Noteboom The Law Firm

VA Psychologists Pushing for VA to Accept Moral Injuries

January 21, 2011 - Many times medical and mental health professionals over-diagnose a certain population with misunderstood mental health conditions. This is commonplace with such conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). There are roughly 25 million veterans in this country suffering from a litany of different mental health conditions; no blanket analysis applies to them all. What may come close to covering a vast majority of them, however, is a new phenomenon: moral injuries.

Without a full understanding of a condition's nature, it cannot properly be treated. The so-called "invisible wounds" of war are often the most destructive and debilitating. A select group of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) psychologists are pushing for the recognition of moral injury as a legitimate mental health condition. If they succeed in having it recognized as a genuine injury, it is their hope veterans can be treated instead of put into jail for acting out, often illegally, because of their moral injury.

These psychologists define moral injuries as the body's overall response, both physically and mentally, to being involved in acts that go completely against their closest held beliefs. They also see it as a wound, and although it often presents with PTSD, it deserves its own treatment. They go even further in saying treating only the PTSD may worsen the accompanying and possibly underlying moral injury.

The link between military service and the development of character disorders has been the subject of recent studies. It is believed these character disorders disrupt the veterans' nature so much, they can be looked at as the cause of veterans' later behavior, which could include:

• Poor choices;
• Substance abuse and addiction;
• Crime;
• Incarceration; and
• Homelessness.

Moral injuries may very well exist. Disproportionally, veterans are homeless, unemployed, and suffer from mental health disorders. If these conditions are linked to moral injuries, then interventions, diagnoses, and treatments can become a reality.