ABSTRACT
Forgiveness is likely to be highly valued as a human/spiritual process among most religious clients-particularly those with Jewish and Christian backgrounds. Forgiveness is often seen as producing important intrapersonal, interpersonal and spiritual outcomes which religious clients may view as central to healthy living and obedience to God. Should REBT therapists encourage their clients to forgive those who have wronged them? Should therapists facilitate the forgiveness process as part of psychotherapy? Our answer is simply it depends. Whether a therapist is wise to incorporate forgiveness into the REBT treatment process hinges on the particular client, his or her specific religious beliefs and the nature of the client’s disturbance about the offender and the offense. In this short chapter, we will describe the nature of forgiveness, Biblical and theological support for forgiveness as a matter of faith, and an REBT perspective on when and how to support forgiveness of others as a therapeutic intervention.
