Forgiveness Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === The timeliness of forgiveness === Psychologist Wanda Malcolm, in ''Women's Reflections on the Complexities of Forgiveness'', outlines reasons why forgiveness takes time: when work on self (care/healing) takes priority (i.e. therapy, medical injuries, etc.), when issues of {{clarify|text=relational|date=July 2023}} safety need to be addressed, and where facilitating forgiveness may be premature immediately after an interpersonal offense.<ref name="Wanda">{{cite book |last1=Malcolm |first1=Wanda |title=Women's Reflections on the Complexities of Forgiveness |date=Oct 19, 2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415955058 |pages=275–291}}</ref> Malcolm explains that "premature efforts to facilitate forgiveness may be a sign of our reluctance to witness our client’s pain and suffering and may unwittingly reinforce the client’s belief that the pain and suffering is too much to bear and must be suppressed or avoided."<ref name="Wanda" /> Worthington ''et al.'' observed that “anything done to promote forgiveness has little impact unless substantial time is spent at helping participants think through and emotionally experience their forgiveness”.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Worthington | first1=Everett L. | last2=Kurusu | first2=Taro A. | last3=Collins | first3=Wanda | last4=Berry | first4=Jack W. | last5=Ripley | first5=Jennifer S. | last6=Baier | first6=Sasha N. | title=Forgiving Usually Takes Time: A Lesson Learned by Studying Interventions to Promote Forgiveness | journal=Journal of Psychology and Theology | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=28 | issue=1 | year=2000 | issn=0091-6471 | doi=10.1177/009164710002800101 | pages=3–20| s2cid=146762070 }}</ref> Efforts to facilitate forgiveness may be premature and even harmful immediately after an interpersonal injury.<ref name="Wanda" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/is-psychology-making-us-sick/201409/6-reasons-not-forgive-not-yet|title=6 reasons not to forgive, not yet|last=Bedrick|first=David|website=Psychology Today|date=2014-09-25|access-date=2020-01-18}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page