Moral Injury: Suicide Risk, Survivor’s Guilt and Other Clinical Manifestations

About This Webinar

This presentation begins by briefly reviewing the definition of moral injury and describing a theoretical model that highlights some of the clinical manifestations of moral injury. The relationship between moral injury and suicide risk will be described, and recent studies on suicide risk will be reviewed. The relationship between survivor’s guilt and moral injury will be discussed, including highlighting how it differs between moral injury and PTSD. Self-forgiveness will also be highlighted as an additional clinical manifestation of moral injury. A brief case example demonstrating these moral injury clinical manifestations will be presented, including a brief discussion of appropriate treatments.

Learning Objectives

• Define moral injury and describe a proposed theoretical model
• Describe the relationship between moral injury and suicide risk
• Explain how survivor’s guilt manifests differently in moral injury compared to PTSD
• Describe other clinical manifestations of moral injury, such as failure to self-forgive

Presenter

Shira Maguen, Ph.D.
Professor, UCSF Medical School
Mental Health Director, Post-9/11 Integrated Care Clinic
Staff Psychologist, San Francisco VA Medical Center 

Shira Maguen, Ph.D. is the Mental Health Director of the Post-9/11 Integrated Care Clinic and Staff Psychologist on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS), and Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine. Her research interests fall under the umbrella of PTSD, moral injury, and suicide, and include risk and resilience factors in veterans, with a particular focus on female veterans. 

Continuing Education (CE) Credit

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Continuing Education

• Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE):  This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.0 CE credit for CFLE.
• Certificates of completion are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Event Materials

Presentation Slides (PDF)

Trauma, Moral Injury, & Grief

Moral Injury & Killing in Combat: Research & Clinical Implications (TRAINING)

Moral Injury & Killing in Combat Resources (PDF)

Webinar Flyer (PDF)

Photo Credit: iStock