Transforming Moral Distress into Moral Courage

Brave Idea: How social workers can transform moral distress into moral courage to advocate for and affect systems change. Moral distress occurs when a professional knows the ethically appropriate action but is unable to take that action due to internal (personal) or external (institutional) constraints. Assistant Professor Amy He explores moral distress faced by child welfare workers, 30% of whom identify as social workers. 

Resources:     

• When doing the right thing feels wrong: Moral distress among child welfare caseworkers (authors: He, Lizano, and Stahlschmidt)