The Moral Injury Spectrum: From Conflict to Healing in Individual and Cultural Contexts

by C. Richard Spates Ph.D., Karis L. Callaway Ph.D.

Overview

The book is a culmination of rigorous research and synthesizes key insights and findings from the field of moral injury. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the topic and its implications for clinical practice. The authors, drawing upon the seminal work of Jonathan Shay and Brett Litz, define moral injury as the profound emotional and psychological pain experienced when one's actions or witnessed actions deeply violate one's moral or ethical code.

The historical roots of moral injury are traced back to the experiences of Vietnam War veterans, and the concept's evolution and relevance beyond the military context are explored. The authors examine specific domains where moral injury manifests, including the military, healthcare, higher education, academia, and law enforcement, highlighting the importance of context in understanding and addressing moral injury.

Jonathan Haidt's moral foundations theory is integrated into the understanding of the concept of "injury" in the moral injury landscape, providing a deeper understanding of the psychological processes involved. The role of psychological pre-moral injury status and parenting style as formative forces and risk factors for moral injury is explored, along with the role of faith in the development of morals, as a setting event for moral injury, and as a mechanism for healing.

Evidence-based psychological interventions for moral injury are reviewed, emphasizing the practical application of this research in addressing moral injury. The importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs and contextual factors is underscored. The authors critically evaluate the level of construct validation research and treatment outcome research, highlighting the need for further empirical investigation. Existing treatment models are summarized using an evidence-based framework.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781836630623
Publisher:	AMZ Book Publishing Services
Publication date:	08/07/2024
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

"As a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the field of mental health through government service, private practice, academic teaching, research, clinical and research supervision, and administration, I have dedicated my career to exploring the complex and often misunderstood concepts of Traumatic Stress, Clinical Victimization, betrayal trauma, and, more generally, anxiety disorders and clinical depression. Over the 40 years of my professional career, my work has been shaped by the countless individuals I have had the privilege of treating in both private practice and academic training clinics, as well as in supervision sessions with clinical psychology, nursing, and counseling trainees, and in government consultations (VA Medical Centers and State Government Services). My academic classroom teaching experiences and research in these and related areas have also influenced my work. The contents of this book serve as a culmination of my experiences, observations, and knowledge gained through clinical practice and rigorous scholarly inquiry. Finally, my classroom instruction in Cross-Cultural Psychology and Professional and Research Ethics has informed my work across all clinical, academic, and research activities.

In the following pages, my colleague and I aim to comprehensively explore moral injury, drawing from real-world cases, psychological theory, and empirical evidence. We hope this book will serve as a valuable resource for fellow mental health professionals, scholars, and anyone seeking an understanding of moral conflict and betrayal.
As will be noted, my perspective on moral injury was not contemporaneous across my career in the above-referenced areas. The construct has arisen in the last decade and a half via the seminal work of scholars like Shay et al., Litz et al., and others. It is, therefore, through a retrospective lens that I came to reconsider cases treated in private practice, academic research, and clinical supervision, specifically while treating and/or supervising cases of PTSD across military, law enforcement, healthcare, educational professionals, corporate and manufacturing personnel, victims of racism and gender discrimination, cult members seeking escape, and sexual victimization. Some of the illustrations presented in this text draw from this retrospective lens, considering unique clinical features observed and several instances reported contemporaneously in the professional literature."