Examination of an emotion-focused therapy intervention to promote self-forgiveness for interpersonal offenses

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a newly-developed emotion-focused counseling intervention designed to increase self-forgiveness for regretted actions committed against another person. Twenty-six participants who indicated they had unresolved emotions about a past offense enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to a delayed or immediate treatment condition. Twenty-one participants completed the study. Results demonstrated the intervention had positive effects on both offense-specific emotional responses and on general well-being. After controlling for screening scores, participants who received the treatment had significantly lower selfcondemnation and significantly greater state self-forgiveness and self-reported self-forgiveness than did participants who spent time on a waiting list. Again controlling for screening scores, treated participants also had significantly lower psychological distress and significantly greater self-compassion at the end of treatment than did participants who spent time on a waiting list. Satisfaction with life was only marginally impacted by the intervention relative to the waiting list. Results of this study demonstrate the utility of this new intervention for helping clients resolve the negative residual effects of unforgiveness toward the self.

Working through past wrongdoing: Examination of a self-forgiveness counseling intervention.

“…The intervention is grounded in EFT (Greenberg, 2002) and incorporates the four R s of genuine self-forgiveness. The full intervention manual can be obtained in the first author’s dissertation (Cornish, 2014) or by contacting the first author directly.…”

“…The individual counseling intervention tested in this study was developed by the first author (Cornish, 2014) and included 8 weekly 50-min sessions. The manualized treatment was adapted from interventions to promote forgiveness of others (Greenberg et al, 2008; Worthington, 2001), with specific adjustments made due to aspects unique to self-forgiveness (e.g., reducing shame while acknowledging responsibility).…”

A Therapeutic Model of Self‐Forgiveness With Intervention Strategies for Counselors

“…The therapeutic model of self‐forgiveness described in this article was first developed by the first author in her doctoral dissertation (Cornish, ).…”

Self-forgiving processes in therapy for romantic relationship infidelity: An evidence-based case study.

“…The self-forgiveness therapy intervention tested in Cornish and Wade's (2015b) study was developed by Marilyn A. Cornish (available in Cornish, 2014) and included 8 weekly 50-min individual therapy sessions. The manualized intervention is grounded in emotion-focused therapy (Greenberg, 2002) principles that en-courage therapists to attend to the emotion-based underpinnings of clients' self-forgiveness difficulties.…”

“…It also contains structured components to guide clients through the four Rs of genuine selfforgiveness (Cornish & Wade, 2015a) for a specific interpersonal transgression (the "target offense"). The intervention manual can be obtained in Marilyn A. Cornish's dissertation (Cornish, 2014) or by contacting Marilyn A. Cornish directly. Table 1 summarizes the treatment goals and interventions for each session.…”