Moral Injury and Trauma: Towards a Bio-psycho-social-spiritual Approach

Moral injury is an increasingly recognised condition that has lasting biological, psychological, social, spiritual, and behavioural impacts. Moral injuries are caused when one's deeply held moral expectations are violated by oneself, another, or as a result of betrayal by trusted colleagues or leaders. These wide ranging causes and impacts require clinicians, researchers, and carers to consider and implement a Biopsychosocial-Spiritual framework. The spiritual element of moral injury can cause disquiet amongst some, however, it is important to understand what spirituality means and how it can be attended to in the prevention and treatment of moral injury. This session will unpack moral injury, particularly in emergency workers, and describe how spiritual/religious approaches complement and extend other approaches

By the end of this webinar, you can expect to have the following learning outcomes:

1) Explore moral injury and trauma exposure in disaster and emergency workers.
2) Understand the contours of spirituality as it relates to moral injury and how it can be incorporated in the care of those with moral injuries.
3) Critically examine one's own deeply held moral expectations as they relate to one's current work environment.
4) Develop strategies to work in an interdisciplinary team to provide best care for those suffering moral injury

About the Speaker

Mark is an interdisciplinary researcher and emergency manager who researches at the intersection of moral injury, trauma exposure, and psychosocial risk mitigation. His research interests include organisational betrayal, moral leadership, workplace safety, and holistic staff support. Alongside his research, since 1991 Mark has worked as a police officer, firefighter, ambulance chaplain, emergency manager, and consultant to emergency agencies across Australia. He designs and teaches research to practice models of leadership and organisational strategies for disaster and emergency organisations. He utilises biopsychosocial-spiritual framework to prevent moral injury, mitigate psychosocial risks, and provide pastoral care in disaster settings.