Course Description

Given that war has been center stage in a very different way for the past 2 years, first in Ukraine and now in Israel and Gaza, those of us in the field of trauma who specialize in treating combat veterans and first responders need to include humanitarian aid workers and war correspondents as populations deserving of our focus and skills. Both groups are also vulnerable to Moral Injury as a natural consequence of their jobs. This session will begin with a review of relevant aspects of PTSD, Complex PTSD and Military Moral Injury and how they are distinctly different manifestations of experience; expand to include the risks, challenges and resilience factors pertinent to working as civilians in war zones; and demonstrate how to assess for, set up, and conduct a Moral Injury repair session with a humanitarian aid worker using EMDR therapy with specific cognitive interweaves.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to define Moral Injury and distinguish it from PTSD and Complex PTSD.
2. Participants will be able to identify 3 risks/challenges/resilience factors of humanitarian aid workers and of war correspondents, delineating what they have in common and what characteristics are unique.
3. Participants will be able to assess for, set up and conduct a Moral Injury repair session with a humanitarian aid worker or war correspondent using EMDR therapy with specific cognitive interweaves.

Presenter(s)

Eva Usadi, MA, BCD, CGP

Eva J. Usadi, MA, BCD, CGP, is the Founder and Executive Director of Trauma and Resiliency Resources and the Clinical Director of TRR’s Warrior Camp® program. She was EMDR trained in 2001, certified in 2012, became an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant in 2019 and has been the Clinical Consultant to the NYC TRN since 2020. Certified in sensorimotor psychotherapy, equine assisted psychotherapy, and Group Psychotherapy, a contract therapist for FDNY, an MFLC for DOD, and a preferred provider for Doctors Without Borders, she has given over 40 presentations in the U.S., the U.K., and Europe. She is the daughter of a WWII Veteran.