Moral injury is the profound psychological distress that can arise following participating in, or witnessing, events that transgress an individual's morals and include harming, betraying, or failure to help others, or being subjected to such events, e.g. being betrayed by leaders. It has been primarily researched in the military, but it also found in other professionals such as healthcare workers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and civilians following a wide range of traumas. In this article, we describe how to use cognitive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (CT-PTSD) to treat patients presenting with moral injury-related PTSD. We outline the key techniques involved in CT-PTSD and describe their application to treating patients with moral injury-related PTSD. A case study of a healthcare worker is presented to illustrate the treatment interventions.
Key learning aims: (1)To recognise moral injury where it arises alongside PTSD.(2)To understand how Ehlers and Clark's cognitive model of PTSD can be applied to moral injury.(3)To be able to apply cognitive therapy for PTSD to patients with moral injury-related PTSD.
Keywords: PTSD; betrayal; cognitive therapy; moral injury; trauma.
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2021.