Forgiveness Therapy

Robert D. Enright, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He has been a leader in the scientific study of forgiveness and its effects since 1985. Time magazine referred to him as "the forgiveness trailblazer". He is the author of more than 100 publications, including five books. In 2022, he received the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Impact in Psychology for his innovative work in forgiveness. Dr. Enright and his colleagues have developed and tested a pathway to forgiveness that has helped incest survivors, and people in drug rehabilitation, in hospice, in shelters for abused women, and in cardiac units of hospitals, among others. His recent work has been in schools within conflict regions, such as Belfast, Northern Ireland, assisting teachers to deliver forgiveness programs to students.  Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD, received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in 1969 and completed his training in psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center in 97 . He participated in cognitive therapy research in his training with Aaron T. Beck. Currently, he is the director of a private practice outside Philadelphia. Since 1976 he has used forgiveness therapy, and in 1986 he wrote a seminal paper on the use of forgiveness in psychotherapy. Dr. Fitzgibbons has presented at many conferences for over 40 years to couples, mental health professionals, educators, and business and church leaders on forgiveness therapy in the resolution of excessive anger in children, adolescents, and adults in schools, families, and marriages. He has made numerous appearances on radio and television discussing the treatment of excessive anger through forgiveness therapy.

Forgiveness is a worthwhile topic, one sorely needed in the modern world, and Enright and Fitzgibbons offer an important perspective on it in their latest book. It is not the only approach, but it is an insightful one and deserves attention of both researchers and clinicians. Reading their book makes one think, and given the significance of the subject matter, that is valuable indeed. (PsycCRITIQUES)

• PrefaceIntroduction: Why Learn About Forgiveness and Forgiveness Therapy? Part I. Forgiveness as a Key to Healing in PsychotherapyChapter 1. Forgiveness Therapy: An OverviewChapter 2. Deepening the Understanding of ForgivenessChapter 3. What Forgiveness Is NotChapter 4. The Process Model of Forgiveness TherapyChapter 5. Empirical Validation of the Process Model of Forgiveness Part II. Forgiveness Therapy Within Specific Disorders and PopulationsChapter 6. Forgiveness Therapy in Depressive DisordersChapter 7. Forgiveness Therapy in Bipolar DisordersChapter 8. Forgiveness Therapy in Anxiety DisordersChapter 9. Forgiveness Therapy in Addictive DisordersChapter 10. Forgiveness Therapy in Childhood and Adolescent DisordersChapter 11. Forgiveness Therapy in Marital and Family Relationships Part III. Education, Measurement, and Going Deeper Within Forgiveness TherapyChapter 12. Forgiveness EducationChapter 13. Measures of Interpersonal ForgivenessChapter 14. Skeptical Views of ForgivenessChapter 15. Moral, Philosophical, and Religious Roots of ForgivenessChapter . The Client's and Therapist's Legacy AppendixReferencesIndexAbout the Authors