Deployment Psychology Blog

Guest Perspective: Exploring Psychological Pathways in Education, Military, and Justice Systems

By  on 05.09.2025 10:23 am
Harmony Hill

This summer I had the incredible opportunity to step into three different professional roles to gain insight into what it means to be a psychologist for the military. My name is Harmony and I am a high school senior from Oklahoma with a deep interest in Psychology. I hope to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, and after that, I want to focus on forensic psychology. Over the summer, I worked closely with the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP), served as a junior teaching assistant (TA) for Dr. Patrick DeLeon’s public policy class, and volunteered at the Verizon Youth summer program, all while touring colleges in preparation for fall applications.

Research Update: 4 September 2025

By Shirl Kennedy  on 04.09.2025 1:07 pm
Research Update Icon

The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● Suicidal Behavior in US Army Special Operations Forces.
● Firearms, alcohol, suicide, and intimate partner violence perpetration among service members: Military partner experiences.
● Traumatic Brain Injury and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Post-9/11 Veterans: Investigating Longitudinal Change and Interactions with Mental Health.

Staff Perspective: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient - Recent Publications and a Selection of Resources for Moral Injury in Military Health Care Workers

By Jennifer Phillips  on 03.09.2025 1:23 pm
Dr. Jenny Phillips

While the condition of moral injury (MI) has been frequently studied in military populations, the impact of MI on military health care providers has been relatively overlooked in the research literature. This blog shares information from two recent publications, a narrative review and a qualitative study, that provide new information and insight into how MI is experienced by military providers. We also highlight information and select resources available for those experiencing or working with health care workers with MI.

Staff perspective: Moral Distress and Moral Injury - How Prevalent Are They in U.S. Veterans?

By Paula Domenici  on 27.08.2025 12:00 pm

Moral injury remains a murky concept, despite the growing body of literature on this important topic. While there’s not a consensus on exactly what moral injury is, Phelps et al. (2024) describe it as enduring psychological, social, and spiritual distress that can occur when individuals are exposed to high-pressure situations that violate or clash with their deeply-held moral beliefs or values. Moral injury may stem from one’s own actions or inactions, the actions of others, or a perceived betrayal by trusted leaders or institutions. In military contexts, including those with complex rules of engagement, moral injury may occur after engaging in or witnessing acts that conflict with one’s sense of right and wrong, such as causing harm to civilians, being unable to prevent the loss of life, seeing human suffering, or feeling deeply misled by command.

Research at CDP: Developing the Morally Injurious Life Events Checklist

By  on 26.08.2025 9:47 am

We are excited to share the launch of a study focusing on the development of a new research tool, the Morally Injurious Life Events Checklist (MILEC). The MILEC, developed by the research team at the Center for Deployment Psychology, is designed to deepen our understanding of moral injury.

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