“The Soul Recognizes Itself in Somebody Else”: The Healing Value of Forgiveness among Formerly Incarcerated People in the Profession Practice of Peer-Support

Introduction

Convict therapy, a new term coined by Elisha (2023), refers to formal, constructive, peer-support roles (either voluntary or paid) that are performed by people involved in the criminal justice system, based on their knowledge and lived experience, that is, wounded healers (Elisha, 2023). Convict therapy is a unifying term encompassing several interrelated theories and approaches, in a bid to promote the discourse and research on professional peer supporters in the field of criminology. These include convict criminology (Richards & Ross, 2001), the wounded healer (LeBel et al., 2015), desistance from crime (Laub & Sampson, 2001; Maruna et al., 2004), and positive criminology (Ronel & Elisha, 2011, 2020) (for more details, see Elisha, 2023).

In the past two decades, researchers in crime desistance have focused on the strength-based role of peer support performed by individuals with a history of addiction and incarceration who managed to recover, also referred as “professional-ex” or “wounded healers” (Lebel et al., 2015). In general, the studies point to many advantages that are inherent in peer work, such as enhanced mental well-being, the acquisition of prosocial skills, and strengthening recovery (e.g., Aresti et al., 2010; Heidemann et al., 2016; LeBel et al., 2015; Marsh, 2011; Maruna, 2002; O'Sullivan et al., 2020). Peer support (also known as peer work, peer-to-peer-support, and peer mentoring) is thus a practical opportunity for the formerly incarcerated to model prosocial skills, prove themselves, and, in some cases, procure gainful employment as many of them have difficulty in finding suitable work in the community (Buck, 2021).

For individuals with a history of addiction and incarceration who seek to recover and reintegrate successfully in the community, a major challenge is the need for social forgiveness. Maruna (2002), in his seminal study on released people who have managed to amend their lives, found that aiding others (“making good”), especially peers and at-risk populations, enabled them to gain social forgiveness, atonement, and redemption (Maruna, 2002).

Although the aspects of forgiveness are known to be relevant to recovery and desistance from crime (LeBel et al., 2015; Lin et al., 2004; Maruna, 2002; Pingleton, 1989; Yu et al., 2021; Webb & Toussaint, 2018), little is known about the process whereby forgiveness promotes recovery and maintains desistance, especially of wounded healers in the field of criminology. The present study, the first of its kind in Israel, aims to examine the value of forgiveness among people with a history of addiction and incarceration who are officially employed in peer support positions, hence its novelty.

Peer Supporters as Wounded Healers

Peer support is founded on the premise of a wounded healer helping others in a similar situation based on his/her personal knowledge and experience. In the field of criminology, this refers to individuals with a history of addiction and incarceration, which are often overlapping populations, who assist peers to recover and rehabilitate, based on their experiential knowledge (Elisha, 2022, 2023).This principle is most evident in self- and mutual-help groups for addicts such as the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, where the recovery process is based on peer mentorship through implementation of the12-Step Program (Borkman, 1990; Borkman et al., 2020). Based on their knowledge and experience, recovering mentors offer relevant insights and support to the newly recovering peers (White, 2009). The mentors also benefit from their aid efforts, as it strengthens their commitment to recovery and allows them to get support from others too, if needed (Perrin & Blagden, 2016).

In recent years, peer-mentoring projects have been implemented—in prisons and the community, and in various countries worldwide, such as the US, England and Wales, Canada, and Australia (Burnett & Maruna, 2006; Clute et al., 2019; Devilly et al., 2005; Wincup, 2019). In Israel, mutual aid groups for addicts also operate (Einat, 2017). These programs aim to transfer and model prosocial attitudes and behaviors (Bellamy et al., 2012; Dhaliwal & Harrower, 2009) by utilizing existing human capital resources of formerly incarcerated men and women seeking to mend their lives. Such programs focus on providing emotional, educational, and practical assistance and on preventing addiction, bullying, sexual assault, and suicide (Devilly et al., 2005). These are provided across various roles, such as rehab instruction, mentoring, counseling, modeling, and guidance, in a variety of rehabilitation settings in the community and in prison (Perrin & Blagden, 2016).

Studies in various countries highlight the many advantages inherent in peer-mentoring roles, especially for the aid providers, that is, the wounded healers. These include gaining a sense of competence, self-worth, accomplishment, and satisfaction; achieving new meaning and purpose in life; enhanced feelings of belonging and improving relationships; and a more substantial commitment to desisting from crime (e.g., Aresti et al., 2010; Heidemann et al., 2016; LeBel et al., 2015; Marsh, 2011; Maruna, 2002; O'Sullivan et al., 2020; White, 2009; Woods, 2020).

Peer support is also a means for enhancing social capital that replaces former criminal social capital (Kay, 2020) through involvement and commitment with normative people and organizations. Social capital is considered an essential element in recovery and desistance (Best & Laudet, 2010; Farrall & Maruna, 2004; Mills & Codd, 2008), as it expands the prosocial networks of formerly incarcerated and addicted individuals, providing them with support and encouragement for a crime-free life. This is against the notorious “revolving door” phenomenon that heightens the social exclusion and negative stigma they often face (Wincup, 2019).

The Virtue of Forgiveness and its Contribution to the Healing Process

Enright (Enright et al., 1998), in his model of interpersonal forgiveness, defines forgiveness as a moral virtue that involves the individual's recognition of the damage incurred, while avoiding resentment toward those who wronged them in the past. Indeed, such individuals may even cultivate compassion, generosity, and perhaps love toward the perpetrators (Enright et al., 2001; North, 1987).

Forgiveness involves showing goodwill and mercy toward the perpetrator, after revealing that one has been hurt and expressing one's painful feelings. Enright emphasizes, however, that forgiveness does not mean denying, ignoring, justifying, excusing, or neglecting the sense of injustice, hurt, and anger that one feels as an injured person (Enright et al., 1998). It also includes learning to view the perpetrator as a human being worthy of respect and understanding the offender despite his hurtful actions. Additionally, forgiveness incorporates ongoing decisions and processes that do not occur instantly and therefore need to be addressed, as Enright suggests in his Forgiveness Therapy (FT) model (Enright et al., 2016).

However, there has been concern over whether self-forgiveness (SF) promotes the excusing and self-justifications of harmful behaviors, mainly among those with a background of criminality and addiction (Squires et al., 2012; Wohl & McLaughlin, 2014). Enright & Fitzgibbons (2000) regard the notion of forgiveness as a moral choice to be authentically kind to oneself. In contrast, pseudo-SF (Wohl & McLaughlin, 2014), that is, a false sense of SF, assumes the need for self-impression, which according to accounts theory (Maruna & Copes, 2005; Maruna & Liem, 2021), is associated with denial and avoidance of responsibility. According to Ronel (2011), pseudo-SF results from increased self-centeredness, reflecting an inner struggle. The choice to retaliate is still present, as is the difficulty in managing shame and guilt (Squires et al., 2012; Tangney et al., 2005).

The authentic sense of SF is correlated with an experience of benevolence and diminished sense of retaliation, resentment, and self-condemnation (Wohl & McLaughlin, 2014). It enables one to deal constructively with overwhelming negative emotions toward oneself, such as shame and guilt, and to reduce (self-) destructive behaviors (Squires et al., 2012; Tangney et al., 2005; Wohl & McLaughlin, 2014). Overall, SF is negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, guilt, blame and rumination, self-criticism, self-destruction, self-condemnation, and self-resentment—and positively correlated with mental and physical health (Hall & Fincham, 2005).

Forgiveness of self and of others is a crucial component in recovery. It promotes the development of other virtues, such as empathy and the reduction of negative emotions (Enright et al., 2016). Past findings have also demonstrated that being involved in helping others encourages compassion and empathy for oneself and others. Thus, the ability to develop forgiveness and SF is likely relevant to recovery capital (Cloud & Granfield, 2008), which promotes processes of rehabilitation from addiction and desistance from crime.

Enright's FT

Based on his principles of interpersonal forgiveness (Enright et al., 1991), Enright's FT (Enright et al., 2016) is now being applied across a variety of groups, including people involved in the criminal justice system (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000). Recently, a review of studies of Enright's FT was published, including controlled clinical trials conducted in varied settings and cultures (Freedman & Enright, 2020). Overall, it found that FT improved the participants’ mental well-being, with these positive results persisting over time. In most studies, FT lasted several months or longer (between 12 weeks to 14 months).

Considering the troubled background of the formerly incarcerated and addicted—including traumas and vulnerabilities—forgiveness is very relevant. On the one hand, such individuals bear negative feelings toward those who have wronged them—such as resentment, hostility, anger, and hatred. On the other hand, they feel shame and guilt for harming others. Enright (Enright et al., 2016) offers to confront such injustice through forgiveness, which allows one to transcend self-centeredness, reduce negative feelings, be compassionate and empathetic to others, reconstruct one's self-identity, and to heal.

Indeed, FT has been proven to be effective in healing psychological vulnerability and promoting the well-being of incarcerees. Studies of patients in drug rehabilitation institutions (Lin et al., 2004) and men incarcerated in a U.S. maximum-security prison who reported trauma in their past (Yu et al., 2021) have yielded positive findings. Among the results were a significant reduction in negative emotions (anger, depression, and anxiety), along with a greater sense of self-worth and willingness to forgive others. Enhanced mental well-being among participants, compared with control groups was also noted (Lin et al., 2004; Yu et al., 2021). Nonetheless, the issue of forgiveness in the world of wounded healers in criminological research has been hardly explored.

The Present Study

The present study is part of a larger study aimed at examining the perceived effects of professional peer work among wounded healers with a history of incarceration and addiction (Elisha & Shachaf-Friedman, 2023). In this article, we focus on the healing value of forgiveness and related virtues, as highlighted proactively by the study's participants in their roles as wounded healers.

Method

The investigation was based on principles of qualitative research (Flick, 2013) that aim to explore and understand an investigated phenomenon from the subjective perception of those who have experienced it, in an effort to reveal the phenomenon in question in the most authentic and in-depth manner possible.

Findings

This section begins with a general background on the respondents, followed by the interviewee-identified themes regarding forgiveness and its derivatives, accompanied with the respondents’ direct quotes, using pseudonyms.

Peer Work as a Means of Atonement for the Negative Past

Respondents linked their process of recovery to a spiritual awakening experienced after a personal crisis, or participation in a rehabilitation program (e.g., restorative justice procedure, 12-step program), and/or an encounter with someone who inspired them to recover, such as a recovering peer, a staff member, or therapist. This included soul-searching, taking personal responsibility for their actions, reconciliation with their past and society, along with developing positive emotions, and transcending self-centeredness and self-pity. Over time, they felt the urge to assist peers to atone for their past negative actions.

For example, Tom, who was released from prison several years ago (he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and gained an early release for good behavior), referred to the harsh feelings that arose in him after encountering his victim's relatives in court. This led him to recognize the consequences of his actions and a desire to atone through peer work:

The soul recognizes itself in somebody else… Look at the things you have done and how you have harmed other people, and it just does something to your heart… The mother and the sister of the victim of my crime sat behind me in court and cried. That's something that I’ll never forget, which is part of why I do what I do right now. Because he can never get his life back, but I can do something to honor him. (Tom)

Notably, the respondents stated that they found their humanity and the capacity for love and giving back to others following participation in peer-based programs, whether in prison or in the community. Today, they seek to inspire others and assist peers to recover. Their desire to give back to others through their role as peer supporters is a significant expression of the development of virtues and deviation from self-centeredness:

Prison helped me find my humanity. Because I realized that in all that brokenness, in all that despair, there was something unique about each person that was in there… A lot of us had been abused—sexually, emotionally, physically. We had been told things about ourselves that were not true… I get calls from brothers that don’t believe anything. I get calls from people that just want me to listen. And I said to them, you matter. (Sean)

Similarly, Arnon described a sense of meaning and mission in passing on his “awakening” experience to fellow inmates. The care for others’ recovery and helping them was described as “not being selfish”:

I started making contact. People accepted me, and I felt a sense of meaning, satisfaction—and even a sense of mission. Working as an addict's guide is a mission… If you saved yourself and had some awakening, you must wake others up, pass it on to others, give it to others, help others, and not be selfish. Yes, it's a mission. (Arnon)

Discussion

Applying the emerging perspective of convict therapy (Elisha, 2023), this study aimed to examine the healing value of forgiveness among formerly incarcerated people who managed to recover and rehabilitate and who are currently employed in formal peer-support positions, that is, wounded healers.

As cited in previous studies conducted with individuals with a history of incarceration and addiction, this study's respondents reported traumatic childhood experiences such as emotional neglect, physical and/or sexual abuse, as well as learning difficulties, behavioral disorders, and addiction at a young age (e.g., Bowler et al., 2018; Dalsklev et al., 2021; Martin et al., 2015). Many had served several prison sentences and had endured years of addiction, mainly to drugs and alcohol. As they describe it, the decision to change their way of life was sparked by a spiritual awakening after a personal or family crisis or an encounter with someone who inspired them to recover, usually a recovered peer with whom they identified and therefore believed in their ability to recover. As Maruna and colleagues (Maruna et al., 2009) formulated in their concept, identity transformation, personal transformation, and recovery from addiction is comprised of an element of reflection as individuals begin to believe in their ability to change and recover, when others around them project this belief.

Desistance from crime can be frightening. Peer-supporters can reduce such fears by demonstrating success. They are living role models, inspiring newly recovering addicts that change is possible, while encouraging and instilling them with hope, faith, and belief for a better future (Buck, 2019; Gesser, 2022). Peer support also helps the aid providers themselves, as our respondents pointed out, and as documented in previous studies (e.g., Lopez-Humphreys & Teater, 2020; Maruna, 2002; Rumgay, 2004). Our interviewees’ accounts indicate that peer work offers a role that allows them to practice their new pro-social identity—that of wounded healers. These findings reinforce the study's premise that peer support makes a vital and mutual contribution to the recovery and rehabilitation of individuals with a background of incarceration and addiction—as postulated by the convict therapy perspective (Elisha, 2023).

Participants highlighted how forgiveness contributed to their recovery in several respects. First, it enabled reconciliation with their past when they assumed personal responsibility for their lives and actions and transcended self-centeredness and resentment, developing positive emotions toward themselves and others (such as love, compassion, empathy, hope, faith, acceptance, and forgiveness). These findings are consistent with the fundamental premise of Enright's forgiveness theory (Enright, 1996; Enright et al., 1998; Enright et al., 2001)—namely, that people who have harmed others and been harmed by others can benefit from forgiveness. Specifically, forgiveness permits them to overcome psychological distress by reducing negative emotions, resentment, guilt, and shame, while enhancing positive feelings toward themselves and others (Song et al., 2021; Squires et al., 2012; Tangney et al., 2005; Wohl & McLaughlin, 2014; Woolf, 2009).

The respondents’ decisions to engage in peer-support work can be seen as another step in their moral development, as they choose to do so to pass on grace and goodness, and thereby also atone for their harmful past actions. They note that forgiveness has been key to their recovery process and their ability to deal constructively with the difficult emotions of guilt and shame. They gained the capacity to acknowledge their own part in bringing about their plight. Rather than placing the blame solely on others, which allowed them to view others with less contempt, they achieved a more balanced view of the world—and the capacity to be more forgiving. This finding is in line with research on internal and external locus of control (fatalism) (e.g., Asgarizadeh & Ghanbari, 2022; Schoenleber et al., 2021; Wang & Anderson, 1994).

The novelty of the present study lies in its recognition of the healing value of forgiveness in its various dimensions—forgiveness of others (to forgive), forgiveness from others (to be forgiven), SF, and social forgiveness, through the formal practice of peer support. As noted by researchers in crime desistance, the strengths-based productive activity of peer work allows formerly incarcerated people to gain forgiveness and redemption—essential in the process of rehabilitation and reintegration (LeBel et al., 2015; Maruna, 2002; Maruna & LeBel, 2009). Respondents also refer to their peer work as a means of reconciling and “closing a circle” with the past, especially for those who direct their aid efforts at their communities of origin. The respondents in our study were able to perceive themselves as essentially good people at heart, who have done terrible things in the past due to bad choices in dealing with difficult life circumstances. They attested that their impulse to help their peers was driven mainly by the quest of gaining self and social forgiveness, that is, to atone for their past harms, and to redeem themselves from their troubled personal history.

Therefore, peer supporters, that is, wounded healers, are individuals who have managed to connect with their inner goodness and strengths. They are motivated to help others, especially those of similar backgrounds and problems, in an effort to gain self and social forgiveness. Moreover, they perceive their peer work as being meaningful, valuable, and purposeful, fulfilling them both emotionally and spiritually. Their peer work has enabled them to view themselves more positively and to construct a new prosocial self-identity, that of “wounded healers.” Thus, peer work promotes personal and social changes by enhancing social capital (McNeill, 2012; Wincup, 2019), for example, by developing moral virtues. The new, prosocial identity functions as an antilabeling mechanism of their past negative identity (Braithwaite, 1989; Maruna & LeBel, 2009; Maruna et al., 2004) in which forgiveness plays a meaningful role.

That said, along with these positive findings, some of the participants admitted that forgiveness does not come easily to them, especially forgiving others who have harmed them and that—as also noted by Enright (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000)—it is a complex and continual process. It is also important to note that our interviewees reported encountering specific difficulties in their work, such as professional conflicts and emotional burdens, as indicated in previous studies (Elisha, 2022; White, 2009). Nevertheless, they stated that they intend to continue their peer work and to develop professionally through additional study and training. This may be seen as yet another indicator of their newly established self-identity as wounded healers.

In sum, while the therapeutic value of forgiveness has already been demonstrated among incarcerated individuals who took part in Enright's FT (Lin et al., 2004; Yu et al., 2021), forgiveness has not been examined among wounded healers with a history of incarceration and addiction, as this study suggested. The findings here do expressly highlight the healing value of forgiveness in peer-support work performed by former inmates—and therein lies its innovation.

As well, this investigation's results have several theoretical and practical implications. First, they bolster crime desistance theory (Farrall & Maruna, 2004; LeBel et al., 2015; Maruna, 2002; McNeill, 2012) and the positive criminology perspective (Ronel & Elisha, 2011, 2020), which underline the individual's ability to rehabilitate by developing personal and positive strengths, such as those inherent in peer work (Maruna & LeBel., 2009). Second, they reaffirm the Convict Therapy perspective, which explicitly highlights the healing value intrinsic in peer-support work, both for the aid giver and for the aid recipient (Elisha, 2023).

In the practical aspect, in view of the proven therapeutic contribution of forgiveness in the recovery and rehabilitation of former incarcerated and addicted individuals (Lin et al., 2004; Yu et al., 2021), we recommend expanding the use of Enright's FT (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000; Enright et al., 2016) in a variety of global settings, for at-risk individuals and people with a background of addiction, crime, and incarceration.

The primary limitation of this research is that the sample is comprised primarily of people with addiction problems, who are familiar with the wounded healer principle as part of their implementation of the 12-step program (Perrin & Blagden, 2016; White, 2009). Hence, they do not represent all the wounded healers in criminological applications. It is therefore recommended that researchers examine the value of forgiveness across wider and more diverse samples of wounded healers in the discipline. For this study, it should be noted that there are very few peer-based programs in Israel; this group was the most accessible. Finally, it is also recommended that quantitative research designs based on Enright's principles of forgiveness be developed to better measure aspects of forgiveness among wounded healers and reach more valid conclusions.