CEUs: 2

Instructor: Charles Small

While most individuals are familiar with how exposure to traumatic events can lead to long-term emotional and mental health problems (such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression), they might be less familiar with the concept of Moral Injury.  Morally injurious events are those which an individual participates in, witnesses, experiences, or fails to prevent, and which lead to the belief that they have transgressed strongly-held moral beliefs and values.  The critical appraisal of these events may result in chronic emotional distress, which can impact nearly every domain of an individual’s life and may require specialized attention.  This lecture will provide an overview of the definition of Moral Injury, discuss populations that are at increased risk for sustaining Moral Injury (military personnel, first responders, and humanitarian aid workers), and explore the range of clinical and integrative approaches to effectively address and treat Moral Injury.  Additionally, we will explore how Jungian concepts such as The Shadow, the Soul, and Spirituality/Religion can function as both risk factors and sources of resilience in the presence of morally injurious events.

About the Instructor
Charles is a Chicago-based social worker and graduate of Loyola University Chicago’s School of Social Work.  For the past decade, he has worked nearly exclusively with veterans of the US Armed Services, both within the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as in the private sector.  Charles currently works at Rush University Medical Center’s Road Home Program: Center for Veterans and Their Families, and has provided individual and group treatment for those suffering from the “Invisible wounds of war” (including PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Moral Injury) since the center opened in 2014.  In addition to his work with veterans, he is a lecturer at University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and sees clients in private practice.  He is excited to return to the Jung Center, where he spent a year as a student intern at the June Singer Clinic for Depth Psychology.

Recommended Reading
Soul Repair, Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini
War and the Soul, Edward Tick