Forgiveness letters: A healing tool for emotional release

KEY POINTS

Psychologist Kiki Ramsey recommends writing forgiveness letters as a way to release pent-up emotions.

Retired professor Everett L. Worthington Jr. says unsolicited forgiveness can cause tension and mistrust.

Research indicates that forgiveness improves mental and physical health.

Before her mother died, Kiki Ramsey wrote her a letter talking about the impact that her mother’s addiction had on her as she was growing up. She ended the letter by writing, “I forgive you.”

She wrote a similar letter to herself, because she figured there was a lot to forgive there, as well.

Ramsey is a psychologist, the founder and CEO at The Positive Psychology Coaching and Diversity Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. And she’s a strong proponent of writing forgiveness letters to help free yourself