Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine forgiveness levels of the mental health professionals and candidates. 552 health care professionals and candidates in total participated in the study, of which 101 are psychological counselor candidates, 141 are psychologist candidates, 115 are psychological counselors, and 165 are psychologists. Forgiveness Scale was used in order to determine the level of forgiveness. According to the results of One-Way MANOVA, it was found that the self-forgiveness levels of the mental health professionals were significantly higher than those of candidates, and the forgiveness of others levels of the psychological counselor candidates were significantly lower than those of the other groups. According to the results of Two-Way ANOVA, forgiveness levels of males and females did not differ significantly; forgiveness levels of the mental health professionals who have longer years of professional experience were significantly higher than those of the other groups. The variance that arises in forgiveness of others levels of the psychologist candidates and psychological counselor candidates who receive undergraduate education was not found in the professionals that work in the field. The findings were discussed in the light of related literature.