English to Spanish Art/Literary Psychology Manipulative people

Context:

If he for one minute allowed himself to view himself as a culprit, he might have had second thoughts.

His denial is not just the way he protects or “defends” his self-image as classical psychology theories postulate, it’s the vehicle by which he grants himself per-mission to keep on doing what he might otherwise not do.

My translation of the first sentence: Si se permitiera por un instante considerarse a sí mismo como culpable, se arrepentiría.

Note: My question is if 'se arrepentiría' makes sense here.

Thanks