Skip to main content

Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Koenig, HG; Boucher, NA; Oliver, RJP; Youssef, N; Mooney, SR; Currier, JM; Pearce, M
Published in: J Nerv Ment Dis
February 2017

Wartime experiences have long been known to cause ethical conflict, guilt, self-condemnation, difficulty forgiving, loss of trust, lack of meaning and purpose, and spiritual struggles. "Moral injury" (MI) (also sometimes called "inner conflict") is the term used to capture this emotional, cognitive, and behavioral state. In this article, we provide rationale for developing and testing Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy, a version of standard cognitive processing therapy for the treatment of MI in active duty and veteran service members (SMs) with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who are spiritual or religious (S/R). Many SMs have S/R beliefs that could increase vulnerability to MI. Because the injury is to deeply held moral standards and ethical values and often adversely affects spiritual beliefs and worldview, we believe that those who are S/R will respond more favorably to a therapy that directly targets this injury from a spiritually oriented perspective. An evidence-based treatment for MI in posttraumatic stress disorder that not only respects but also utilizes SMs' spiritual beliefs/behaviors may open the door to treatment for many S/R military personnel.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

J Nerv Ment Dis

DOI

EISSN

1539-736X

Publication Date

February 2017

Volume

205

Issue

2

Start / End Page

147 / 153

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Spirituality
  • Psychiatry
  • Morals
  • Military Personnel
  • Humans
  • Emotions
  • Conflict, Psychological
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Koenig, H. G., Boucher, N. A., Oliver, R. J. P., Youssef, N., Mooney, S. R., Currier, J. M., & Pearce, M. (2017). Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis, 205(2), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000554
Koenig, Harold G., Nathan A. Boucher, Rev John P. Oliver, Nagy Youssef, Scott R. Mooney, Joseph M. Currier, and Michelle Pearce. “Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.J Nerv Ment Dis 205, no. 2 (February 2017): 147–53. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000554.
Koenig HG, Boucher NA, Oliver RJP, Youssef N, Mooney SR, Currier JM, et al. Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2017 Feb;205(2):147–53.
Koenig, Harold G., et al. “Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.J Nerv Ment Dis, vol. 205, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 147–53. Pubmed, doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000554.
Koenig HG, Boucher NA, Oliver RJP, Youssef N, Mooney SR, Currier JM, Pearce M. Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2017 Feb;205(2):147–153.

Published In

J Nerv Ment Dis

DOI

EISSN

1539-736X

Publication Date

February 2017

Volume

205

Issue

2

Start / End Page

147 / 153

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Spirituality
  • Psychiatry
  • Morals
  • Military Personnel
  • Humans
  • Emotions
  • Conflict, Psychological
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy