This paper introduces the concept of moral injury – a betrayal of what is right. In treatment, the manifestations of Moral Injury can be confused with the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but the two syndromes are different. Genuine apology has a role in the process of repairing moral injury. This paper examines some of the forms apology may take in clinical and non-clinical settings, including the aftermath of large-scale historical injustices.
Shierry Weber Nicholsen is a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist in private practice on Capitol Hill in Seattle. She has taught for many years at SPSI and NPSI and is currently interested in how psychoanalysis can help us think about historical injustice.
Discussant Scot N. Gibson, MD, is a psychiatrist on faculty at SPSI where he is co-chair of the Curriculum Committee and an instructor in the adult psychotherapy and psychoanalytic training programs. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he supervises psychiatric residents training in psychotherapy. He has a private practice in Madison Valley in Seattle where he practices psychoanalysis, adult psychiatry, and addiction medicine.
Learning Objectives
As a result of attending this presentation participants will:
- understand the concept of moral injury and its clinical manifestations
- be able to identify the components of a genuine full apology
- become familiar with some of the forms apology may take in both clinical and national/international situations
