The psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and his colleagues introduced the term “moral injury” in the 1990’s to describe the effects on others when there is a “betrayal...

The psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and his colleagues introduced the term “moral injury” in the 1990’s to describe the effects on others when there is a “betrayal of ‘what’s right’ in a high-stakes situation by someone who holds power.” There are no bandages, casts or crutches to see, but the invisible wounding is very real. Think of the soldier who witnesses a commanding officer slaughter innocent civilians, committing war crimes and violating rules of engagement. What happens to such a soldier? Or consider, as did some early studies of “moral distress,” the effects on nurses “when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action.” You aren’t...

The psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and his colleagues introduced the term “moral injury” in the 1990’s to describe the effects on others when there is a “betrayal of ‘what’s right’ in a high-stakes situation by someone who holds power.” There are no bandages, casts or crutches to see, but the invisible wounding is very real. Think of the soldier who witnesses a commanding officer slaughter innocent civilians, committing war crimes and violating rules of engagement. What happens to such a soldier? Or consider, as did some early studies of “moral distress,” the effects on nurses “when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action.” You aren’t...