Moral Injuries: When Good Conscience Suffers in a World of Hurt - Hardcover

Valdovinos, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0063419874 ISBN 13: 9780063419872

Publisher: Harper, 2026

Synopsis

A psychologist's paradigm-shifting exploration of moral injury--when your moral compass is misaligned with the outside world, causing pain, stress, and other debilitating symptoms--how it develops, why it matters, and how to repair it.

An invisible epidemic is reshaping the emotional core of our institutions, communities, and inner lives. This ailment fractures our sense of self, erodes our trust in others, and leaves us questioning not only what has happened to us but also who we've become. Arising out of high-stakes events that force us to participate in, witness, or endorse violations of our deepest principles, this disorder is known as moral injury.

Often confused with PTSD, which is a reaction to mortal threat, moral injury arises in response to moral threat. First observed in soldiers, moral injury is now appearing across professions from medicine to tech, law to public safety. Dr. Michael Valdovinos, a psychologist, veteran, and trauma expert, has spent over a decade exploring this acute form of ethical and emotional pain. In this urgent and necessary book, he investigates how moral injury manifests, why it matters now more than ever, and what it reveals about our social contract.

Rather than offering prescriptive steps, Moral Injuries invites readers into stories of rupture, reckoning, and repair--tracing how individuals can begin the work of healing. Through history, science, and lived experience, it also opens a new conversation about the role of conscience in protecting the health of society.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Valdovinos is a licensed psychologist and board-certified in behavioral and cognitive psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. A former U.S. Air Force psychologist, he has spent more than two decades building national mental health programs for veterans, directing clinical systems at leading medical institutions, and pioneering the use of immersive technologies in trauma treatment. His expertise extends to shaping digital safety and mental health policy on a global scale, where he has advised governments, NGOs, and technology leaders. His work bridges psychology, innovation, and social impact, bringing human insight to some of today's most urgent challenges.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0063419874
• ISBN 13: 9780063419872
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288