The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy
Journal Article Revi
Liberty University

The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy
Summary
Emotional abuse is one of the lasting effects of spousal abuse that will last longer than any bruise. Long after the abuse, women tend to demonstrate many lingering psychological effects, as this type of abuse may represent a betrayal of trust that may lead to negative outcomes for the one being abused (Reed & Enright, 2006). Spousal psychological abuse is s horse of different colors to include criticizing, ridiculing, jealous control, threats of abandonment, harm, damage to personal property, and purposeful ignoring (Reed & Enright, 2006). Some lasting effects from the psychological abuse include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, learned helplessness, and even ongoing resentment of the abuser. Out of many that suffer the emotional/psychological abuse, few seek treatment. There is little treatment recommended for this type of abuse as there is lack of evidence that any may work. Brief therapy is recommended with a focus on anger validation and interpersonal skill building, however, forgiveness therapy is a new form of treatment that focuses on forgiving an injustice and with helping with anxiety and depression as well as improving self-esteem (Reed & Enright, 2006, p.920). This therapy targets the ongoing resentment that can lead to the depression, anxiety, anger, and other psychological disparities (Reed & Enright, 2006,920). Forgiveness therapy gives an understanding to how unhealthy it is to hold on to the anger and the resentment. When offering forgiveness therapy as a form of treatment, the therapists must explain to them difference between forgiveness and condoning, excusing, or forgetting the acts of wrongdoing. Forgiveness is about promoting reclamation of valued personal qualities for women that have been abused to include compassion. Even when abused women are to examine the injustice of the abuse, they should also consider forgiveness as an option because it will assist them in finding psychological release and a new purpose in life. In no way does forgiveness require reconciliation, but it empowers and decreases resentment toward the former abuser. In the study performed, forgiveness therapy had more benefits versus alternative therapy in reducing anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Reed & Enright, 2006). Forgiveness therapy has been shown to be an appropriate form of treatment for post relationship and post crisis recovery for emotionally abused women.
Reflection
Spousal abuse is something that touches me on a personal level because I watched my stepfather abuse my mother growing up and in a couple of my early relationships I too was abused. I never really understood the depth of the abuse until I started to take counseling classes. This article has caused me to revisit some things from my past that I thought I had released but in actuality I really have not. As a Christian I have always been taught the importance of forgiveness but this article makes it more personal. I appreciate the research done in this article because it explains how forgiveness can help the abused holistically. Forgiveness therapy is something that I think should be incorporated into treatment plans throughout therapy because it allows for one to release the anger and resentment that is being harbored for the abuser. Oftentimes when a women is psychologically abused the abuser it trying to break her mentally and spiritually. Forgiveness therapy helps women to grieve and release the pain from the injustice of the wrongdoer and learn to develop goodwill (Reed & Enright, 2006). After reading this article, I plan on doing my own research on the effects of forgiveness therapy in other areas. Even though this article has touched close to home for me, there are many other areas of abuse and mistrust that I think this type of treatment would benefit. Recently, I have heard of many victims forgiving their assailants as a process of healing and I feel that if this was widely introduced as a part of therapy it would be helpful to many. As mentioned in the article forgiveness is something that has to be explained and defined so that one does not get the definition of forgiveness misconstrued with acceptance.
Application
Sara is a 41 year old single mother of three. She was referred to individual counseling after the death of her son. Her oldest son was recently murdered while standing outside of a restaurant with friends. The young man that murdered her son was later acquitted of the charges even though he admitted to shooting as an act of self-defense with no valid proof. In the midst of her grief, Sara was filled with anger and resentment towards the assailant. She has reported sleepless nights, depression, anxiety, and anger that has resulted from the loss of her child. Sara is a Christian woman who has credited her faith with being able to wake up and care for her remaining children. Even though she has her faith she still needs help working through her psychological issues. The main issue that Sara needs to deal with is the anger and resentment that she harbors toward the man that murdered her son. He went to court twice and never served one day for the crime in which he admitted to committing. To add insult to injury as part of his sentencing for being a felon possessing a firearm, he only received probation. Now she feels that the justice system failed her and her son and she holds a lot of hate inside that makes her physically ill. Forgiveness therapy is a great form of treatment to help Sara forgive the injustice and the amelioration of anxiety and depression that she has (Reed & Enright. 2006). This treatment targets the ongoing resentment that she has for the assailant and it will allow for her to relinquish the resentment and replace it with compassion and to develop goodwill. The treatment will allow for Sara to live a healthier life because forgiveness is more for her because she will able to release the power that the assailant has over her. By no means is she condoning the act that was committed, but she will be refraining from the negative responses of his wrongdoing. By allowing herself to release this pint up aggression Sara can find meaning in the unjust suffering and discover psychological release and a new purpose (Reed & Enright, 2006).

Rerences
Reed, G. L., & Enright, R. D. (2006). The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(5), 920-929. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.920