Monday, March 17, 2025
9am to 5pm ET (New York City Time)
FREE–Attend live or virtually
Info/Registration: https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/veteran_wellbeing_resilience
Veterans, active service men and women, and first responders are often faced with moral distress when they experience something which conflicts with their morals or ethics. For example, someone in the infantry is ordered to kill a civilian during a war, or watches a fellow kill or hurt someone without apparent cause. Or, an EMT senses he should spend time with a patient but is told by his superior to leave them and the person dies alone and unassisted. The moral dilemma can lead to guilt, shame, depression, and even suicide. Thus, healing from moral distress can literally save lives and even lead to human flourishing. This conference will address the problem and how to do the healing.
Moral distress (or moral injury) does not just impact veterans or first responders. This distress can severely impact anyone in a position of witnessing or actively engaged with something that conflicts with their heart’s deepest ethics. Examples: a teenager forced to have an abortion by her parents. A father witnessing the physical abuse of his child in circumstances in which he cannot stop the perpetrator. A family who encourages a young son to visit a priest but later finds out the priest has sexually abused the youngster.
Jennifer Wortham, Dr.PH., (left) is a researcher at the Harvard Program for Human Flourishing. She has brought together an excellent roster of speakers for the daylong conference at Sander’s Auditorium in Cambridge, MA. This conference is free to view virtually or to attend live.
Jennifer has been a leader in encouraging the editorial board of the DSM to include moral injury or moral distress as something that may be brought into therapy but is not in itself an indicator of pathology. Thanks to her initiative, the DSM will include “Moral, Spiritual or Religious Problem” in its next edition.
Deep Thanks to Jennifer Wortham!
Interested because I have worked with veterans suffering from PTSD. Also with Asylums seekers in the voluntary sector.
Please sign me up for the Zoom link
Hello Judy,
The links to the conference proceedings will be available through Harvard’s Program for Human Flourishing. IMHU is not in charge of this. Thank you for your interest.