<![CDATA[Adolescents face various academic, social, and interpersonal demands that may affect their psychological well-being. Conflicts with peers, hurtful experiences, and difficulty managing emotions may lead to negative emotions. Forgiveness is one psychological skill that can be developed as an adaptive coping strategy to support adolescent mental health. This community service program aimed to implement GenMaaf, a forgiveness-based psychoeducational program designed to strengthen forgiving character as a promotive and preventive effort to support mental health in the school setting. The program involved 25 students in Grades X and XI at Senior High School 1 Banda Aceh, aged 15–17 years. Psychoeducation was delivered in two sessions covering mental health and forgiveness; the concept and characteristics of forgiveness; barriers and consequences in the forgiveness process; forgiveness strategies and practices; and reflection. Program evaluation was conducted before and after the psychoeducation using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale. The evaluation results showed an increase in the median psychological well-being score from 19 to 21, with a statistically significant difference (W = 42.50, p =0.03) and a large effect size (|r| = .55). In contrast, forgiveness scores did not show a significant change (W = 159.00, p =0.53, r =0.15). These findings indicate that brief forgiveness-based psychoeducation may provide initial benefits for adolescents’ psychological well-being, whereas internalizing forgiving character and behavior may require a longer process, repeated practice, and ongoing environmental support. GenMaaf can be further developed as part of school-based promotive and preventive mental health programs.]]>
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