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American Journal of Clinical

Hypnosis
Publication details, including instructions for
authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujhy20

Helping Clients Forgive:

An Empirical Guide for
Resolving Anger and Restoring
Hope. R.D. Enright and R.P.
Fitzgibbons, Editors. American
Psychological Association,
Washington, DC (2002). xiii +
376 Pages. $39.95
Dabney M. Ewin MD, ABMH
Published online: 21 Sep 2011.

To cite this article: Dabney M. Ewin MD, ABMH (2004) Helping Clients Forgive:
An Empirical Guide for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope. R.D. Enright and R.P.
Fitzgibbons, Editors. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC (2002).
xiii + 376 Pages. $39.95, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 46:4, 361-363, DOI:
10.1080/00029157.2004.10403623

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00029157.2004.10403623

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 Book Reviews

above, there is useful information in these pages for the hypnosis clinician. Furthermore,
there is much within these pages to think about.

References
Brown, D., Scheflin, A.W., & Hammond, D.C. (1998). Memory, trauma, treatment, and
the law. New York: W.W. Norton.
Cheek, D.B. (1994). Hypnosis: The application ofideomotor procedures. Boston: Allyn
& Bacon.
Dattilio, F.M., & Salas-Auvert, J.A. (2000). Panic disorder: Assessment and treatment
through a wide-angle lens. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker & Company.
Eimer, B.N., & Torern, M.S. (2002). Coping with uncertainty: 10 simple solutions.
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Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Ewin, D.M. (1994). Many memories retrieved with hypnosis are accurate. American
Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 36, No.3, 174-175.
Gallo, F.P. (1999). Energy psychology: Explorations at the interface ofenergy, cognition,
behavior, and health. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Kelly, G.A. (1955). The psychology ofpersonal constructs (Vols. 1 and 2). New York:
W.W. Norton.
Mellinger, D., & Lynn, S.J. (2003). The monster in the cave: How to face your fear and
anxiety and live your life. New York: Berkley Books.
Phillips, M. (2000). Finding the energy to heal: How EMDR, hypnosis, TFT, imagery,
and body-focused therapy can help restore mindbody health. New York: W.W.
Norton.
Rauch, W. (1998). Real-world survival: What has worked for me. Lafayette Hill, PA:
Rauch & Company.
Shapiro, F. (1995). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles,
protocols, and procedures. New York: Guilford Press.
Siddle, B.K. (1995). Sharpening the warrior's edge. Millstadt, IL: PPCT Research
Publications.
Solomon, R.M. (1995, Feb.). Critical incident trauma: Lessons learned at Waco, Texas.
Paper presented at the Law Enforcement Psychology Conference, San Mateo
CA.
Watkins, J.G., & Watkins, H.H. (1997). Ego states: Theory and therapy. New York: W.W.
Norton.
Zarren, J.I., & Eimer, B.N. (2002). Brief cognitive hypnosis: Facilitating the change of
dysfunctional behavior. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Helping clients forgive: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope.
R.D. Enright and R.P. Fitzgibbons, Editors. American Psychological
Association, Washington, DC (2002). xiii + 376 pages. $39.95. Reviewed by
Dabney M. Ewin, MD, ABMH, New Orleans, LA.
Experience teaches us that it is normal to feel anger, hurt, resentment, and even
rage at someone who has treated us unfairly, cruelly, or spitefully. We want justice, and
punishment of the offender. Our animal instincts don't even consider forgiveness as a
counteractant to the persistent negative emotions eating away at our mental and physical

361
 Book Reviews

health. This book proposes that a cognitive decision to forgive the ones who have
caused the misery is a viable route to health, and outlines a comprehensive method to
present this possibility to a client/patient in a way that has now been empirically tested
in controlled studies.
The authors are a psychologist and psychiatrist who have pioneered in the
study of forgiveness therapy, and have used it successfully with their own clients/
patients for many years, initially independently, and since 1994 in collaboration, giving
seminars on the subject. This book is clear in its description of what does and does not
constitute real (and healing) forgiveness, the techniques for eliciting it, and the science
that supports this route to health.
Throughout the book, they adhere to this definition of forgiveness:
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People, upon rationally determining that they have been unfairly treated
forgive when they willfully abandon resentment and related responses
(to which they have a right), and endeavor to respond to the
wrongdoer based on the moral principle of beneficence, which may
include compassion, unconditional worth, generosity, and moral love
(to which the wrongdoer, by nature of the wrongful act or acts, has no
right).
The book is organized into three parts. Part One is titled "Forgiveness as a Key
to Healing in Psychotherapy." This section has six chapters that put the whole book
into the context of a psychological therapy. After presenting the definition above,
chapter two dissects the special meaning of each concept in that definition, and why it
needs to be included. This is followed by an interesting chapter on what forgiveness is
not, with a checklist of 20 ideas that are beguilingly like forgiveness, but don't meet the
true criteria. Chapter Four addresses the social-cognitive development of the client/
patient and how to deal with six different styles of reasoning they may bring to therapy.
These include forgiveness only after revenge; forgiveness because my religion requires
it; forgiveness to achieve social harmony. Chapter Five sets out the process to use with
a client/patient who is willing to engage in this approach to dealing with anger and
resentment. There are four phases: uncovering, decision, work, and deepening, each of
which may pass easily or slowly, depending on the patient. Chapter Six is devoted to a
review of the research and outcome studies that give empirical validation to the value
of forgiveness as a therapeutic tool.
Part Two is titled "Applying Forgiveness within Specific Disorders and
Populations." It has eight chapters, each illustrating how a clinician can use this
approach with a particular disorder. These include depressive disorders, anxiety
disorders, substance abuse disorders, children and adolescents, marital and family
relationships, eating disorders, bipolar and other mental disorders, and personality
disorders. Clearly, this therapy covers a wide spectrum of human misery.
Part Three is titled "Philosophical Foundations and Empirical Investigations."
I found this part especially interesting as the authors refine their definition of forgiveness
and present ancient views and modern philosophical ideas that bolster their ideas. A
chapter is then devoted to a review of skeptical views of forgiveness, and another to
describe five experiments they have done to get empirical support for the social-cognitive
model of forgiveness. A final chapter is to assist the therapist, researcher, and test

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 Book Reviews

constructor by providing considerable detail on a variety of existing measures of

forgiveness.
As a clinician, I found this book to be very interesting and thought provoking.
I think an important reason that I enjoyed it is that it fits with my world view, which may
be rather different from that of some other therapists. Early in the book (p. 15) the
authors say that forgiveness therapy may not be congruent with forms of therapy that
claim to be value-free. To practice forgiveness therapy, the therapist must be able to
help the client determine that certain behaviors are morally wrong and unfair and to help
the client determine other behaviors, such as mercy, that can under certain circumstances
be right and good. Therapists must be comfortable dealing with these moral issues to
practice this form of therapy.
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This book does not mention the word "hypnosis," focusing primarily on a form
of cognitive therapy. But we know that cognitive therapy can be significantly enhanced
by adding hypnosis. The main caveat here is to refrain from using hypnosis to prod a
reluctant client/patient into this type of therapy. The cognitive decision must come
first. My hypnotic approach has mostly involved role playing as representative of the
offender, confessing the hurt, apologizing, and asking my patient to consider forgiving.
The patient's initial negative reaction has often softened by the next visit. Through this
approach, forgiveness can occur much faster with the addition of hypnosis than when
left to the cognitive state only.
What I missed in the book was that many of my patients have profound guilt
feelings, and I spend a lot of time getting them to forgive themselves. Once they stop
punishing themselves, their health improves. The word pain is derived from the Latin
poena, meaning punishment, and the relationship of chronic anger to chronic pain is
often almost linear. Perhaps self-forgiveness might be worth another study and another
book.
I recall when Rabbi Kushner came to New Orleans to promote his little book on
forgiveness (1997) he was asked in the questions and answers if he would forgive Hitler.
Paraphrased, he said "Yes, I'd forgive Hitler. It doesn't mean that what he did was OK,
but when I let the resentment go, it means he can't make me contribute more money to
a Holocaust Memorial than I do to Jewish Children." This book suggests that if you can
achieve forgiveness, the side effect of forgiveness is a form of enlightened self-interest.
References
Kushner, H.S. (1997). How good do we have to be: A new understanding of guilt and
forgiveness. New York: Back Bay Books/Time-Warner.

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