Saqqummersitaq

Greenland experienced a 5-week lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis. The lockdown effectively took out all public social support and food supply for people experiencing homelessness in the capital Nuuk. This woke up Greenland’s social conscience in the form of a local NGO’s mobilization of voluntary social helpers. Luckily nobody in the homeless environment got infected and suffered needlessly. From a social policy perspective, we can take three experiences away from the pandemic. Firstly, a clear learning experience from this crisis was the need to redefine the broad societal understanding of Greenland a country with a universal welfare system. The second experience was that social work comes in many shapes and forms. Finally, the experience illustrated what could take place when the political and administrative system are too slow to react in times of crisis. It kickstarted the civil society step up and help fellow citizens. In the end NGO’s need to reports back and inform the public system to ensure better social emergency response in the future.

Greenlanders are the indigenous people of the Kingdom of Denmark. Through the study of literature, the authors conducted a preliminary investigation into the psychological and social problems of Greenlanders as well as the status of psychotherapy. The main type of therapy offered takes a Western cultural perspective, but the prevalence of culturally sensitive psychotherapy practices is increasing. The authors examined the traditional indigenous healing practice of the angakok (shaman), concluding that it is not a living tradition but can be traced from the indigenous Inuit culture alive in Greenlanders today. Three key areas for culturally sensitive psychotherapy practices are identified: (1) global, holistic, visual and bodily ways of learning, (2) community‐based and collective practices, and (3) social values and the collective healing of broken social values (taboos). The authors concluded that more research is needed, along with the development of guidelines for culturally sensitive therapy for Greenlanders and the integration of indigenous practices and perspectives into psychotherapy.