Forgiveness and Health: Psycho-spiritual Integration and the Promotion of Better Healthcare

Abstract

Psychology and religiousness/spirituality continue to be perceived as incongruent and incompatible, often resulting in a disconnection and suboptimal level of collaboration between the two fields to the detriment of healthcare. Nevertheless, forgiveness, or an absence of ill will, is a construct central to both mainstream world religion/spirituality and the field of psychology. Understanding and recognizing the construct of forgiveness and its mutually central application can foster increased collaboration between the fields. As a result, individually and collectively, the two fields will be better able to expand and further develop their many shared principles in the service of better healthcare.