Moral Injury Certificate Program

Moral Injury Certificate Program

Course Description

Moral injury is the suffering people experience when in high-stakes situations, things go wrong, and harm results from something a person did, witnessed, failed to prevent, or received. First coined by Dr. Jonathan Shay in 1994 to refer to the “undoing of character” caused by the moral anguish of combat veterans, moral injury is a concept that has been growing in awareness and relevance among healthcare workers, first responders, social workers, journalists, activists, and others.

This course is designed to increase participants’ knowledge of trauma, moral distress, and moral injury, drawing from research and work in various disciplines. These disciplines include the fields of social work, psychology, spiritual care, mental health counseling, religion, and arts and healing. It will also increase competency for developing and implementing peer support strategies for processing distressful experiences as a means of facilitating moral repair and building moral resilience. Learning content will be delivered through lectures, reading, participation in peer learning cohorts and practicums, and development of a capstone project.

This is a 50-hour course comprised of synchronous sessions (12 hours group discussions, 9 hours practicums) and asynchronous study time (9 hours lecture videos, 20 hours readings and capstone project preparation). This averages to about 5 hours of engagement per course week.

All course content will be on the Teachable platform, which students will have access to for a year (until February 1, 2025). Access to good internet connection and a Zoom account (for synchronous sessions) is required for successful engagement.

Course Content

Each week will comprise of either lecture recordings or synchronous practicum sessions, with accompanying reading assignments. There will be live group discussions during lecture weeks.

A certificate of completion will be offered to students who complete the course, including attending all live sessions (discussion groups and practicums) and submitting a capstone project.

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