Everett L. Worthington Jr. – författare

A Templeton Foundation Book of Distinction

All of us have suffered painful emotional and relational hurts. God calls us to forgive those who have hurt us, but that's often easier said than done. We don't usually know how to forgive others, nor are we always sure if we have truly forgiven them.

Psychologist and counselor Everett L. Worthington Jr., the leading Christian researcher on forgiveness, says that forgiving is a gift we give to others. When we offer forgiveness to others as an altruistic gift, it is more effective than when we forgive only for our own benefit in an effort to "get over" the hurt. True forgiveness is accomplished through a careful process of understanding both the offense and the offender and taking active steps to forgiveness. In this insightful and practical book, Worthington provides a wealth of clinically proven tools and exercises for moving toward forgiveness.

Worthington's expertise comes not only from years of scientific research but also from the experience of the brutal murder of his own mother. His convictions were put to the test as he worked through his conflicting emotions and rage toward the murderer. He found that the principles of Christian forgiveness enabled him to forgive even his mother's killer.

While forgiveness is something that we can do on our own, reconciliation involves another party. Worthington brings both themes together and shows how we can move beyond forgiveness and cross the bridge to reconciliation. This book, previously published as Five Steps to Forgiveness, has been fully revised to make clear the scriptural foundations of Christian forgiveness. Biblical, authoritative and pastorally sound, this guide will be of help to anyone who wants to find the freedom of forgiveness.

Religion and science have often been at odds. In particular, Christianity and psychology have not always gotten along. Some Christians are still suspicious of psychological findings. But researcher Everett Worthington argues that Christians can know people better--and even know God better--through psychological science. Worthington suggests that the relationship between psychological science and Christianity is less like a war or mere dialogue and more like an emerging marriage. In this relational model of psychology and Christianity, there may be marital spats at times but also great potential for an intimate, mutually fulfilling relationship. Worthington demonstrates how the tools of experimental psychology shed light on human nature and the nature of God. Because people bear the image of God, the findings of psychological science help us understand both people and God more clearly. Psychological science provides new perspectives on theology and can help us address theological controversies and hot topics. Worthington gives recent examples of illuminating psychological findings, examines the distortions of the image of God through the effects of sin and points to ways that psychology assists Christians in living more virtuously.Psychology can contribute to the Christian life, because all of us, psychologists and non-psychologists alike, are human and can benefit from better understanding our fellow humankind. Beyond integrating Christian and psychological truths, this book uncovers new relationships between science and religion, demonstrates psychology?s benefits to theology, and helps Christians live a redeemed life that is pleasing to God.

This guide introduces the Hope-Focused Approach to couple therapy and provides a hands-on, practical resource for clinicians and students to integrate this approach into their practice effectively.

Drawing from positive psychology, virtue theory, and forgiveness theory, the book describes how therapists can design a hope-focused treatment to promote intimacy, help couples communicate and resolve disagreements, strengthen emotional bonds, build trust, guide forgiveness, and encourage reconciliation. This book takes the therapist from assessing couples, to designing initial treatment plans, intervening in sessions, and facilitating termination. Focusing on communication training and conflict resolution, Worthington and Ripley share over 100 evidence-based techniques, case studies, and interventions to illustrate how to help couples effectively. Examples incorporate complex issues of race and sexuality, as well as values such as religion and politics. This practical guide arms therapists with a strategy to enrich their practice of couple therapy, equips them with practical techniques, and helps them promote forgiveness and reconciliation when couples seek it.

This book is an invaluable resource for beginning counselors, graduate students, and practicing marriage and family therapists.

This guide introduces the Hope-Focused Approach to couple therapy and provides a hands-on, practical resource for clinicians and students to integrate this approach into their practice effectively.

Drawing from positive psychology, virtue theory, and forgiveness theory, the book describes how therapists can design a hope-focused treatment to promote intimacy, help couples communicate and resolve disagreements, strengthen emotional bonds, build trust, guide forgiveness, and encourage reconciliation. This book takes the therapist from assessing couples, to designing initial treatment plans, intervening in sessions, and facilitating termination. Focusing on communication training and conflict resolution, Worthington and Ripley share over 100 evidence-based techniques, case studies, and interventions to illustrate how to help couples effectively. Examples incorporate complex issues of race and sexuality, as well as values such as religion and politics. This practical guide arms therapists with a strategy to enrich their practice of couple therapy, equips them with practical techniques, and helps them promote forgiveness and reconciliation when couples seek it.

This book is an invaluable resource for beginning counselors, graduate students, and practicing marriage and family therapists.

The Handbook of Humility is the first scholarly book to bring together authors from psychology as well as other fields to address what we know and don’t know about humility. Authors review the existing research in this burgeoning field that has well over 100 empirical articles and an increasing trajectory of publication. This work should form the basis for research in humility for many years.

In this book, chapters address definitions of humility that guide research. Authors also reflect on the practical applications of humility research within the areas they reviewed. The book informs people who study humility scientifically, but it is also an exceptional guide for psychotherapists, philosophers, religious and community leaders, politicians, educated lay people, and those who would like to fuel an informed reflection on how humility might make interactions more civil in relationships, organizations, communities, political processes, and national and international relations.

The Handbook of Humility is the first scholarly book to bring together authors from psychology as well as other fields to address what we know and don’t know about humility. Authors review the existing research in this burgeoning field that has well over 100 empirical articles and an increasing trajectory of publication. This work should form the basis for research in humility for many years.

In this book, chapters address definitions of humility that guide research. Authors also reflect on the practical applications of humility research within the areas they reviewed. The book informs people who study humility scientifically, but it is also an exceptional guide for psychotherapists, philosophers, religious and community leaders, politicians, educated lay people, and those who would like to fuel an informed reflection on how humility might make interactions more civil in relationships, organizations, communities, political processes, and national and international relations.

The present volume is a ground-breaking and agenda-setting investigation of the psychology of self-forgiveness. It brings together the work of expert clinicians and researchers working within the field, to address questions such as: Why is self-forgiveness so difficult? What contexts and psychological experiences give rise to the need for self-forgiveness? What approaches can therapists use to help people process difficult experiences that elicit guilt, shame and self-condemnation? How can people work through their own failures and transgressions?

Among the topics in the Handbook:

The Handbook of the Psychology of Self-Forgiveness serves many healing professionals. It covers a wide range of problems for which individuals often seek help from counselors, clergy, social workers, psychologists and physicians. Research psychologists, philosophers, and sociologists studying self-forgiveness will also find it an essential handbook that draws together the advances made over the past several decades, and identifies important directions for the road ahead.