Moving From Moral Distress to Moral Resilience Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Moral distress (MD) is a problematic experience for healthcare workers, with career engagement implications includ-ing burnout, job turnover, and career turnover. Instances of MD have been increasing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, threatening greater problems for the healthcare system. Although a range of interventions have been explored, no evidence-based treatment has been identified. Be-cause of how embedded ethical decision-making is in the health-care field, it is unlikely that MD will be eradicated; however, it is suggested that MD can be learned from and transformed into moral resilience. Some evidence indi-cates that healthcare workers could benefit from mindfulness-based and emotion regulation skills, alongside values-based and action strategies, to support the devel-opment of moral resilience. This article proposes the applicability of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and its six core skills-acceptance, cognitive de -fusion, mindfulness, self-as -con-text, values, and commitment-to the work of career practitioners as a means of developing moral resilience skills among healthcare workers.