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Victim Offender Dialogue, Forgiveness Processes, and Other Paths to Healing

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Victim Offender Dialogue, Forgiveness Processes, and Other Paths to Healing The Aftermath of Violence: Victim Offender Dialogue, Forgiveness Processes, and Other Paths to Healing DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Janet Melcher Graduate Program in Social Work The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Mo-Yee Lee, Ph.D., Committee Chair John C. Gibbs, Ph.D. Gil Greene, Ph.D. Copyrighted by Janet Melcher 2013 Abstract This study was designed to learn about what is helpful to people who have lost a loved one as a result of some unlawful act (for example, murder or manslaughter). Those affected by the loss of a loved one due to violent crime are called survivors. Of particular interest in this study was the survivor’s decision to use or not to use Ohio’s restorative justice program known as Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD), a carefully structured procedure that allows the survivor to meet with the offender to ask questions and share information. To provide the context for this qualitative research, literature on forgiveness as a mental health intervention, restorative justice procedures and forgiveness, moral development with its connection to forgiveness, religious coping, and after death communications was reviewed. In this study, survivors’ views about forgiveness were explored with attention to ideas about and experiences of forgiveness for survivors who did participate in VOD and for those who did not. Participants also were asked generally what helped them after the loss and specifically what role spirituality played in their response to the crime. In addition, participants were invited to tell if they had a sense of presence of the deceased or some communication with the deceased loved one. Research participants included: eight survivors who completed VOD and were recruited through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Office of Victim Services; seven survivors who have not gone through a VOD process that were recruited ii through various support groups in Ohio; six VOD facilitators; and key informant Ken Czillinger, one of the founders of Parents of Murdered Children. Data were gathered by conducting an individual in- person semi-structured interview designed to encourage each participant to tell her own story about the crime and how she coped. Also, VOD facilitators participated in an individual in-person interview and VOD files were reviewed. Each participant was available for a brief follow-up phone contact as well. Narrative methods were used to analyze the data. While most survivors remained acutely aware of the absence of the lost loved one, many also reported a return to a day-to-day good emotional functioning. Positive emotional functioning was associated with achieving emotional detachment from the offender. Survivors arrived at this state by various means such as forgiveness, positive religious coping, and refusing to allow the offender to take their lives, too. Differences in the approach to healing were observed between the two survivor groups with five VOD survivors stating that they forgave the offender and no Support Group survivors claiming definitive forgiveness. With regard to communication from the deceased, overall ten participants indicated that either they or a family member had a sense of having some kind of communication or unusual experience that they connected to the deceased, mostly of a helpful nature. Finally, details of the paths to healing with an eye toward fairness thinking and empathy for the offender are highlighted along with suggestions for possible helping interventions based on the experiences of these exemplar participants. iii Acknowledgments Of course, no dissertation comes to the place of completion without many individuals contributing to the process in significant ways. This work is no exception. A number of individuals deserve recognition for their parts in bringing this research to fruition. For this effort I was fortunate to have the sustained support and wise guidance of my Committee Chair, Professor Mo Yee Lee. Dr. Lee has always been flexible and generous with her time and encouragement. I arrive at the conclusion of this experience with fond memories, great admiration, and deep gratitude for Dr. Lee’s astute mentoring. Also, I was quite privileged to take classes on moral development and child development with Ohio State’s Developmental Psychology Professor, John C. Gibbs, and later I was pleased that he agreed to be on the dissertation committee. Dr. Gibbs taught me how to think about the challenges involved in moral development and he continues to raise thought provoking questions about the place of forgiveness in the moral realm. What I learned from Dr. Gibbs strongly influenced the approach to the topics of forgiveness and fairness discussed in this dissertation and I expect that his teachings will continue to have a profound impact on any future scholarly undertakings. Professor Amy Zaharlick was part of the dissertation committee early in the process. Dr. Zaharlick provided great feedback and sensible suggestions about how to set up the research. I am glad that I had iv the opportunity to learn from this master researcher. Since Dr. Zaharlick is now retired from her university position, Professor Gil Greene stepped up to participate on the committee. Dr. Greene’s input was especially helpful for editing and bringing the disparate pieces of the dissertation together to create a more coherent whole. His perceptive suggestions based upon his great range of social work knowledge helped add quality to my final writing. Also, Dr. Susan Kline, Associate Professor in the School of Communication, kindly agreed to serve as the Graduate School Representative for the final oral exam. I appreciate her willingness to serve and I tried to incorporate answers to some of the questions she raised in the finished dissertation. In addition to these professors who took the time to directly participate in the dissertation process, I believe that all of the Ohio State College of Social Work faculty involved in my doctoral level course work played an important role in helping me prepare for this research project. I hope this final product will be a meaningful reflection of the valuable lessons learned from all of my College of Social Work professors. Along with the many professors who supported this dissertation work, a few Ohio State staff members deserve credit for making the final result possible. PhD Program Coordinator, Jennifer Nakayama, provided valuable assistance throughout the time I participated in the doctoral program. She was always willing to help by explaining a policy or procedure, getting a required document where it needed to be, or just generally being sure that all essential details were addressed. I certainly benefited from Jennifer’s conscientious dedication to keeping the social work doctoral students on the right path. More recently, I have been communicating with Beth Bucher, Graduate School v Administrative Associate. I thank Beth for her considerate help with navigating through the finishing steps of the dissertation process. From the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Office of Victim Services (ODRC - OVS), I thank Karin Ho, Administrator, Mike Davis, Assistant Administrator, and Roxanne Swogger, Program Coordinator for their willingness to meet and discuss my ideas for this research. Roxanne Swogger deserves much credit for her role in getting letters to the Victim Offender Dialogue participants, getting notice to the Victim Offender Dialogue Facilitators, and finding the relevant Victim Offender Dialogue records for my review. She also directed me to the necessary contacts to have the research reviewed for ODRC approval. Obviously, I could not have done this research without the cooperation of ODRC, and the research would not have been possible without Roxanne’s substantial contribution. Also, John Chin, ODRC Social Science Research Specialist, was helpful in getting the research through the ODRC approval process and pointing me to helpful ODRC statistics. I thank him, too, for his role in granting permission to reprint the ODRC Adult Parole Authority Map in this dissertation. I thank all of the research participants. Every participant was generous with time and willingness to tell stories or share expert observations. The survivors seemed especially brave as they conveyed narratives of deeply troubling experiences and valiant efforts to prevail in the aftermath of tragic loss. I hope that each survivor will not only be aware of my gratitude for their courageous offering, but will also feel good about the contribution they made to others who may find themselves on similarly disturbing paths. vi The information each one shared certainly has the potential to meet the goal of helping others. Also, the words of the Victim Offender Dialogue Facilitators add to our understanding of the valuable restorative justice procedure and Ken Czillinger’s explanations paved the way for greater awareness of survivors’ experiences. I feel deeply honored to have met each and every participant. Finally, thank you to my adult social worker daughter, Elizabeth, and my husband Carl. There were many times in the process of writing this dissertation that family functions were missed and my contributions to the household operations were minimal. I am thankful that their loving support allowed me to have the remarkable opportunity to carry out this research and then further develop my skills by writing about it. I am truly grateful to all who contributed in some way to what can now be seen in this dissertation. vii Vita June 1974………………………………………………M.S.W. The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Social Work March, 1970…………………………………………..A.B. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio Major-Psychology Most Recent Relevant Employment 9/90 to Present……………………………………..B.S.W. Field Coordinator University of Cincinnati School of Social Work Cincinnati, Ohio Publication Melcher, J. (2008). Orthodox vs. progressive: An invitation to transform professional consciousness. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work (27) 1-2, 183-200.
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