Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T07:55:37.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 14.4 - Forgiveness Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2022

By
Robert D. Enright  and
Jacqueline Y. Song
Edited by
Christopher C. H. Cook  and
Andrew Powell
Christopher C. H. Cook
Affiliation:
Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University
Andrew Powell
Affiliation:
Formerly Warneford Hospital and University of Oxford
Get access

Summary

Forgiveness therapy is a relatively new approach to mental health treatment. It is applied when the patient presents with such psychological symptoms as persistent anger, anxiety and depression that can be associated with past injustices from others towards the patient. Such injustices, if not identified, can be a source of unhealthy anger or irritability that can then develop into other psychological symptoms. The chapter first discusses what forgiveness is and what it is not, because this concept of forgiveness is so often misunderstood. After this philosophical exploration of the definition of forgiveness, two models of forgiveness therapy are described – the process model and the REACH model. The ways in which forgiveness therapy differs from more traditional psychotherapies are examined, and the scientific evidence that forgiveness therapy is an empirically verified treatment is discussed. Cross-cultural evidence is also provided. The chapter concludes with a discussion of forgiveness in the context of spirituality.

Keywords

Aristotleforgivenessforgiveness therapyinherent worthvirtue
Type
Chapter
Information
Spirituality and Psychiatry , pp. 281 - 292
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akhtar, S. and Barlow, J. (2018) Forgiveness therapy for the promotion of mental well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19, 107–122.Google Scholar
Aristotle, (1926) Nicomachean Ethics (Rackham, H., trans.). Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Ballard, M. S. (2018) Integrating forgiveness therapy and the treatment of anger: a randomized controlled trial. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Denver, Denver, CO.Google Scholar
Baskin, T. W. and Enright, R. D. (2004) Intervention studies on forgiveness: a meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82, 79–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergin, A. E. (1988) Three contributions of a spiritual perspective to counseling, psychotherapy, and behavior change. Counseling and Values, 33, 21–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coyle, C. T. and Enright, R. D. (1997) Forgiveness intervention with post-abortion men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 1042–1046.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D. (2001) Forgiveness is a Choice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D. (2012) The Forgiving Life. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D. (2015) 8 Keys to Forgiveness. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D. and Fitzgibbons, R. (2015) Forgiveness Therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D., Freedman, S. and Rique, J. (1998) The psychology of interpersonal forgiveness. In Enright, R. D. and North, J., eds., Exploring Forgiveness. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 46–62.Google Scholar
Enright, R. D., Knutson, J. A., Holter, A. C., Baskin, T. and Knutson, C. (2007) Waging peace through forgiveness in Belfast, Northern Ireland II: educational programs for mental health improvement of children. Journal of Research in Education, 17, 63–78.Google Scholar
Frankl, V. (1959) Man’s Search for Meaning. New York: Washington Square Press.Google Scholar
Freedman, S. R. and Enright, R. D. (1996) Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 983–992.Google Scholar
Ghobari Bonab, B., Khodayarifard, M., Geshnigani, R. H. et al. (2020) Effectiveness of forgiveness education with adolescents in reducing anger and ethnic prejudice in Iran. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113, 846–860.Google Scholar
Hebl, J. H. and Enright, R. D. (1993) Forgiveness as a psychotherapeutic goal with elderly females. Psychotherapy, 30, 658–667.Google Scholar
Hui, E. K. P. and Chau, T. S. (2009) The impact of a forgiveness intervention with Hong Kong Chinese children hurt in interpersonal relationships. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 37, 141–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufman, M. (1984) The courage to forgive. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 21, 177–187.Google Scholar
Khoo, G. and Adkins, B. (2020) Catharsis. In The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology. Available at https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0179 (accessed 26 April 2022).Google Scholar
Kreeft, P. (2018) The Platonic Tradition. South Bend, IN: St Augustine’s Press.Google Scholar
Lee, Y.-R. and Enright, R. D. (2014) A forgiveness intervention for women with fibromyalgia who were abused in childhood: a pilot study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 1, 203–217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lundahl, W. B., Taylor, J. M., Stevenson, R. and Daniel, K. R. (2008) Process-based forgiveness interventions: a meta-analytic review. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 465–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luskin, F. (2020) Forgive for Good: Nine Steps. Available at https://learningtoforgive.com/9-steps/ (accessed 26 April 2022).Google Scholar
McCullough, M. E. and Hoyt, W. T. (2002) Transgression-related motivational dispositions: personality substrates of forgiveness and their links to the Big Five. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1556–1573.Google Scholar
North, J. (1987) Wrongdoing and forgiveness. Philosophy, 62, 499–508.Google Scholar
Rahman, A., Iftikhar, R., Kim, J. and Enright, R. D. (2018) Pilot study: evaluating the effectiveness of forgiveness therapy with abused early adolescent females in Pakistan. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 5, 75–87.Google Scholar
Reed, G. and Enright, R. D. (2006) The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 920–929.Google Scholar
Shechtman, Z., Wade, N. and Khoury, A. (2009) Effectiveness of a forgiveness program for Arab Israeli adolescents in Israel: an empirical trial. Peace and Conflict, 15, 415–438.Google Scholar
Simon, Y. (1986) The Definition of Moral Virtue. New York: Fordham University Press.Google Scholar
Toussaint, L., Peddle, N., Cheadle, A., Sellu, A. and Luskin, F. (2010) Striving for peace through forgiveness in Sierra Leone: effectiveness of a psychoeducational forgiveness intervention. In Kalayjian, A. and Eugene, D., eds., Mass Trauma and Emotional Healing Around the World: Rituals and Practices for Resilience and Meaning-Making. Vol. 2. Human-Made Disasters. Westport, CT: Praeger/ABC-CLIO, pp. 251–267.Google Scholar
Wade, N. G., Hoyt, W. T., Kidwell, J. and Worthington, E. (2014) Efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions to promote forgiveness: a meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82, 154–170.Google Scholar
Waltman, M. A., Russell, D. C., Coyle, C. T. et al. (2009) The effects of a forgiveness intervention on patients with coronary artery disease. Psychology & Health, 24, 11–27.Google Scholar
Wei, N. L., Enright, R. D. and Klatt, J. S. (2013) A forgiveness intervention for Taiwanese young adults with insecure attachment. Contemporary Family Therapy, 35, 105–120.Google Scholar
Worthington, E. L. Jr. (2020a) An update of the REACH Forgiveness model to promote forgiveness. In Worthington, E. L. Jr. and Wade, N. G., eds., Handbook of Forgiveness, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, pp. 277–287.Google Scholar
Worthington, E. L. Jr. (2020b) REACH Forgiveness of Others. Available at www.evworthington-forgiveness.com/reach-forgiveness-of-others (accessed 26 April 2022).Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×