Moral injuries : when good conscience suffers in a world of hurt / Michael Valdovinos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Valdovinos, Michael, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Moral injuries.

Moral injuries--Treatment.

Psychic trauma.

Genre:

Instructional and educational works.

Physical Description:

xxi, 242 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HaperCollins Publishers, 2026.

Summary:

An invisible malady is reshaping the emotional core of our institutions, communities, and inner lives. This ailment fractures our sense of self, erodes our trust in others, and leaves us questioning not only what has happened to us but also who we’ve become. It arises in high-stakes moments when we are compelled, or sometimes choose, to participate in, witness, or remain silent as our deepest principles are violated. And it’s reaching epidemic levels throughout our society. This condition is known as moral injury. More than stress or trauma, moral injury is a rupture of conscience, itself, signaled by shame, guilt, anger, alienation, and loss of trust. Often confused with PTSD, which is a reaction to mortal threat, moral injury arises in response to moral threat. First observed in soldiers, it is now appearing across professions from medicine to tech, law to public safety; anywhere people face impossible choices that pit survival, duty, or success against their principles. Dr. Michael Valdovinos, a psychologist, veteran, and trauma expert, has spent over a decade exploring this acute form of ethical and emotional pain. In this urgent and necessary book, he investigates how moral injury manifests, why it matters now more than ever, and what it reveals about our social contract. Rather than offering prescriptive steps, Moral Injuries invites readers into stories of rupture, reckoning, and repair—tracing how individuals begin the work of healing. Through history, science, and lived experience, it also opens a new conversation about the role of conscience in protecting the health of society.-- Provided by publisher

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780063419872

0063419874

OCLC:

1535215129