How To Forgive is an information handout designed to help clients understand and consider the process of forgiveness.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Everyone experiences interpersonal hurts, including acts of omission (e.g., being neglected) and acts of commission (e.g., intentional or unintentional harm). People respond to these transgressions in different ways, such as seeking justice, “letting go” of the offence, or choosing to forgive the wrongdoer. Research indicates that forgiveness is a helpful way to cope with offences, and it can be supported using forgiveness interventions. Based on Wade and Worthington’s (2005) ‘common ingredients’ of forgiveness therapies, this information handout describes what forgiveness is and what it entails. It is designed to help clients understand the process of forgiveness, so they can decide whether it is the approach they wish to take.
Forgiveness can be an effective way of coping with offences and transgressions.
Individuals dealing with betrayal or emotional hurt.
Emotional difficulties linked to past transgressions.
Individuals who have experienced significant interpersonal injuries.
Explain what forgiveness is and is not.
Explore whether forgiveness is something the client would consider.
Discuss the steps of forgiveness.
Help the client think about whether they want to work towards forgiveness.
Forgiveness can be defined in various ways, such as, "a willingness to abandon one’s right to resentment, negative judgment, and indifferent behavior toward someone who has unjustly harmed us, while fostering undeserved qualities like compassion, generosity, and even love toward that person" (Enright, 1998). Although some aspects of forgiveness, such as the necessity of feeling positively toward the offender, are debated, most definitions emphasize the importance of letting go of resentment toward those who caused harm (Legaree et al., 2007).
Various therapeutic approaches have explored how people can forgive others, including forgiveness-focused therapies. Recently, Wade and Worthington (2005) identified several "common ingredients" in forgiveness therapies, such as defining forgiveness and committing to the process of forgiveness. They suggest that building empathy for the offender, making a commitment to forgive, and overcoming feelings of unforgiveness are likely the most crucial interventions for successful forgiveness therapy.
