DSW Showcase Student Presentation

Ellion Mangel

Demystifying Moral Injury: Reducing Risk for Suicide in U.S. Military Service Members

Concentration -

Abstract

Ellion Mangel’s capstone presentation focuses on moral injury and shows how moral injury affects United States (U.S.) military service members. The speaker shares why moral injury is a risk factor for suicide in U.S. military service members. In addition, the speaker discusses how moral injury is commonly misunderstood and diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading to dissatisfaction with mental and behavioral health treatment. Lastly, the speaker advocates for awareness of moral injury and that current treatments for PTSD are not successful approaches to treating moral injury. Ellion Mangel’s capstone will present three products: a systematic literature review, a conceptual paper, and a practice application paper. The first product of this Capstone Presentation is the systematic literature review, which examines the literature to determine whether group psychotherapy is effective in treating moral injury in U.S. military service members. The second product is the conceptual paper, which examines moral injury under an existential lens and whether this theoretical lens can aid in better understanding what moral injury is. The last product is a practice application paper that identifies a clinical practice approach to treating moral injury.

Biography

Ellion Mangel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Tennessee with almost a decade of clinical experience in a multidisciplinary, outpatient community mental health. Ellion conducts individual and group psychotherapy, intake assessments, and crisis evaluations with clients. Ellion utilizes evidence-based interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive processing therapy, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy.

Ellion began her journey to becoming a mental health professional after graduating with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from North Carolina State University in 2014. In 2017, Ellion graduated with a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Today, she is a Doctoral Candidate concentrating in Military Behavioral Health at the University of Kentucky, with an expected graduation in May 2025.

Ellion will present a Capstone Project on her research in April 2025. Ellion’s research is on moral injury in United States (U.S.) military service members and will present three products. The first product is a systematic literature review exploring group psychotherapy’s effectiveness in treating moral injury among U.S. military service members. The second product is a conceptual paper examining moral injury under the lens of existentialism. The third product is a practice application paper proposing a clinical practice perspective to treating moral injury. Ellion hopes her research will raise awareness of moral injury, its prevalence, and its impact on U.S. military service members to improve our service members’ overall mental and emotional well-being.