The experiences and impact of moral injury and implications for treatment

Moral injury refers to the intense psychological distress resulting from actions, or lack of them, which violate one's moral/ethical code. Morally injurious experiences can cause intense guilt, anger or shame and are associated with mental ill-health, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and suicidality. Consequential financial and social impacts may be considerable. Current treatments for those who have a moral injury-associated mental disorder are largely inadequate. There is an urgent need to better understand the development and maintenance of moral injury and develop effective treatments for those with a moral injury-related mental disorder. In this session, we will conceptually clarify what moral injury is and present our findings from the first comprehensive study of moral injury in UK veterans as well as our research with other samples, including healthcare workers, veterinarians and survivors of human trafficking.  We will share the latest findings from our pilot trial of Restore & Rebuild (R&R), a co-designed treatment for moral injury related mental disorders, as well as insights from our ongoing RCT to provide recommendations for clinical practice and psychological treatment.