Essay on Journal Article Review

Words: 1610
Pages: 7

Journal Article Review I
Lauren Pedersen
Liberty University

Journal Article Review
Summary
Spousal emotional abuse is ongoing, significant problem, impacting nearly 35% of women. Emotional abuse by a spouse or romantic partner can often lead to negative psychological outcomes, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, posttraumatic stress disorder, learned helplessness, and resentment of the abuser that persists even when the abuse ends. There have not been designated therapies designed to help these women. Gayle L. Reed and Robert D. Enright (2006) examine the roles forgiveness therapy has on emotionally abused women in the article The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress for Women

Gayle and Enright (2006) recommend to broaden the sample size and allow for more characteristics to be brought in. The all-volunteer route created a rather small sample size and many of the women had the same characteristics. Also, it is important to have more of an ethnic mix in the sample. In the future, it would be beneficial to identify how forgiveness therapy has allowed these women to forgive other people who have caused them trauma or pain (Gayle & Enright, 2006).
Reflection
When deciding which article to read and review for this paper, I was immediately drawn to the article The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress for Women After Spousal Emotion Abuse from Gayle L. Reed and Robert D. Enright (2006). This is a topic that I am highly passionate about and the main reason I started on my journey in the field of counseling. I have witnessed friends, coworkers, fellow students fall into both physical and emotional abusive relationships with men they “loved” and who “loved them.” While none of these women were married, they were subjected to the psychological traumas of abuse from a romantic partner they trusted. When I originally decided to pursue a career in the counseling field, I wanted to work solely with physically battered women and help them with the transition to a healthy, normal lifestyle. This article has helped me realize that the