Article January 13, 2003 Issue

Course focuses on FORGIVENESS

BY Sentinel Staff

THIS YEAR'S Spirituality & Healing in Medicine course, co-sponsored by the Harvard Medical School and other institutions, was held December 14-15 in Boston. The course once again brought together healthcare professional and pastoral caregivers, chaplains, ministers, Christian Science practitioners, and others interested in focusing on the subject of "The Importance of Forgiveness."

While to traditional healthcare professionals, forgiveness may seem an ancillary topic to the nuts and bolts of helping patients attain "wellness," to those involved in day-to-day spiritual care, forgiveness is a familiar and significant component in helping people rise out of anger and unhappiness. Fortunately for patients, it appears that helping people to forgive themselves and others is becoming a vital part of what's now being called in the medical world "compassionate care."

According to Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist and director of the course: "Forgiveness plays an important role in each of our lives on a personal as well as societal level. Guilt and resentment can lead to poor health outcomes; forgiveness can help to heal hatred of self and others. Studies have shown that the act of forgiving can result in less anxiety, less depression, and increased self-esteem. It is also associated with physiological changes that are opposite to those of stress as well as those of hostility, anger, depression, and anxiety. When forgiving, there is decreased heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance levels."

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