Addressing Military-Based Moral Injury in a Group Setting The Initial Clinical Encounter

Addressing Military-Based Moral Injury in a Group Setting

The Initial Clinical Encounter

Moral injury disrupts Veterans’ sense of identity and meaning, ability to connect with and trust others, and engenders disturbing guilt, shame, rage, self-disgust, and suicide. This talk will present a project to develop a psychodynamically-based moral injury group therapy treatment manual. This discussion will explore how the proposed relational-dynamic therapeutic process may help Veterans identify connections between their current symptoms and their experiences in combat, their current life stressors and relationships, and the historical factors that carry person-specific meaning to their moral injuries. The proposed therapeutic action involves developing and expanding a narrative in the presence of attuned and sympathetic others who can resonate to the experience and the affect being expressed.

WHEN:  Saturday, August 6, 2022 - 4:00 – 6:00 PM

WHERE:       MPSI Psychotherapy Center

100 W Franklin Ave Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55404

• In-person only event, appetizers provided

• Masks recommended, but not required

• Limited parking on site and street parking available

COST:           Members: $10 

Non-members: $20

–Limited registration to 50 people due to space  

–CEU (2 hours)

OBJECTIVES:

1.  Explain the relational dynamic approach to moral injury treatment, in a group therapy context.

2. Describe and critique existential and moral issues surrounding the psychotherapeutic treatment of moral injury.

Sheila Frankfurt, PhD, LP, is a clinical research psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, and also does outpatient psychotherapy in the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System. She received her PhD in counseling psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Her work focuses on understanding and treating combat PTSD and moral injury, and preventing suicide during the high-risk period of transition out of the military. Her work is support by a Career Development Award from the VA Office of Research and Development.