded, difficulty being away from family during times of the year like Christmas, the challenges of the seasons (months of dark/light). We will build upon existing knowledge, infrastructure, and local resources wherever possible. We will do our best to create local partnerships with government, other organisations and businesses; and to connect to and support already existing initiatives and events.

We will do our best to make a real difference here in Svalbard. Our projects will therefore focus on creating meaningful and lasting change in the lives of individuals and in the community as a whole. In the short-term, this could include developing a buddy system, creating a hotline (vakttelefon), or offering partial financial support for online psychological services. In the long-term, this could include having a physical psychologist or the offerings of psychological services on a more regular/permanent and accessible basis right here on Svalbard.