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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
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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

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