Richard S. Balkin, PhD, LPC, NCC, is a Professor and Doctoral Program Coordinator in the Department of Leadership and Counselor Education at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Balkin is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association; Past Editor for the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal for the American Counseling Association; and Past President for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling. Dr. Balkin began practice as a professional counselor in 1993 and has worked in academe since 2003. Dr. Balkin's publications include textbooks on assessment in counseling, research, and the counseling relationship; published tests and technical manuals; peer-reviewed manuscripts; book chapters; and conference proceedings. His counseling experience with at-risk youth was formative to his research agenda, which includes understanding the role of counseling and relevant goals for adolescents in crisis and counseling outcomes. He has published in the area of religious diversity and forgiveness and developed a model and measure for counseling clients through issues of forgiveness and conflict.

"Using real-life examples from clinical experiences, news stories, and personal stories, author Richard Balkin presents this complex topic in a way that is easy to understand and gets readers to think and reflect on their own experiences of forgiveness." -- Renee Borghesi, The New Social Worker

"Richard Balkin's expertise in Practicing Forgiveness clears the sea of ambiguity for counselors to understand the concepts, knowledge base, and true depth of forgiveness. The writings found in this book are a breath of fresh air that will expose readers to empirical data, research, personal stories, and the value and worth of understanding cultural and religious forgiveness." -- LaVelle Hendricks, EdD, Professor of Counseling and Director of College Student Affairs, Texas A&M University-Commerce

"Beautifully written, Rick Balkin's Practicing Forgiveness provides a brilliant conceptualization of the dynamic and often complex path toward forgiveness, and the role that faith, community, and family can play in navigating the aftermaths of loss, injury, and trauma. Drawing from his wealth of experiences as a counselor, researcher, and educator, Dr. Balkin offers a deeply moving accounting of the injuries and injustices we experience as relational beings and proposes empathic and thought-provoking pathways toward reconciling and healing our hurts." -- Thelma Duffey, PhD, Professor and Chair, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Past President, Fellow, and Treasurer, American Counseling Association

"Balkin's approach is refreshingly nonjudgmental; he emphasizes that each situation has many different factors, and refuses to endorse a one-size-fits-all resolution." --Publisher's Weekly