Moral Injury: A Multidimensional Approach to Workplace Trauma

In this course, Dr. Nikki Jamieson (Ph.D., MSuicidology, BSW [Hons]) introduces the topic of moral injury (MI) by posing a moral stressor and tracing the history of the concept back to the 12th century B.C. Observing that what is morally injurious differs from person to person, Dr. Jamieson nevertheless acknowledges the occupational hazard for MI posed by professions such as veterinarians, military personnel, and health professionals. Jamieson uses neuroscience to help distinguish between MI and PTSD and explains the symptoms of the former, whether it is occurring in, say, a military context or a typical workplace environment. She outlines the therapeutic approaches, such as acceptance and commitment therapy, which have demonstrated effectiveness with MI and proposes a three-stage model of transformation for healing from MI.