The June 2019 issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress (JTS) was devoted to Moral Injury (MI). As a clinical psychologist working at a military training hospital where nearly all patients are Warfighters, I was curious about current recommendations regarding the accepted definition of MI, what measure to use, and how to treat it.
A quick search of the PTSD literature will show you widespread rates of PTSD in the U.S. military. In some studies, the rate is as low as 1.4% (Bliese, Wright, Adler, Thomas, & Hoge, 2007), and in others it is as high as 41.3% (Maguen, Lau, Madden, & Seal, 2012). There are a number of reasons for these highly discrepant rates, many of which are methodological differences.
When addressing moral injury, there is a need to help patients learn to compartmentalize their experiences. But it doesn’t stop there. Patients then need to be able to step back and see all the pieces of themselves in order to move forward.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Service members and Veterans receives a lot of well-deserved attention. That said, it was not until 1992, that the term Moral Injury was coined by Dr. Jonathan Shay to describe the devastating impacts of an event or experience that violates one’s personal ideals, ethics, moral expectations, conscience, or attachments. Since moral expectations are at the core of who we are as humans, moral injury describes a fracture to one’s deepest sense of being. The result of this moral violation can lead to guilt, existential crisis, and loss of trust (Jinkerson, 2016).
The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. As part of PTSD Awareness month, we've got a handful of specific PTSD-related topics and more! Some of this week's topics include:
● Causes of Excess Mortality in Veterans Treated for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
● Examining the relation between PTSD and insomnia on aggression.
● The Impact of Negative Attributions on the Link Between Observed Partner Social Support and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity.
● “You’re Missing Out on Something Great”: Patient and Provider Perspectives on Increasing the Use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.