SELF-FORGIVENESS, SELF-ACCEPTANCE OR INTRAPERSONAL RESTORATION? OPEN ISSUES IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FORGIVENESS

The first attempts to conceptually address the self-forgiveness tended to consider it from the findings of the theory of interpersonal forgiveness, trying aiming to find parallels between the two forms of forgiveness. However, some there are empirical data that question that whether self-forgiveness is can be considered as just one another type of forgiveness, since interpersonal forgiveness and self-forgiveness are based on very different psychological factors. The This paper reviews the available knowledge available to date and presents a proposal about the temporal course of self-forgiveness, collecting the elements of the main theoretical models to provide the reader with a complete and coherent view of the process. It is We concluded that the best approach to understanding self-forgiveness is to consider it from the perspective of the offender, understanding the subject as someone who must seek and receive forgiveness, rather than someone who should grant it.