The present study evaluated the effectiveness of forgiveness therapy with abused early adolescent females in Pakistan. Eight female victims of child abuse between the ages of 11-12 years living in the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau in Lahore, Pakistan were randomly assigned into either an experimental or control group. The experimental group received forgiveness therapy twice a week for 4 months while the control group received treatment-as-usual for the span of 4 months. All participants were measured on the levels of forgiveness (Enright Forgiveness Inventory), anger (Anger Scale), and hope (Hope Scale) at pretest, posttest, and 1-year follow-up where each testing consisted of 4 consecutive assessments with a 1-week interval. At the 1-year follow-up, the experimental group, when compared with the control group, showed statistically higher levels of forgiveness and hope and a significantly lower level of anger. Findings in this study are promising, showing preliminary support of forgiveness therapy as a new treatment tool for early adolescent victims of abuse and in a culture in which forgiveness therapy never has been examined to date.

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In the burgeoning literature of forgiveness, self-forgiveness is an aspect that has not received as much attention as other areas of research on forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is important in dealing with negative feelings toward the self when one violates the conscience. However, because criticisms have emerged against this construct, we attempt a theological and psychological defense of self-forgiveness by addressing following four questions: (a) Is self-forgiveness the same as or different from divine forgiveness? (b) What is the nature of self-forgiveness? (c) Can we rationally address the criticisms of self-forgiveness? (d) How does self-forgiveness interact with divine and person-to-person forgiveness? After addressing these questions, we delineate four implications for counselors working with clients struggling to forgive themselves. Self-forgiveness, as one form of the virtue of forgiveness, now needs to be opened up more widely and deeply for more clients, and their emotional health may be further enhanced by this experience that frees them from self-condemnation when guided by a counselor who knows the essence of what self-forgiveness is and is not.

Despite the traumatic effects of acid violence on its victims, treatment options are very limited. The present study was aimed at examining the efficacy of a forgiveness intervention with female survivors of acid attack violence in Pakistan. Female acid attack victims in Pakistan were randomized to either a forgiveness group (n = 8) or a treatment‐as‐usual (TAU; n = 8) control group. The forgiveness group received twice‐a‐week forgiveness sessions for 4 months, whereas the TAU group either received typical psychological treatment sessions for acid attack victims or no treatment. All participants were assessed on their levels of forgiveness, anger, anxiety, depression, and hope four times prior to the 4‐month intervention period, twice after the intervention period, and once at the 1‐year follow‐up. Posttreatment, the forgiveness intervention group showed greater improvement in hope, anger, anxiety, and depression when compared with the TAU group. Upon further examinations, both groups improved on forgiveness from pretreatment to posttreatment, but the forgiveness group had a higher baseline. From pretreatment to the 12‐month follow‐up, the forgiveness group, when compared with the TAU group, showed greater improvement in all areas except for depression. This is the first study that examined the effects of a forgiveness intervention for acid attack victims in Pakistan. Results showing the improvement posttreatment as well as over a 1‐year period posttreatment are encouraging.