ＪＥＴの皆さん、こんにちは！

Hello! I’m Stephen Jensen, your Prefectural Advisor. As the PA, my job is to help you lead a healthy and active JET career in Oita Prefecture. There are three ways I can do this:

1. Provision of Practical Information : Need to find, say, a dentist who speaks English? I can help you find this and other bits of important information that you have trouble finding due to language barriers. You can also come to me with questions regarding such topics as driver’s licenses, visas, moving, contracts, etc. For every question, be sure to check your General Information Handbook (GIH) first!
2. Counseling : I’m not a guru healer, but by talking with you about the problems you face I might be able to help lighten the load. Living and working as a foreigner in Japan can be stressful and isolating without someone to talk to. It can even lead to serious mental health problems without proper attention. You can talk with me on the phone or arrange to meet in person. Counseling sessions are kept confidential. After a few counseling sessions, I may refer you to other sources of help.
3. Mediation : In order to work productively, maintaining clear and honest communication with your supervisor and coworkers is a must. Language and cultural barriers can prevent you from achieving this. If you are having difficulty at work due to any form of mutual misunderstanding, you can request to have me and the Japanese PA mediate on your behalf. Such mediation should be considered after first attempting to communicate your own thoughts and feelings to fix the problem.

Broken down, these are the major ways I can help you. But most of life’s problems don’t fit easily into such categories. Basically, if you’re having trouble with anything, consider me as another way to get help. Give me a call or email and I’ll try my best to help you.

Good luck!

Stephen

Email: pu101503@pref.oita.jp
Work phone: 097-506-2129
Cell phone: 080-5609-1293 (Emergencies and during non-working hours only, please!)
Hours: 9AM-5PM, Mon.-Fri.

For more information on the PA, the JET Support System and cultural adjustment see pages 203-227 in the JET Programme General Information Handbook (GIH).

For More Support:

CLAIR Jetline:
CLAIR Programme Coordinators (PCs) answer questions and provide counseling. Conversations are confidential and anonymous calls are accepted. English or Japanese

TEL: 03-3591-5489
Hours: 9AM-5:45PM; Mon.-Fri.

AJET Peer Support Group (PSG):
Provides information about medical and health services, etc.

TEL: 0120-437-725
Hours: 8PM-7AM; Daily

Tokyo English Lifeline (TELL):
Provides counseling and information for foreigners living in Japan.

TEL: 03-5774-0992
Hours: 9AM-11PM; Daily