What Is Forgiveness Therapy, And How Effective Is It?

By: Robert Porter

Updated March 07, 2020

Medically Reviewed By: Lauren Guilbeault

So many people have been wronged by others in the past. If you have experienced traumatic events in your life, then you likely know how easy it is to let anger and anxiety take over. When others have hurt you, it can negatively impact your life in so many ways. Being able to move on with your life after bad things happen is important, but it is not always going to be easy to do so.

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Sometimes people will hang onto the anger that they feel inside for far too long. These negative emotions do not do you any good, though. If you go through your life feeling angry about what has happened to you, then you will wind up losing out on many positive opportunities. Instead of focusing on the good things in life, you will stay stuck in the past, fixated on a bad moment in time that you just cannot get over.

Several therapy techniques can help a person to get over these negative emotions. One of the most popular types of therapy that people have been using is forgiveness therapy. This is a type of therapy that is all about letting go of the past and starting to move forward in life again. It is a very helpful therapy that will work in many different situations.

How Does Forgiveness Therapy Work?

Forgiveness therapy works by allowing you to address the problems that are holding you back. You are feeling many emotions due to certain events in the past. For some people, this may involve a traumatic event such as someone that they trusted cheating on them. Others may be experiencing significant emotional trauma due to sexual abuse, physical abuse, or any number of other terrible things. It is easy to see how these events can stymie people, but it is also possible to move past these issues over time.

Those who are practicing forgiveness therapy will help patients to discuss the problems that are giving them pause. These past events that they remain fixated on will not go away unless they are addressed properly. Depending on the severity of the trauma that the patient was exposed to, discussing it may wind up feeling difficult at first. Regardless, it is important to open up about your emotions to start moving forward.

A forgiveness therapist is going to want to discuss what happened to you. You will need to talk about how these events made you feel back then and how they make you feel now. This is about expressing your emotions an coming to terms with them. You will be able to talk with your therapist about why you feel the way that you do.

Throughout this process, your therapist will be there for you. They will endeavor to provide you with a safe environment where you can feel as comfortable as possible to discuss these issues. It may be a very emotional process, but it will be cathartic for you to get your feelings out into the open. Sometimes the therapist will simply listen to what you have to say, and other times they will ask you questions to help lead the conversation down a healthy path.

Next, you will be able to come to understand that what happened to you was not your fault. Sometimes patients hang onto the traumatic event and think about ways they could have prevented it. To move forward in life, you have to be able to accept that you cannot change the past. This negative event in your life happened, and all you can do is move forward from it.

Once you have decided to start going forward, you will be able to rebuild your feelings of safety. Your therapist may recommend positive forms of therapy and coping mechanisms to help you focus on good things. You will be taking your focus away from the negative event and placing it on other good things in your life. This could involve anything from painting to exercise. Anything that helps you to feel good about yourself and life, in general, is excellent for rebuilding your feelings of safety.

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Finally, you will be able to let go and might even be able to forgive the person that wronged you in the past. Of course, severely traumatizing events may or may not end with complete forgiveness. Finding the strength to forgive someone who wronged you in the past is very admirable, though. This therapy is just as much about learning to let go as it is anything else. Forgiveness is a component of the therapy, but the most important part of it is ensuring that you can move on from what has been holding you back in life.

Living A Positive Life Is Healthy

Being able to live a more positive life is going to be healthy for you. If you have been holding onto negative emotions for a long time, then you likely know how difficult it can make things. Feeling negative can take a toll on you both emotionally and physically. It can also keep you from finding true happiness in life. A therapist is going to try to help you to work on overcoming your struggles so that you can feel more positive about your life and your future.

When you want to start focusing on living a positive life, there are many things that you can do. Placing your focus on things that make you happy or things that have value to you will make a difference. For example, many people decide to pour their energy into artistic pursuits. Painting or writing is a good way to focus your mental energy on something positive that lead to creatively satisfying results. There are various other positive activities that people find success with as well.

People who try to be as positive as possible are generally happier. It can be tough to be positive all the time, and everyone is going to feel negative emotions. It is unrealistic to think that there will not be bad days or that you will never have sad feelings related to your past. It is simply important to understand that you can combat negative emotions with positive ones.

One of the most effective coping mechanisms is to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Try to place your focus on things that you are passionate about in life. If you are in love with music, then spend time playing or listening to music. Positive activities are an important facet of forgiveness therapy. You are learning to stop fixating on a negative life event by replacing it with other good things in your life.

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Eventually, you might get to the point where the traumatic event from your past is no longer an issue for you. Therapy and coping mechanisms have helped many people to reach full recovery over time. At this point, you may even feel that you can forgive those who have wronged you. To truly forgive will allow you to let go of something that you have been carrying with you for a long time. It can feel very liberating, and this is something that you can accomplish when you use therapy techniques and a positive outlook on life to your advantage.

Online Forgiveness Therapy Is Available

Those who wish to seek forgiveness therapy will be able to do so from their own homes if they choose. Online therapy is becoming more and more prevalent in the modern era. Many people have difficulties getting to therapy sessions due to time restrictions and having to prioritize life responsibilities. This does not have to be an issue when it comes to making use of online therapy.

You can speak to a licensed therapist online to get help with various problems. These dedicated professionals know all of the best techniques to help you get over many issues. No matter what problems you are going through at the moment, you will be able to find help online. Millions of people seek out online therapy to help them with depression, anxiety, and many other disorders.

Forgiveness therapy is one of the many therapy styles that you can make use of online. These online therapists will be able to take you through the forgiveness therapy process from beginning to end. When you commit to a regiment like this, it will help you to get over the traumatic events of your past. These negative feeling inside you may be very strong, but you can make progress over time. Your therapist will always be there for you to discuss your feelings and they can help you to let go of the past a little bit at a time.

If you feel that you need online therapy, then you can sign up today. These therapists will be able to help you with much more than just forgiveness therapy as well. Whether you need couples counseling or if you want to get help with various forms of addiction, the online therapists are ready to help. Just reach whenever you are ready, and you can begin the process.