Livestream On-Demand

Veteran Patient and VA Clinician Perspectives on Healing from Moral Injury

Sheila Frankfurt, Ph.D., LP

Information

Date & Time

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify two facilitators and two barriers for moral injury treatment.

  • Describe three patient preferences and three VA mental health clinician and chaplain preferences for moral injury treatment.

  • Discuss three self care strategies for coping with the impact of providing moral injury treatment.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to increase understanding of moral injury and moral injury treatment.

Description

“Moral injury” describes the biopsychosocial distress and impairment that results from high magnitude events that involve violations of right and wrong (i.e., moral injury events). Moral injury may be an increasingly common treatment target / goal in VA mental health clinics, however there are few guidelines or evidence-based treatments for moral injury. This talk will review qualitative data summarizing Veteran patients’ and VA mental health clinicians’ and chaplains’ perspectives on recovering from moral injury, including preferred treatment targets, facilitators and barriers to engaging in or providing moral injury treatment – with a particular focus on group therapy for moral injury.

Target Audience

  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker
  • Substance Use Disorder Professionals

Presenters

Sheila Frankfurt, Ph.D., LP

Dr. Sheila Frankfurt, Ph.D., LP is a psychologist and investigator at the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco, TX. Her research focuses on better understanding moral injury, developing a novel group therapy treatment for moral injury, and suicide prevention initiatives. She is currently supported by a Career Development Award – 2, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research & Development Service.

Financially Sponsored By

  • APA Division 18: Psychologists in Public Service