Moral Injury: An Emerging Clinical Construct with Implications for Social Work Education

Abstract

Moral injury is an emergent clinical concern within the literature examining mental health outcomes among current and former military personnel. Experiences of moral injury include potentially significant psychosocial consequences, highlighting the need for military social work practice to identify and treat it among clients. The objectives of this article are to: (a) describe and raise awareness of the concept of moral injury as a clinical concern for social workers in military practice; (b) advocate for the enhancement of social work competencies and practice behaviors in addressing the psychological and psychosocial needs of service members and veterans experiencing moral injury; and, (c) as research and an evidence-base for practice develops in this field, suggest ways to integrate moral injury in social work curricula based on the Advanced Social Work Practice in Military Social Work document, published by the Council for Social Work Education.

KEYWORDS:

• competency
• military
• moral injury
• practice behavior
• veteran

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The findings and conclusions expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs nor should they be construed as the official position of the U.S. Government. The authors do not voice any conflicting interests, financial or otherwise. This work was funded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention (Canandaigua, NY).