Emerging interventions for moral injury: expanding pathways to moral healing
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Emerging theories on moral injury treatment frame moral injury as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing interlocking self-focus, relational, and meaning-making processes.
“Consistent with these views, emerging theories on MI treatment increasingly frame moral injury as a multidimensional phenomenon—encompassing interlocking self-focus, relational, and meaning-making processes—and have informed the development of interventions that prioritize identity-level disruptions and maladaptive meaning-making over symptom reduction alone (13, 53, 54).”
From The therapeutic role of self-transcendence in moral injury recovery: theory, mechanisms, and clinical implications (2026) · cites this paper as [53]
Current treatment models seek to restore moral and relational functioning, rebuild trust and belonging, cultivate restorative moral and social experiences, and foster acceptance, forgiveness, self-reorientation, and renewed engagement with moral communities.
“Current treatment models therefore seek to restore moral and relational functioning, rebuild trust and belonging, cultivate restorative moral and social experiences, and foster acceptance, forgiveness, self-reorientation, and renewed engagement with moral communities (13, 53, 54)—core therapeutic aims that require broadened awareness and reduced self-focus.”
From The therapeutic role of self-transcendence in moral injury recovery: theory, mechanisms, and clinical implications (2026) · cites this paper as [53]
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Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 57 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
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Moral injury in clinical and academic medicine—it is time to act
von Ungern-Sternberg, B. S., Sommerfield, A., & Becke, K. (2026) · BJA Open · doi:10.1016/j.bjao.2025.100525 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Burnout in Canadian Physiatrists
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“35 In this current study we found a prevalence of emotion dysregulation indicative of depression in 40% in Canadian physiatrists.”
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Self-citationMilitary Moral Injury: Current Controversies and Future Care
Antal, C. J., Byrnes, J. M., Denton-Borhaug, K., & Saul, J. (2024) · Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s40501-024-00317-w · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Adaptive Dis-closure (AD) [24] target the loss of meaning in moral injury and have been demonstrated to be effective in targeting the symptoms of moral injury, but more research is needed to prove their clinical efficacy, and they remain minimally applied…”
Self-citationWilliams, C., Cook, A., & Beadsmoore, L. (2025) · Journal of Forensic Practice · doi:10.1108/jfp-11-2024-0067 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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“Broadly speaking, most moral injury treatments are secular or spiritually-integrated cognitive-behavior individual or group psychotherapies (16, 18 – 21).”
Self-citationBhambhani, Y., Gallo, L., McNamara, E. O., Stotts, A. L., & Gabbay, V. (2025) · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2025.100888 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Fleming, W. H. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1701564
“…functioning, rebuild trust and belonging, cultivate restorative moral and social experiences, and foster acceptance, forgive-ness, self-reorientation, and renewed engagement with moral communities (13, 53, 54) — core therapeutic aims that require broadened awareness and reduced self-focus.”
Moral Injury and Nursing Practice
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The REAL journey: a meaning-oriented approach to moral injury care
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Self-citationO’Keefe, G., Cusatis, R. N., Young, S., Hooyer, K., Kostelac, C. A., & Dellinger, M. (2026) · Police Practice and Research · doi:10.1080/15614263.2026.2652253
“Suggestions to reduce social distress by engaging in activities that reinforce social bonds and connections with morals (e.g., Evans et al., 2023) is reminiscent of the construct of resilience.”
Moral Injury and Suicide: A Systematic Review of Mediators and Moderators
Harris, E., Sweeney, R. S., Arredondo, J., Krauss, A., Riera, A., Roehl, L., & O’Brien, S. F. (2026) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2026.2669778
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Self-citationMoreno-Antolín, A., Pérez‐Marfil, M. N., Fernández‐Alcántara, M., Ramírez-Burgos, M., & Cruz‐Quintana, F. (2026) · Death Studies · doi:10.1080/07481187.2026.2693948
Lumsden-Ruegg, H., Battaglia, A. M., Flett, G. L., Bonfield, S. P., & Goldberg, J. O. (2026) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph23070917
“The findings speak to the growing need for MI-informed approaches to trauma treatment options [63].”
de Goede, M. L., Boelen, P. A., Litz, B. T., & ter Heide, F. J. J. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0359553
Ahlaki Yaralanmayı Yeniden Kavramsallaştırmak: Din Psikolojisi Perspektifinden Manevi Bir Çerçeve
MACIC, M. A. (2026) · Eskiyeni (Online)/Eskiyeni · doi:10.37697/eskiyeni.1928373
- Authors
- Evans, W. R., Smigelsky, M. A., Frankfurt, S. B., Antal, C. J., Yeomans, P. D., Check, C., & Bhatt-Mackin, S. M.
- Affiliations
- VA North Texas Health Care System (US)
- Veterans Health Administration (US)
- Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (US)
- Philadelphia VA Medical Center (US)
- Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Evans, Wyatt R.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry
- Published
- 2023-09-15
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 431-445
- ISSN
- 2196-3061 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4386789796
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (IK1RX003495)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Keywords
- moral injury, moral pain, acceptance and commitment therapy, group therapy, real models, chaplaincy, moral engagement
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