Exploring the Emerging Themes of Moral Injury in War Veteran Populations and the Healing Potential of Art Therapy
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Authors
Telfer, Ania
Issue Date
2025-01-31
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
moral injury , art therapy , veterans , spirituality
Alternative Title
Abstract
In this capstone project I explore the emerging themes of Moral Injury (MI) in war veteran populations and the potential of art therapy to address these themes. I examine the perspectives on MI from clinical psychology, clerical traditions and traumatology and investigate why a clear definition of MI continues to elude researchers. Although MI is a veritable condition with deleterious effects on all aspects of bio-psycho-social-spiritual function in veteran populations, most clinicians are unfamiliar with it and MI is often classified as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Treatments for PTSD are ineffective for MI and often can worsen the suffering of the veteran. MI results from the disruption of moral schemas following atrocities of wartime experience with spiritual and existential themes being integral to the healing process – areas often overlooked in clinical practice. Art therapy integrates neuroscience and existentialism through non-verbal approaches and offers veterans an indirect yet powerful way to process MI related to wartime trauma. Research shows that art therapy has been clinically proven to increase function across all bio-psycho-social-spiritual domains in veteran populations. I conclude with recommendations ranging from policy changes, education initiatives and research to support art therapy for veterans. In this capstone I emphasize the urgent need to address MI in war veterans and highlight art therapy's potential to fill these gaps.
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Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess