AN EMPATHY-HUMILITY-COMMITMENT MODEL OF FORGIVENESS APPLIED WITHIN FAMILY DYADS

Forgiveness is described as requiring empathy for the offender, the hu mility to see oneself as being as fallible and needy as the offender, and courage to commit publicly to forgive. Research supports the model in individual therapy and psychoeducational groups in which the forgi ver does not have to confront the offender. Family therapy, in which p artners, parent-child dyads or siblings must confess their need for fo rgiveness and forgive face to face provides special challenges. Proces ses of forgiveness empathy, humility and commitment - are understood t o be the same as in any interpersonal forgiveness context; that is, th ey are thought to occur within dyads. Techniques compatible with sever al varieties of family therapies are summarized for applying the model in family therapy to encourage family members to forgive.