Forgiveness Therapy: Inpatient Substance-Dependent Clients

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Article Summary The article, Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Anger, Mood, and Vulnerability to Substance Use Among Inpatient Substance-Dependent Clients, begins with an abstract, giving a brief description of the reason for the article, the research methods being used, and the findings that will be discussed in detail. The authors introduce the topic, discussing the link between anger and other emotional feelings that impact the substance abuse in individuals. The authors discuss the 12 week study on all of the clients, giving their age and treatment plan in detail. The forgiveness therapy method involved clients reading a chapter at a time in a book, then discussing the chapter they read during their sessions. During the alcohol and drug…show more content…
The first sentence of the introduction explores the issue of anger and violence being higher in individuals who abuse substances. This statement is based on other research from other sources, proving that it is a problem area to be investigated. When writing a journal article, it is common for researchers to provide conceptual definitions of key terms (Pyrczak, 2008). The authors in this article discuss the concept of forgiveness therapy, clearly defining the concept for readers. They explain the process of forgiveness therapy as well. Avoiding plagiarism is important for any written work. Citing sources avoids plagiarism, giving credit to authors for their work. Lin et al. credits authors for factual statements. A reference page is included at the end of the article for researchers to use as needed. When stating what the research purpose is, writers should clearly and logically flow from this idea throughout the article. Lin et al. states that they will test their hypothesis by placing different clients in either the forgiveness therapy or the alcohol and drug counseling programs. Logically, the following paragraphs of the paper should discuss the treatments of these groups along with their findings regarding the treatments. Yes, Lin et al. logically flows into the rest of the journal writing describing the trial and providing visuals to discuss…show more content…
The authors clearly point out the specific problem to be discussed and key terms are identified. Research is properly cited and current, relevant research is used as well. Direct quotations are used only when appropriate and are limited. Critique of Research Questions The researchers are trying to explore the connection between certain behaviors and emotions to the abuse of substances in clients. Precisely, the researchers are exploring the effects of the forgiveness therapy on these particular types of behavior such as anger and depression. There is a desire to determine if forgiveness therapy can help prevent use of substances such as alcohol and drugs over just alcohol and drug rehab counseling programs. The research hypothesis is clearly stated; “We hypothesized that individuals in residential treatment for alcohol and drug dependence, after receiving treatment augmented by FT, would demonstrate less anger, depression, anxiety, and vulnerability to substance use and more self-esteem than those receiving

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