63rd Annual Conference

Thursday, February 23

Afternoon (Continuous One-Hour Open Sessions)

2:45-3:45 P.M.

Session 209

Group Treatment to Promote Forgiveness Comparing Explicit Interventions with General Psychotherapy

Presenter:         

Nathaniel Wade, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Iowa State University,

Ames, Iowa

Group interventions to promote forgiveness have shown effectiveness across orientations and locales. Might common factors be responsible for the improvements witnessed in clients? Might general group psychotherapy be as effective as specific "forgiveness interventions"? We will examine the evidence from a project investigating these questions to inform our clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. State the research evidence supporting the use of specific interventions to promote forgiveness.

2. Compare the relative effectiveness of general group psychotherapy with specific "forgiveness interventions" for promoting the resolution of interpersonal injuries.

3. Apply the research results to provide clients struggling with interpersonal injuries with the most effective group interventions.

Course References:

1. McCullough, M., Worthington, E. Jr., & Rachal, K. (1997). Interpersonal Forgiving in Close Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 321-336.

2. Wade, N., Worthington, E., Jr., & Meyer, J. (2005). But Do They Work?: A meta-analysis of group interventions to promote forgiveness. In E. Worthington, Jr. (Ed.). Handbook of Forgiveness. New York: Brunner/Rutledge. 423–439.

3. Worthington, E. Jr. (2001). Five Steps to Forgiveness: The art and science of forgiving. New York: Crown Publishers.