The Perceived Impact of a Faith-Based Divorce Support Group on One’s Spiritual Strength, Mental Health and Ability to Forgive Oneself and Others

Faith-based support groups are an important offering by churches to provide resources and support to those in their community who are experiencing difficult circumstances. And for those who are going through a divorce and may question the support that they would receive within their church, the offering of a faith-based divorce support group can be encouraging. Faith-based divorce support groups may allow individuals to gather and learn about the divorce journey as they focus on mental health, forgiveness, spiritual growth, and other unique aspects of divorce. Due to the limited existing research on faith-based divorce support groups, I sought to expand on the available information and provide more insight into how these groups impact spiritual strength/faith, ability to forgive themselves and others, and an individual’s mental health. The data for the study was obtained by interviewing 9 individuals who have participated in Divorce Care (a faith-based divorce support group). All the participants reported perceiving an impact on their faith, mental health, and ability to forgive themselves and others due to their involvement in the DivorceCare program. Regarding their mental health, normalizing the divorce experience, easing feelings of isolation, something to look forward to, and benefits to going through the program multiple times emerged as themes. When participants reflected on the impact that the group had on their spirituality/faith, a strengthening of faith and recalibration of beliefs were common themes. Discussing how the program impacted their ability to forgive other people, a desire to not be bitter and the key to healing were common themes throughout the interviews. And finally, while discussing how DivorceCare impacted participants’ ability to forgive themselves, acknowledging own part and moving forward were common themes. This may aid in showing the benefits of these groups and why one should seek a faith-based support group.