Therapeutic Forgiveness: Developing a Model for Empowering Victims of Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Forgiveness is increasingly popular in therapy as a way to facilitate healing, but there are definitional discrepancies and confusion regarding the degree to which it is conceptualized as either an interpersonal/ relational or an independent/self-enhancing process. In this article forgiveness is conceptualized as an interpersonal process linked to apology or contrition on the part of the offender. Yet it is also independent. A model is described that was developed for the benefit of abuse victims whose offenders will not or cannot apologize. Using the model, victims can accomplish for themselves what would be accomplished for them through an apology.

Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Mechila: Integrating the Jewish Concept of Forgiveness Into Clinical Practice

“…This case study features a young adult woman who has been a victim of sexual abuse. Although issues of forgiveness may have been commonly analyzed in counseling literature, studies dealing with forgiveness strategies related to issues focused on sexual abuse are less evident (Walton, 2005). Mechila may be a viable option in assisting the client to process through forgiveness and reconciliation issues related to sexual abuse.…”

“…Intrapersonal forgiveness is an independent process (Walton, 2005) and may occur for either the victim or the perpetrator. For example, a perpetrator may feel guilty after causing injury, but making a conciliatory gesture is not always possible.…”

“…Perpetrators may attempt to gain a sense of perceived forgiveness from the victim or seek out a spiritual reconciliation leading to self-forgiveness (Hall & Fincham, 2005;Scobie & Scobie, 1998). On the other hand, victims may attempt self-forgiveness by imagining an apology from the perpetrator in an attempt to move forward (Walton, 2005). Scobie and Scobie defined a health model for for-giveness, indicating that the victim can choose to release any anger or resentment toward the perpetrator, and this may result in an increased sense of well-being.…”

Restorative Justice and Sexual Assault: Outcome Appraisal Through Textual Analysis

“…The expression of apology and forgiveness are desired outcomes in sexual assault [82,88], envisioned in program design as possible with self-reflection, while responsible persons complete reparative activities, receive therapy and regularly meet with staff and board members, and for survivor victims after psychotherapy and a reasonable passage of time [48,49,89,90]. To determine what generates successful program outcomes, all the core elements require scrutiny, especially the designated procedures most effective for facilitated conferencing between participants [28, 38 45, 91] and professionally responsive interactions, while working with survivor victims [38,48,49,56,[79][80][81][82][83][84] and responsible persons [33,67,81,90].…”

The effectiveness of forgiveness therapy for wives of alcoholics

“…[9] Since 1995, its use in clinical practice and research has continuously increased in the fields of marriage and family therapy, couples therapy, counseling, and individual psychotherapy. [11] Scientific, clinical, and popular interest in forgiveness as a key component of therapeutic modality has exploded in recent years. [12] Empirical research on FT in the past two decades has created a greater awareness of forgiveness as a form of psychotherapy [13] and has established a causal relationship between forgiving an injustice and both the amelioration of anxiety and depression as well as improvement in selfesteem.…”