This Too Is Rescue: Moral Injury and Staying Human in Animal Care

In this third installment of our three-part series on moral emotions, we turn our focus outward. This episode explores other-condemning and other-praising moral emotions that arise when we evaluate the ethical behaviors of others.

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

In this second installment of our three-part series on moral emotions, we turn inward. This episode explores guilt and shame, the self-focused moral emotions that arise when we judge ourselves to have violated our own moral code or the ethical expectations of our community.

Drawing on research from both military and animal care settings, we look at how guilt and shame shape our identities, influence our sense of belonging, and play a role in moral injury. We’ll talk about how to respond and why understanding them can help us move from isolation to repair.

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and anyrelated materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychologicalservices, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host ofthis podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operatingin the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish atherapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinicalintervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education andpersonal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress,symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is notappropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of alicensed mental health provider in your area.

This episode begins a three-part series where we introduce an exciting and important topic: moral emotions.

Part 1 introduces the topic of emotions generally so that we can understand the importance they play in animal care...and in life. This episode guides us through the basics of emotional intelligence, the “wise mind” from DBT, and practical tools like the Feelings Wheel to expand our emotional vocabulary. You’ll learn why all emotions, even the difficult ones, have a purpose, how they communicate valuable information, and how they prime us for action.

This sets the foundation for exploring a unique type of emotions: moral emotions. Moral emotions are those uniquely human feelings tied to values, ethics, and our interactions with others. Moral emotions are introduced briefly in this episode and, in the next two episodes (part 2 and 3 of the series), we’ll dig deeper into self-focused moral emotions like guilt and shame, and other-focused emotions like anger, disgust, and yes, even compassion.

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

In this episode of This Too Is Rescue, we walk through a single work day with “Alex”, a fictional shelter worker built from the real stories of animal care professionals.

Through Alex’s experiences, we will briefly introduce and highlight the difference between four overlapping but distinct struggles in animal care: burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and moral injury.

These complex terms are often used interchangeably, but in this episode we briefly explore each one and show how they can appear differently in a single day’s work.

Want to go deeper? Join the Inner Herd for monthly bonus content designed to support your growth, grounding, and wellness in animal care. Visit Fortifyu to learn more about becoming a member of the Inner Herd. www.fortifyucoaching.com ⁠⁠

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

In this episode of This Too Is Rescue, we explore Potentially Morally Injurious Events (PMIEs): the defining moments in animal care work that violate our deepest values, whether by our own hand, someone else’s, or through a specific type of violation related to broken trust. We name the types of moral transgressions that can leave invisible wounds and that have the potential to lead to moral injury.

Want to go deeper? Join the Inner Herd for monthly bonus content designed to support your growth, grounding, and wellness in animal care. Visit Fortifyu to learn how to become a member and join the herd. www.fortifyucoaching.com ⁠⁠

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

Support This Work If this podcast speaks to you, please consider supporting its ongoing creation. This work is independently created, fueled by heart, and sustained by listeners like you. Your support helps keep this podcast going and will directly impact my ability to continue to develop new episodes and resources that I can offer free-of-charge to our community, ultimately bringing more healing and humanity to those doing hard, trauma-exposed work.

You can support the work in one of two ways:➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – make a one-time or monthly contribution

➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Work on Our Site⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – contribute through our Squarespace shop

If you are a business or organization that believes in this content and would like to sponsor This Too Is Rescue, please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you for being part of this movement. It matters more than you know.

In this episode, we begin to name the invisible weight many animal welfare professionals carry: the burden of moral stress and moral injury. These are real, cumulative, and deeply impactful experiences that arise when we’re forced to act (or are prevented from acting) in ways that violate our core values.

We introduce a foundational framework for understanding how this kind of harm affects every dimension of our being: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual.

Together, we explore how these ethical tensions build over time, often moving along a spectrum,.

This episode opens the door to understanding how and why this work can hurt, even when we love it, and why naming that pain is the first step toward healing.

Want to go deeper? Join the Inner Herd for monthly bonus content designed to support your growth, grounding, and wellness in animal care. ⁠ Visit Fortifyu to learn more about how to become a member and join the herd. www.fortifyucoaching.com

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

Support This Work If this podcast speaks to you, please consider supporting its ongoing creation. This work is independently created, fueled by heart, and sustained by listeners like you. Your support helps keep this podcast going and will directly impact my ability to continue to develop new episodes and resources that I can offer free-of-charge to our community, ultimately bringing more healing and humanity to those doing hard, trauma-exposed work.

You can support the work in one of two ways:➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – make a one-time or monthly contribution

➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Work on Our Site⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – contribute through our Squarespace shop

If you are a business or organization that believes in this content and would like to sponsor This Too Is Rescue, please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you for being part of this movement. It matters more than you know.

In this episode of This Too Is Rescue, we take a deeper look at what it really means to "submit to the work" in animal care, not just as a job or a volunteer opportunity, but as a calling shaped by the values that led us here in the first place.

We talk about how, in the grind and heartbreak of this field, our personal values can become blurred or buried. And yet, those same values are the compass points that can help us make aligned decisions, set healthy boundaries, and stay in the work with integrity and resilience.

You can access the free values sort exercise mentioned in the episode by clicking here: https://www.valuescardsort.com/

Want to go deeper? Join the Inner Herd for monthly bonus content designed to support your growth, grounding, and wellness in animal care. Visit Fortifyu to learn more these Members only opportunities and to join the herd! www.fortifyucoaching.com

Support This Work If this podcast speaks to you, please consider supporting its ongoing creation. This work is independently created, fueled by heart, and sustained by listeners like you. Your support helps keep this podcast going and will directly impact my ability to continue to develop new episodes and resources that I can offer free-of-charge to our community, ultimately bringing more healing and humanity to those doing hard, trauma-exposed work.

You can support the work in one of two ways:➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠ – make a one-time or monthly contribution

➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Work on Our Site⁠⁠⁠⁠ – contribute through our Squarespace shop

If you are a business or organization that believes in this content and would like to sponsor This Too Is Rescue, please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you for being part of this movement. It matters more than you know.

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.

In this first episode of This Too Is Rescue, I speak honestly about what it means to begin, when the work feels too big, the message feels unfinished, and the path ahead is unclear. I reflect on how I've been holding back, and why I'm choosing to show up anyway.

Support This Work If this podcast speaks to you, please consider supporting its ongoing creation. This work is independently created, fueled by heart, and sustained by listeners like you. Your support helps keep this podcast going and will directly impact my ability to continue to develop new episodes and resources that I can offer free-of-charge to our community, ultimately bringing more healing and humanity to those doing hard, trauma-exposed work.

You can support the work in one of two ways:➤ ⁠⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠ – make a one-time or monthly contribution

➤ ⁠⁠⁠Support the Work on Our Site⁠⁠⁠ – contribute through our Squarespace shop

If you are a business or organization that believes in this content and would like to sponsor This Too Is Rescue, please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you for being part of this movement. It matters more than you know.

Disclaimer:

This program, including all podcast content and any related materials, is not a substitute for therapy, counseling, psychological services, or any form of medical or mental health treatment. While the host of this podcast is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she is not operating in the capacity of a therapist within this program.

Engaging with this program does not establish a therapist-client relationship. No diagnosis, treatment, or clinical intervention will be provided. The purpose of this program is for education and personal growth—not for mental health treatment.

If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, symptoms of a mental health condition, or are in crisis, this program is not appropriate for your needs. You are encouraged to seek the support of a licensed mental health provider in your area.