ArticlePsychological services2026
The Impact of Killing (IOK) mental health treatment for moral injury: U.S. military veteran perspectives on acceptability, fit, and impact.
Article in Psychological services, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Moral injury related to killing in war significantly increases military veterans' risk for psychosocial problems and suicide, yet veterans largely lack access to interventions that address moral suffering. This article presents findings from semistructured qualitative interviews with 40 veterans who completed the Impact of Killing (IOK) mental health treatment for military moral injury. Interviews assessed (a) whether the IOK treatment was acceptable to veterans and met their needs, (b) changes in veterans' lives and psychological well-being resulting from IOK participation, and (c) suggestions for improving IOK. Using rapid analysis procedures, we identified several themes relevant to intervention acceptability, impact, and fit. Veterans found IOK to be intense and emotionally demanding but often felt that it yielded a fuller understanding of their past actions and greater compassion for themselves. After IOK, veterans described positive changes in their relationships and greater engagement in meaningful life activities. However, veterans often felt the treatment ended too soon and wanted ongoing, formal support to continue the work of IOK. In summary, IOK is a promising approach to the treatment of moral injury related to killing in war. Participants found IOK to be intense, demanding, and even painful, yet it also enabled many to begin changing their lives in positive and meaningful ways. Participants saw IOK as the start, rather than the end, of their healing journey. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.