EP142: Beyond Burnout: Understanding Moral Injury

NASW Social Work Talks Podcast

In this episode of Social Work Talks, we discuss Moral Injury and how it manifests in social work with Pari Thibodeau, PhD, LCSW. Pari is a licensed clinical social worker providing therapeutic interventions for adults coping with trauma at the Stress, Trauma, Adversity Research & Treatment Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Pari is also a doctorate-level social work researcher in the space of workforce well-being, with a special focus on the well-being and mental health of behavioral health providers. Pari examines the concept of moral injury as a metric of well-being. Our host for this conversation is NASW Staffer, Josh Klapperick, MSW.

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April 14, 2026

Read a transcript of episode 142

Watch episode 142 on YouTube

Show Notes:

• Pari's Bio: https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/38287
• “Working within broken systems”: Social workers bridge the fractures of U.S. healthcare: A qualitative inquiry on moral injury
• The Association of Moral Injury and Healthcare Clinicians’ Wellbeing: A Systematic Review 
• The Moderating Effects of Moral Injury and Discrimination Trauma on Women Physician Trainees’ Well-Being
• Examining workplace trauma and moral injury among health care social workers: A secondary analysis.
• The Wound You Can’t Medicate: Why Social Workers Must Distinguish Moral Injury From PTSD
  https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Advocates/2026-Spring-Issue/The-Wound-You-Cant-Medicate-Why-Social-Workers-Must-Distinguish-Moral-Injury-From-PTSD