Investigating Facilitating Factors of Forgiveness Process in Betrayed People: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this study was to investigate the facilitators of the forgiveness process in betrayed individuals, which was done qualitatively using phenomenological theory. The study population included all married people who referred to the counseling centers "Sahel Omid" and "Rah-e Eshgh" in Isfahan due to marital infidelity. Using purposive sampling method, 23 participants (10 females and 13 males) were selected from the participants. The research tool included a semi-structured interview with 10 questions about the experience of forgiveness in marital infidelity. The method of analyzing the collected information included coding based on phenomenological theory. The results of the study identified five main categories for the life experience of married couples with the experience of forgiveness in infidels, which were: the characteristics of the spouse, spiritual values, responsibility, love and attention to the negative consequences of the future of divorce. In other words, reviewing the positive characteristics of the spouse, empathy and seeing the role of oneself and others in marital problems and infidelity, love, appealing to spiritual values and finally portraying the future of life with and without a spouse, led to the forgiveness of marital infidelity. Theoretically, this study helps to recognize the experience of forgiveness of betrayed people and practically can help to prepare an intervention model based on the identified experiences to facilitate and remove barriers to forgiveness.