Genre: Information/Explanation

Forgiveness and Psychology Until the 1980s the theory and practice of forgiveness remained largely the province of the world's religious traditions . However during the last two decades of the 20th Century and into the 21st , the topic has attracted increasing interest within the field of Psychology . In 2006 , the American Psychological Association ( APA ) published a brochure summarizing examples of research on the topic of forgiveness . That the APA would publish such a brochure shows the degree to which forgiveness has gained traction as a meaningful topic for psychological research . In that brochure the APA offered a comprehensive definition of forgiveness ( adapted from a doctoral dissertation by C. Philpot , PhD from the University of Queensland in Australia . ) It reads as follows : Forgiveness is a process ( or the result of a process ) that involves a change in emotion and attitude regarding an offender . Most scholars view this an intentional and voluntary process , driven by a deliberate decision to forgive . This process results in decreased motivation to retaliate , and letting go of negative emotions toward the offender . Theorists differ in the extent to which they believe forgiveness also implies replacing the negative emotions with positive attitudes including compassion and benevolence . In any event , forgiveness occurs with the victim's full recognition that he or she deserved better treatment , one reason why Mahatma Gandhi contended that " the weak can never forgive . Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong . " ( For this quote with full references , see the APA brochure " Forgiveness : A Sampling of Research Results , " p. 5 . For further discussion of the definition of forgiveness and how it differs from categories such as morality , duty , justice , and reconciliation , see " About Forgiveness " by the International forgiveness Institute . A significant degree of the credit for the emergence of forgiveness as a mainstream concern of Psychology goes to three pioneers in the field . The first is Robert Enright , PhD , of the University of Wisconsin ( Madison ) and co-founder of the International Forgiveness Institute . Second is Everett Worthington , PhD , Virginia Commonwealth University ( VCU ) Professor of Psychology and head of both Fetzer Institute's " Forgiveness Research Working Group " and " A Campaign for Forgiveness " at The John Templeton Foundation . The third pioneer is Frederic Luskin , PhD , co-founder and Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and faculty member of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology . Robert Enright Robert Enright is generally considered the father of forgiveness work within the field of Psychology . Enright took a huge professional risk turning his research to the topic of forgiveness . His colleagues at that time saw forgiveness as an inappropriate or weak research topic and suggested that he was foolish to focus on it . Fortunately Enright would not be dissuaded . Among his early forgiveness studies were those focusing on elderly women , love-deprived late adolescents , men whose partners had chosen abortion , and substance-dependent in-patients . He also developed the Enright Forgiveness Inventory , a psychometric instrument used in forgiveness research . Enright's work includes looking at what he calls the triad of forgiveness : forgiving , receiving forgiveness , and self-forgiveness . He suggests that greater clarity for the therapist utilizing a forgiveness intervention comes when all three aspects of the triad are kept in mind . Specifically with regard to forgiving , Enright has developed a four-phase intervention model , " Processes of Forgiving Another . " He calls his four phases uncovering , decision , work , and outcome . These four stages are further divided into a total of 20 discrete steps . ( Go to Baskin TW , and Enright RD , ( 2004 ) . Intervention Studies on Forgiveness : A Meta-Analysis . J Counseling & Development 83 ( 1 ) : 79-90 , page 80 , Table 1 for the details of Enright's model . ) In 2004 , together with Thomas Baskin , Enright published a watershed meta-analysis of forgiveness research studies to that date . The intent of their study was to compare different forgiveness interventions both for their effectiveness in increasing levels of forgiveness and for their impact on other mental health issues , such as depression and anxiety . Enright and Baskin analyzed the results from nine published articles , finding that the interventions therein fell into three distinct categories . The first they labeled decision-based . In this approach the interventions were individual and short term ( 1-6 sessions ) with the focus on the conscious , willful decision to forgive . They emphasized a cognitive therapeutic approach . The other two categories were described as process-based . They each entailed a sequence of stages as part of a gradual process leading eventually to forgiveness . In addition to cognitive elements , the process-based interventions also included affective and empathic components . Process-based interventions were further divided into two categories depending on whether the intervention was administered in a group setting ( 6-8 sessions ) or in individual therapy ( 12 to 60 sessions ) . Enright and Baskin found that the decision-based interventions showed little effect either for cultivating forgiveness or for related mental health benefits . However both the group and individual process-based interventions showed strong positive effects . Participants in group interventions did as well or better than 75 % of the control group with regard to development of forgiveness . Regarding other mental health constructs , 65 % equaled or outperformed those receiving no intervention . The comparable results for those receiving individual interventions were 95 % and 92 % respectively , exceptionally robust findings for psychological research , showing that individual process-based interventions were clearly the most effective . The authors suggest further study of the efficacy of process-based forgiveness interventions with clients suffering from mood and anxiety disorders where the etiology involves " anger borne out of unfair treatment . " ( For Baskin and Enright's article see Intervention Studies on Forgiveness : A Meta-Analysis . ) Everett Worthington Everett Worthington is the author , co-author or editor of several books on forgiveness . As co-author of To Forgive Is Human : How to Put Your Past in the Past ( 1997 ) , he had just completed the first draft when he found himself facing his own extraordinary personal test of forgiveness . Early on the morning of January 1 , 1996 , Dr. Worthington received a call from his brother who had just discovered the body of his brutally murdered mother on the floor of her Knoxville home . For a poignant written account of this event in his life , see " Everett Worthington's Reach for Forgiveness . " Dr. Worthington teaches courses on Positive Psychology and psychological measurement in addition to one entitled " Forgiveness : Theory , Research , and Practice . " He is also an expert on the interface between psychology and Christianity , his own personal faith . He has written extensively on the topics of forgiveness , marriage , and hope . His research focuses on these topics , but also expands them to include justice and social harmony . Dr. Worthington has developed what he calls " The Pyramid Model to REACH Forgiveness . " This process-based approach to the cultivation of forgiveness has six components described as follows : defining ( D ) forgiveness and comparing it with related concepts such as reconciliation , recalling ( R ) the hurt in a nonthreatening environment , building empathy ( E ) for the offender , encouraging an altruistic ( A ) response to the hurt based on experiences when the participants had themselves been forgiven , facilitating a commitment ( C ) to forgive the individual , and helping the participants maintain or hold ( H ) on to their forgiveness . ( Wade NG , Worthington E , and Haake S , ( 2009 ) Comparison of Explicit Forgiveness Interventions With an Alternative Treatment : A Randomized Clinical Trial . J Counseling & Development 87 ( 2 ) : 143-151 , p. 145 . ) Worthington's REACH model has been manualized into 20-hour and 6-hour group intervention protocols , each available for download free of cost in a secular or a Christian version . SEE VIDEO of Worthington describing the stages in his forgiveness process-based intervention . Frederic Luskin Frederic Luskin is a licensed Educational Psychologist , a Nationally-Certified School Psychologist and an MFT . He came to the study of forgiveness through the painful personal experience of being inexplicably betrayed and abandoned by a close friend and business associate during graduate school . As he puts it , " I was badly hurt by a friend of mine and it threw my life upside down . " Luskin found that he was simply unable to forgive . In the midst of this personal crisis and in the need of a dissertation topic , Luskin decided to see what he could learn by focusing his doctoral research on forgiveness . His choice of a dissertation on forgiveness eventually led him to the forefront of this emerging field within Psychology . Luskin gradually developed his own way of helping others forgive . According to him " Forgiveness is a teachable skill ; you can learn it just the way you learn to play the piano . " ( " Forgiveness Boosts Health , " Arthritis Today Magazine ) His approach , which he considers educational rather than psychotherapeutic , nonetheless incorporates elements of cognitive therapy along with mindfulness and Buddhist lovingkindness meditation . His forgiveness courses typically have once-a-week meetings , 60-90 minutes each , for 5-8 weeks . Elements of his approach are evident in his definition of forgiveness as follows : On his " Forgive for Good " website , Luskin offers the following list of nine steps in the forgiveness process as he teaches it . Luskin's teaching goals emphasize skills which go beyond the forgiving of a particular person and the offensive actions that have occurred . Rather he seeks to help people develop a lifestyle characterized by forgiveness . " The essence of forgiveness " he says " is the ability to be resilient when things do n't go the way you want . " This resilience is possible for us , as human beings , because " we have been given the gift of the ability to make choices . " Luskin describes four stages in coming to this kind of resilience . The first stage is when we are still caught in our angry responses to life's painful experiences . At the second stage , we 've begun to notice that responding with anger is painful and have taken concrete steps and made clear decisions towards forgiveness leading eventually to an actual experience of forgiveness . At stage three , having recognized , in our own experience , the positive benefits of forgiveness , we respond to future hurt by turning to forgiveness more quickly . We realize that how long we suffer from a painful experience is largely our choice . In the final stage , our ability to forgive is so deeply ingrained that we rarely take offense or get angry at the behavior of others . Rather our response , or choice , of forgiveness is automatic and immediate . Luskin's own research interests lie in measuring the impact of his manual-based , cognitive behavioral group interventions on such factors as the capacity for forgiveness , anger management , and hypertension . His work also looks at the differences regarding forgiveness between men and women and role of trait-based versus state-based anger . Training Resources The University of Wisconsin offers a 3-credit , independent learning extension course entitled Psychology and Education of Forgiveness . For a reading list and more information , see Forgiveness Institute - Extension Course . To participate in an on-line training by Dr. Luskin entitled " Forgive for Good and The Process of Forgiveness Course " visit eMindful - Forgive for Good .