Going Against the Grain - Moral Injury and the Authentic Self
| Thursday, May 21, 2026 |
| 10:20 AM - 10:40 AM |
Speaker
Miss Liz Asser
Director
Liz Asser Consultancy
Going Against the Grain - Moral Injury and the Authentic Self
Abstract Document
Moral Injury is a way of describing the impact on a person who seeks to make a difference in the world, only to find that the systems in which they serve and contribute are designed to protect the status quo. They discover that they are the pebble in the shoe rather than the shine on the leather they hoped to be. In this way, the moral compass, beliefs and values of the individual, are challenged and tested. The individual is required to make a choice; to either surrender their values and submit to the system that hosts their service, or for their beliefs to become the very sword upon which the individual must inevitably fall.
The tragedy in this scenario, is that the individual is unable to perceive this situation as a choice to be made. The deeper the individual holds their moral compass, the less likely they are to submit. The impact is therefore greater on those who 'choose' to remain committed to all that they hold true. The greater the moral commitment, the more significant is the injury.
What is evident among many for whom this experience has resulted in personal transformation, is that those heartfelt truths have great value beyond the original host system, revealing the potential to achieve the very changes that the individual knew instinctively must be made.
Just as we once saw serving military personnel as those who were most likely to experience PTSD, or 'shell shock', to now seeing this stress induced response as being possible in domestic and family settings - Moral Injury also is appearing beyond the First Responder or Armed Services population, and is showing up in our Human Services professions impacting teachers, nurses, social workers, and many who sought to honour their desire to 'serve' community with their labours. My own experience has afforded change from a career educating young children, to a Lived Experience Specialist supporting wounded healers, the peer workforce. In these health and wellbeing service environments, I share ways to navigate the self and system, whilst simultaneously sharing wisdom learned from the authentication of self.
The tragedy in this scenario, is that the individual is unable to perceive this situation as a choice to be made. The deeper the individual holds their moral compass, the less likely they are to submit. The impact is therefore greater on those who 'choose' to remain committed to all that they hold true. The greater the moral commitment, the more significant is the injury.
What is evident among many for whom this experience has resulted in personal transformation, is that those heartfelt truths have great value beyond the original host system, revealing the potential to achieve the very changes that the individual knew instinctively must be made.
Just as we once saw serving military personnel as those who were most likely to experience PTSD, or 'shell shock', to now seeing this stress induced response as being possible in domestic and family settings - Moral Injury also is appearing beyond the First Responder or Armed Services population, and is showing up in our Human Services professions impacting teachers, nurses, social workers, and many who sought to honour their desire to 'serve' community with their labours. My own experience has afforded change from a career educating young children, to a Lived Experience Specialist supporting wounded healers, the peer workforce. In these health and wellbeing service environments, I share ways to navigate the self and system, whilst simultaneously sharing wisdom learned from the authentication of self.
Biography
Transformation from teacher and principal to Lived-Living Experience Consultant and Mentor is the result of my own experiences including burn out, suicidal crisis, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, and ultimately of deep exploration of my newly found purpose and the associated ongoing recovery. Another way of sharing this information might be to say that my work life balance was terrible, and my body let me know this in order to save my life. These experiences and the deep learning they afforded me saw me return to teaching after a long absence, to train community services students at TAFE, in particular those who wanted to provide support in mental health services using their own experiences as motivation to reduce suffering.
In 2019 I established a small sole trader operation which allowed me to practice as a counsellor for persons experiencing distress, and I began working with Lived-Living Experience Workforce Members and their organisations, mentoring and supporting their efforts to create workplaces in which Peer Workers might thrive. This is the ongoing work of my Company, proud to serve clients ranging from Government to Community service providers and a vast array of LLE Workforce members, Leaders, and Champions they have cultivated.
