Forces in Mind Trust awards grant to test new treatment for morally injured veterans

The Forces in Mind Trust has awarded £270,830 to Combat Stress and the King’s Centre for Military Health Research at King’s College London to design and conduct a study of a psychological treatment for veterans with moral injuries.

Moral injuries occur when servicemen and women witness or fail to prevent acts that go so far against what they morally and ethically believe is right, it can shake them to the core and leave them severely psychologically affected.

The research team will conduct a comprehensive review of UK and international treatments for moral injury, and consult with leading professionals in the field, as well as with veterans who have been treated for moral injury-related psychological problems. The team will then test the final treatment model with 20 morally injured veterans who are receiving treatment from Combat Stress. The findings will be used to inform professionals working with veterans and other occupational groups that are vulnerable to moral injury, such as health care workers and first responders.

The project is expected to start in October 2020 and will be conducted over 27 months.

Dr Dominic Murphy, Head of Research at Combat Stress, said: "By the end of this project we plan to have learnt the best way to treat veterans who have experienced moral injuries. Given the current morally complex challenges Covid-19 is presenting healthcare professionals with, we would hope that our findings can then be applied to support other groups of individuals as well."