Dr. Fred Luskin: Forgiveness as a Skill to Improve Health, Well-Being & Unresolved Grief

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Forgiveness has been defined in many ways by many traditions. However, a powerful and clinically relevant way of defining forgiveness is as a suite of skills that can be learned to promote a sense of self-efficacy, emotional effectiveness, physical and emotional well-being & resolution of grieving in the aftermath of betrayal, wrongdoings and even trauma. In this episode with author, teacher, and clinician Dr. Fred Luskin, we discuss the clinical and practical implementation of his forgiveness model as outlined in his best-selling book Forgive For Good. In this conversation we review:

• the Forgive for Good definition of forgiveness
• the preconditions of forgiveness, including grieving
• how & when a grievance has formed and when this becomes a barrier to moving forward
• forgiveness as a strategy for resolving complicated grief
• the definition and application of the concept of "unenforceable rules"
• the definition and application of the concept of the "personal and impersonal pain" dialectic and how this concept is critical to conceptualizing our hurts
• caveats and considerations around forgiveness in the context of trauma
• a brief consideration of the role of forgiveness in helping address clinician burnout/compassion fatigue.

Fred Luskin, Ph.D. is Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, an ongoing series of workshops and research projects that investigate the effectiveness of his forgiveness methods on a variety of populations. The forgiveness project has successfully explored forgiveness therapy with people who suffered from the violence in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone as well as the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. In addition his work has been successfully applied and researched in corporate, medical, legal and religious settings. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant in Health Promotion at Stanford University and is a Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He presents lectures, workshops, seminars and training on the importance, health benefits and training of forgiveness, stress management and emotional competence throughout the United States. He is the author of Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness and Stress Free for Good: Ten Proven Life Skills for Health and Happiness with co-author Kenneth Pelletier, Ph.D.
https://learningtoforgive.com/