Moral Injury Support Network Podcast

Dr. Daniel Roberts
  • 3.7 (3)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Biweekly

Join us as we embark on a powerful journey, exploring the often-unspoken challenges faced by servicewomen and the moral injuries they endure in the line of duty. Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. (MISNS) is a dedicated non-profit organization on a mission to bring together healthcare practitioners, experts, and advocates to raise awareness about moral injury among servicewomen. Our podcast serves as a platform for servicewomen and those who support them to share their stories, experiences, and insights into the profound impact of moral injury. In each episode, we'll engage in heartfelt conversations with servicewomen, mental health professionals, military leaders, and individuals who have witnessed the toll of moral injury firsthand. Through their stories, we aim to shed light on the unique struggles faced by servicewomen and the transformative journey towards healing and resilience. Discover the complexities of moral injury within the military context, exploring the ethical dilemmas, moral conflicts, and the deep emotional wounds that servicewomen may encounter. Gain a deeper understanding of the societal, cultural, and systemic factors that contribute to moral distress within the military community. Our podcast serves as a safe space for servicewomen to share their experiences, find support, and foster a sense of community. We also aim to equip healthcare practitioners with the knowledge and tools to recognize, address, and support those affected by moral injury. Join us as we explore evidence-based interventions, therapeutic approaches, and self-care practices designed to promote healing and well-being. MISNS invites you to be a part of a movement that seeks to create a more compassionate and supportive environment for servicewomen. By amplifying their voices and promoting understanding, we strive to foster positive change within the military and healthcare systems. Whether you are a servicewoman, a healthcare professional, a veteran, or simply passionate about supporting those who have served, this podcast offers valuable insights and perspectives. Together, let's forge a path towards healing, resilience, and empowerment. Subscribe to Moral Injury Support Network Podcast today and join us in honoring the sacrifices of servicewomen while working towards a future where their well-being and resilience are at the forefront of our collective consciousness.

  1. 5d ago

    Clear Trauma Now

    Send us Fan Mail Trauma doesn’t just live in memories. It hides in the body, locks into identity, and quietly runs decisions until we feel like we’re fighting ourselves. I’m Dr. Daniel Roberts, and I sit down with Dr. Judith A. Swack, PhD, a biochemist and immunologist who became a pioneer in energy psychology and mind-body healing. Judith created Healing From the Body Level Up (HBLU), a practical model that treats us as multi-level beings: conscious mind, unconscious mind, body, and soul. When those levels fall out of alignment, “knowing better” doesn’t fix the problem, because talk and logic don’t automatically clear fear, shame, or stress patterns stored deeper down. We dig into two hands-on tools that listeners can actually use: muscle testing to get a reliable readout from the body, and tapping (EFT) to calm trauma activation fast, including those middle-of-the-night adrenaline spikes. Then we turn to the heart of moral injury in veterans: the painful beliefs that get woven into identity after combat, including the crushing internal verdict “I am a murderer.” Judith shares how amend-making forgiveness, drawn from the Jewish practice of teshuvah, can help repair internal betrayal and reduce guilt when the inner levels finally become congruent. We also talk about trauma from sexual assault, the importance of asking respectful inner questions, and why reproducible, step-by-step protocols matter for skeptics who want something grounded and repeatable. If you want to go deeper, Judith’s book is Clear Trauma Now, and her resources including mass trauma healing webinars and a free consult are at hblu.org. Subscribe for more conversations on moral injury and trauma recovery, share this with someone who needs relief, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Learn more at HBLU.org Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  2. Jul 21

    A Vietnam Veteran’s Faith-Based Path Out Of Burnout

    Send us Fan Mail Burnout can look like productivity on the outside while your inner life is collapsing. We sit down with Keith A. Cole, a Vietnam Marine veteran, speaker, and Christian recovery advocate, to trace how grief, combat trauma, and years of “just power through” can quietly stack up until you hit a wall you can’t muscle past anymore. Keith shares his story with disarming honesty: wounded three times in Vietnam, later tasked with notifying families of fallen Marines, and eventually trying to build a successful civilian career while still “mentally knocking on doors.” We talk about PTSD stigma, why strong people often hide pain the longest, and how the military drive-on mindset can become dangerous when we apply it to marriage, ministry, leadership, and health. From that breaking point, Keith found a faith-based burnout recovery plan that’s both spiritual and practical. He walks us through PRASIER, his daily framework grounded in scripture: action guided by prayer, reading scripture, affirmation, gratitude journaling, visualization, exercise, and rest, built into a 12-week workbook. We also dig into visualization, why some Christians avoid it, and how hope and faith can shape a healthier future without slipping into prosperity gospel thinking. If you’re a veteran, caregiver, pastor, clinician, or leader running on empty, this conversation offers language, tools, and a path back to peace. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find real help when burnout starts closing in. Get his book and learn more at: recoverybyfaith.com.  Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  3. Jul 7

    Stress Can Drain Your Bones Faster Than You Think

    Send us Fan Mail Your teeth can be the first place your body shows a deeper problem. When gums recede, enamel erodes, or bones quietly thin over time, it is easy to blame age and genetics and miss what might be driving the process underneath: chronic stress, rising acidity, and mineral depletion. We sit down with nutritionist Stephen Hewer to unpack his personal journey from mercury toxicity to decades of clinical work, and why he believes a specific form of calcium, “ionic calcium,” plays an outsized role in bone density, jaw health, nerve signaling, muscle function, and energy production.  We walk through the body’s constant fight to keep blood pH in a tight range and why Stephen argues that excess acids from metabolism, diet, and stress can push the body to “borrow” alkalinizing minerals from bone. He also explains the parathyroid hormone response when ionic calcium drops, and the downstream issues he associates with mineral imbalance, including osteoporosis, osteopenia, gum recession, and soft tissue calcification. Along the way, we discuss real-world stories, why fractures can be a silent turning point for older women, and how sleep, inflammation, and physiology interact with mental health in a way many people underestimate.  The conversation also widens into the human side: how disrespectful leadership and chronic pressure can amplify internal stress, and why dignity and equal treatment are not “soft” values but practical tools for resilience. We close with food quality, soil depletion, simple morning pH testing, and the nutrition strategies Stephen believes can support bone remineralization, including targeted supplementation and periods of juice fasting for a reset. If you find this helpful, subscribe, share this with someone worried about bone loss or dental health, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Learn more at: https://getbonesofsteel.com/ Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  4. Jul 2

    The Hidden Cost Of Psychiatric Meds

    Send us Fan Mail A single prescription can change your life, but not always in the way you were promised. We sit down with Ellen P. Lubensky, Esquire, a Stanford graduate and attorney, to talk about what patients rarely hear clearly: the real-world risks of psychiatric medications, the gaps in informed consent, and how quickly benzodiazepine dependence can take hold when you’re just trying to sleep. Ellen shares her personal and professional perspective after decades on psychiatric meds, including being physically disabled by a severe movement disorder linked to antipsychotics and later facing crushing insomnia and benzodiazepine withdrawal. We unpack what benzos are (Ativan, Xanax, Klonopin, Valium), why “may cause dependence” language is not enough when someone is in pain, and what questions you can ask a provider before starting, stopping, or tapering any medication. We also talk about misdiagnosis, identity getting fused to a label, and why two doctors can look at the same symptoms and recommend totally different paths. We connect these issues to access problems that hit veterans especially hard, including limited formularies, therapy waitlists, and insurance barriers. Ellen also explains why 988 can be a practical support option for people in crisis, and she shares a realistic self-care toolkit: therapy, movement, meditation, peer support, and reaching out early on hard days. If you care about patient autonomy, mental health parity, PTSD support, and safer prescribing, listen now. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the question you wish every prescriber had to answer before handing over a script. Visit our guest's website at: EllenLubensky.com Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  5. Jun 29

    Helping Military Kids Talk About War Stress At Home

    Send us Fan Mail A child doesn’t have the vocabulary for moral injury, PTSD, or hypervigilance, but they can feel a parent’s distance in their bones. When a service member or veteran comes home changed, kids often fill in the blank with the most painful explanation possible: “It must be my fault.” That’s where our conversation with licensed psychologist Dr. Pat Pernicano gets real, fast. She spent years at the South Texas VA working with veterans and co-developing Acceptance and Forgiveness Therapy, and she now focuses on how parental trauma ripples through children and family systems. We talk attachment theory, deployment separation, and why “acting out” can be worry and grief in disguise. Dr. Pernicano explains how children internalize a caregiver’s emotional pain and how silence in the home can intensify shame and confusion. We also expand the lens beyond military families to first responders, medical providers, chaplains, and helpers carrying vicarious trauma, then bringing that stress back into everyday parenting. At the center is her picture book, Little Butterfly And Her Daddy: Healing The Pain Of War, built to give families safe, age-appropriate language. A returning father whose wings don’t work becomes a powerful metaphor for a parent who can’t connect the way they used to, while a spider character “wraps up” worries so kids don’t carry them alone. We share ways the book can be used at home, in therapy, and in schools, plus discussion prompts that help kids open up without feeling pressured. If you know a parent who’s struggling to talk, or a child who’s quietly carrying too much, listen, share this with someone who needs it, and subscribe and leave a review so more families can find these tools. See all of her work at https://www.pernicanopathways.com Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  6. Jun 2

    A Navy Combat Photographer Shares Why She Stayed Silent After MST

    Send us Fan Mail Silence can be a survival skill, especially when the system around you feels like it will punish the truth. We sit down with Paula J. Kemp, a U.S. Navy combat veteran who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as a combat photographer, to talk about what happens when the uniform you love becomes the setting for military sexual trauma (MST) and the long shadow it can cast afterward. Paula walks us through the real-world barriers that keep survivors from reporting: rank, credibility, unit loyalty, fear of retaliation, and the worry that speaking up will end your ability to do the job you trained for. We also go deeper on culture and leadership, why accountability is not “anti-military,” and how prevention and reform have to be more than check-the-box programs if we want readiness, integrity, and trust inside formations. Then we get practical. Paula shares how a VA disability claim opened the door to naming MST, getting into therapy, and eventually building a battle buddy style peer support approach to help other veterans navigate the VA healthcare system and claims process. We talk about a powerful tool she champions, the MST personal statement, and why putting your experience on paper in your own voice can reduce re-traumatization during appointments and compensation exams. Finally, she explains the mission behind Unjustly Served, co-authored with trauma clinician Marshall Kirkpatrick, and how pairing survivor stories with clinical insight helps families, providers, and leaders connect the dots. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more veterans and families can find support. Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  7. Jun 2

    The Lonely Weight Of Command

    Send us Fan Mail A combat zone can train you to function without feelings and then punish you for it later. Chris Lo joins us from Singapore to tell a story that starts with conscript service and a West Point education and ends in Afghanistan with a coalition mission to mentor Afghan artillery instructors under NATO. Along the way, he gives a rare look at how danger builds: not just firefights, but rising tension, missing intelligence, and the constant sense that something is about to break. We dig into the Quran burning unrest, green-on-blue threats, and the brutal math of leadership when you have to make decisions without enough information. Chris describes near-death moments where time slows down, the trigger feels impossibly close, and the rules of engagement are never just tactical. We also talk about why command feels lonely and how leaders can carry moral injury even when they “do everything right,” because no-win choices leave a residue. Then we follow the story home. Chris shares how PTSD and moral injury can show up as physical symptoms, denial, relationship strain, and a mindset that keeps saying “drive on” even when your body is waving red flags. His healing journey spans years, moving from physical recovery to cognitive understanding to emotional repair, with grief and empathy as unexpected catalysts. If you care about veteran mental health, moral injury recovery, PTSD symptoms, or the real cost of high-stakes leadership, you’ll get a lot from this conversation. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the takeaway that hit you hardest. Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

  8. Mar 31

    From Homelessness To Healing Through Brain-Based Recovery

    Send us Fan Mail He hit bottom on the street, shaking with delirium tremors, and had a realization that changed everything: alcoholism was never just about alcohol. We talk with Dr. Robb Kelly, PhD, a recovery expert who’s spent decades studying the brain, trauma, and what actually drives compulsive behavior, from alcohol dependence to drug addiction, anxiety, and depression. We get into the invisible part of the story: the subconscious thinking patterns that form in childhood, the “normal” experiences that later reveal themselves as trauma, and the belief systems that keep people stuck in self-sabotage. Dr. Kelly explains how neuroplasticity and brain-based methods can help rewrite those pathways, and why tools like brainspotting and Breathbox Studio aim to uncover, discover, and discard what the brain has been protecting for years. We also focus on veterans mental health, PTSD, moral injury, and why the hardest stretch can come after service ends. When routines and identity drop away, isolation rises, and old memories surge back, people need more than advice they need a process, a community, and practical daily support. If you or someone you love is struggling, this conversation points to clear next steps and real resources, including a free session offer for military-related PTSD and a free copy of Dr. Kelly’s book. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find help when it matters most. Learn more at https://robbkelly.com/.  Support the show Help Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks! Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielroberts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Join us as we embark on a powerful journey, exploring the often-unspoken challenges faced by servicewomen and the moral injuries they endure in the line of duty. Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. (MISNS) is a dedicated non-profit organization on a mission to bring together healthcare practitioners, experts, and advocates to raise awareness about moral injury among servicewomen. Our podcast serves as a platform for servicewomen and those who support them to share their stories, experiences, and insights into the profound impact of moral injury. In each episode, we'll engage in heartfelt conversations with servicewomen, mental health professionals, military leaders, and individuals who have witnessed the toll of moral injury firsthand. Through their stories, we aim to shed light on the unique struggles faced by servicewomen and the transformative journey towards healing and resilience. Discover the complexities of moral injury within the military context, exploring the ethical dilemmas, moral conflicts, and the deep emotional wounds that servicewomen may encounter. Gain a deeper understanding of the societal, cultural, and systemic factors that contribute to moral distress within the military community. Our podcast serves as a safe space for servicewomen to share their experiences, find support, and foster a sense of community. We also aim to equip healthcare practitioners with the knowledge and tools to recognize, address, and support those affected by moral injury. Join us as we explore evidence-based interventions, therapeutic approaches, and self-care practices designed to promote healing and well-being. MISNS invites you to be a part of a movement that seeks to create a more compassionate and supportive environment for servicewomen. By amplifying their voices and promoting understanding, we strive to foster positive change within the military and healthcare systems. Whether you are a servicewoman, a healthcare professional, a veteran, or simply passionate about supporting those who have served, this podcast offers valuable insights and perspectives. Together, let's forge a path towards healing, resilience, and empowerment. Subscribe to Moral Injury Support Network Podcast today and join us in honoring the sacrifices of servicewomen while working towards a future where their well-being and resilience are at the forefront of our collective consciousness.

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