Like a Blanket Over a Fire: Group Work and Spiritual Repair in Military Trauma

• Published in: Families in society Vol. 101; no. 1; pp. 95 - 109
• Main Authors: Starnino, Vincent R., Sullivan, W. Patrick, Angel, Clyde T., Davis, Louanne W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2020; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Armed forces; Group work; Injuries; Intervention; Meaning; Occupational stress; Post traumatic stress disorder; Trauma; Treatment methods; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); spiritually integrated group intervention; spiritual injury; military veterans; moral injury
• ISSN: 1044-3894; 1945-1350
• DOI: 10.1177/1044389419862081

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not fully explain why some who experience war feel as though their assumptive world and sense of meaning has been shattered. Two concepts mentioned in the literature that address this feature of trauma are moral injury and spiritual injury. This work reports on qualitative findings from postgroup interviews with 18 participants who completed a spiritually integrated eight-session group intervention known as Search for Meaning. The group is designed to deal directly with issues of moral and spiritual wounds. This article discusses three main themes related to (a) the group process, (b) spiritual struggles and repair, and (c) the role of the group leaders. The findings support the call for specialized interventions to supplement mainstream PTSD treatments.