In this study the effects of forgiveness therapy on the resilience, self-esteem, and spirituality of wives of men suffering from alcohol abuse was examined.

The study design was a quasi-experimental design. Forgiveness therapy was conducted once a week for 12 weeks. Data were obtained from March 2012 to December 2013. Participants were chosen from women in two Alcohol Counseling Centers. Of the 29 participants, 16 were assigned to the experimental group and 13 to the control group. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, χ²-test, and repeated measure ANOVA.

There were statistically significantly differences for resilience, self-esteem, and spirituality between the experimental and control groups. Forgiveness therapy improved the resilience, self-esteem, and spirituality in the experimental group compared to the control group (p<.05). In follow-up tests, the experimental group had a statistically significantly increase only in self-esteem.

This study results show that forgiveness therapy is effective in improving resilience, self-esteem, and spirituality in wives of men suffering from alcohol abuse. Therefore, forgiveness therapy can be considered a useful nursing intervention to promote improvements in emotional stability and provide pain relief for these wives.