Overview
Emotional validation communicates that someone’s feelings make sense given their situation. Marsha Linehan made it central to dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
📌 At a glance
- Developer
- Marsha Linehan
- Basis
- DBT
- Opposite
- Invalidation
- Related
- Emotion coaching, Active listening
Validation is not agreement
You can validate anger while still asking someone not to slam doors—balancing acceptance and change.
Six levels
- Pay attention.
- Reflect accurately.
- Read the unspoken.
- Understand in light of history.
- Normalize in the present context.
- Be radically genuine.
Invalidation vs validation
| Invalidating | Validating |
|---|---|
| "What’s scary about that?" | "It can be scary the first time." |
| "It’s nothing to cry about." | "You’re upset enough to cry." |
"That makes sense" calms the body. Shenk and Fruzzetti (2011) found validated participants showed less heart-rate and negative-emotion increase.
At home
Pair with emotion labeling for children; validate before problem-solving with partners, then use I-messages.
Frequently asked questions
- Does validating endorse bad behavior?
- No; feelings and behavior are addressed separately.
- How is it different from empathy?
- Validation focuses on communicating that feelings are understandable.
- Can I validate myself?
- Yes; self-validation is a DBT skill.
References
- Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
- Linehan, M. M. (1997). Validation and psychotherapy. In A. C. Bohart & L. S. Greenberg (Eds.), Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy (pp. 353–392). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Shenk, C. E., & Fruzzetti, A. E. (2011). The impact of validating and invalidating responses on emotional reactivity. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(1), 20–36.