The Relationship Between Forgiveness and Emotional Well-Being (original) (raw)
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The Concept of Forgiveness as a Tool in Counseling Intervention for Well-being Enhancement
PERKAMA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION 2011, 2011
Throughout the history of mental health and well-being research, the predominant focus of study has been pathological in nature. However, a trend toward the study of positive well-being has taken hold in the mental health field recently and one such concept is forgiveness. Forgiveness is considered a human strength and an important factor that influences human development. Based on previous research, in general, both lay person and therapists consider forgiveness to be beneficial and therapeutic. This paper tries to look at the conceptualization of forgiveness, models of forgiveness and factors that affects forgiving. Counseling implications and future research directions are also discussed.
Intervention Studies on Forgiveness: A Meta-Analysis
Journal of Counseling & Development, 2004
In this meta-analysis, 9 published studies (N = 330) that investigated the efficacy of forgiveness interventions within counseling were examined. After a review of theories of forgiveness, it was discovered that the studies could logically be grouped into 3 categories: decision-based, process-based group, and process-based individual interventions. When compared with control groups, for measures of forgiveness and other emotional health measures, the decision-based interventions showed no effect, the process-based group interventions showed significant effects, and the process-based individual interventions showed large effects. Consequently, effectiveness has been shown for use of forgiveness in clinical and other settings.
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2007
This article is a critical review of how forgiveness is conceptualized in the family therapy, counseling, and clinical psychology literature. A systematic analysis of themes in a fairly comprehensive set of texts was carried out. Three main dimensions emerged along which therapist authors' viewpoints can be located: essentiality, intentionality, and benevolence. Therapy practices and values that correspond with positions along these dimensions are presented. The analysis reveals that greater exploration is needed regarding how forgiveness is related to diversity (e.g., gender, culture, religion, etc.), marginalization, and relations of power. Our objective is to provide a conceptual map for clinicians so that they might locate their own thinking about forgiveness and be better equipped to work sensitively with the forgiveness views and values of their clients.
Counseling and Values, 2012
The relationship between episodic and dispositional forgiveness and the resolution of Erikson's (1963) psychosocial crises were explored in this study. Participants (N = 66) completed the Enright Forgiveness Inventory (Enright & Rique, 2004), Tendency to Forgive Scale (Brown, 2003), and Measures of Psychosocial Development (Hawley, 1988). Results are consistent with forgiveness and Eriksonian theories. Episodic forgiveness and dispositional forgiveness accounted for 8% and 10%, respectively, of the variance in global resolution of psychosocial crises. The most pronounced relationship was between both forgiveness types and Erikson's crises related to basic trust and ego integrity. Implications for counseling research, practice, and training are discussed.
Counseling Within the Forgiveness Triad: On Forgiving, Receiving Forgiveness, and Self-Forgiveness
Counseling and Values, 1996
The concept of the forgiveness triad-forgiving others, receiving forgiveness from others, and selfforgiveness-is introduced and discussed. Each aspect is defined, presented as philosophically rational and therefore appropriate within counseling, and described within a psychological framework of how people go about that aspect of forgiveness. The interactions of the triad aredescribed, showing how the counseling process that employs forgiveness strategies may become quite complicated. A counselor's awareness of all 3 aspects of forgiveness may lead to greater clarity in the therapeutic encounter. Implications for the helping professions andfor moral development of the client arediscussed. The concept of forgiveness in the helping professions and in popular literature is growing rapidly. Although the vast majority of the works center on forgiving, some are now exploring the related areas of receiving forgiveness and self-forgiveness. As an example, in a recent magazine article (Vachss, 1994)/ a writer who focused on victims of emotional abuse made three challenging points. First, a victim need not forgive. Second, an offender must earn forgiveness by deeds toward the victim. Third, healing in this context centers only on self-forgiveness. Self-forgiveness, the author stated, is equivalent to self-reference, in which one no longer listens to the abuser's insults (such as "You're crazy."), Although it is not our intent here to debate the healing power of self-reference thinking, we examine the three aspects of forgiveness contained in that article: forgiving, receiving forgiveness, and self-forgiveness. Each has important implications within the helping professions. Together they form what we call the "forgiveness triad." In our opinion, the terms forgive and self-forgiveness are little understood and are thus easily distorted. A counselor reading about such issues may bring such distortion to the therapeutic encounter if there is no thorough examination
Forgiveness: a review of the theoretical and empirical literature
Journal of Family Therapy, 1998
This paper reviews the published literature addressing forgiveness as a therapeutic issue. The review revealed four major themes. These included: diverse attempts in the literature to define forgiveness; the presentation of models of intervention; resistance among theoreticians and therapists to examine forgiveness as a therapeutic construct, and empirical evidence of forgiveness intervention applied to clinical settings. These theoretical and empirical publications are described and critiqued. An evaluation is made as to the current state of the research, and suggestions for future directions.
Mental health through forgiveness: Exploring the roots and benefits
Forgiveness is conceptualized as the process of making peace with life. The three sources of forgiveness, another person, oneself, and a situation or circumstance are capable of freeing a person from a negative association to the source that has transgressed against a person. Research studies show the mental health benefits associated with forgiveness. The present study explores the experiences of adults who practice forgiveness, specifically, the indicators of forgiveness, the childhood antecedents, and the benefits of forgiving behavior. The study uses a qualitative research approach following a phenomenological framework. A total of 12 adults, ranging from 25 to 40 years of age, who received a high score on Heartland Forgiveness Scale were included in the study. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, their personal experiences were explored. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes emerged show that the childhood antecedents of forgiveness are parental influences and early childhood experiences. The indicators of forgiving behavior include positive emotional state, empathy and perspective taking, and religiosity. The themes identified are enhanced sense of well-being, improved self-acceptance, and competence to deal with challenges. Forgiveness enhanced physical and psychological well-being. The findings of the study have several implications for religious leaders, teachers, parents, mental health professionals, and trainers.