When To Use It
Use this when the client needs to practice acknowledging what is valid in another person's response while keeping their own position.
Validation Teaching and Example Tool
Validation is a DBT interpersonal effectiveness tool for practitioners teaching clients how to acknowledge another person's emotions, thoughts, or behavior without necessarily agreeing. It helps the client identify what is valid, draft a validating statement, and notice invalidating responses to avoid.
Explore a sample validation example
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Tool guide
Learn more about this tool
Use this background section to understand when the tool fits, how practitioners use it, and what to consider before sharing it with clients.
Relevant Limitation
The tool does not rate the other person, decide who is correct, or claim that validation will solve the problem.
Does validation mean agreement?
No. The tool explicitly separates validation from agreement or approval.
Can this be used only for psychoeducation?
Yes. If only teaching is needed, the example fields can remain unused.
What if the client cannot find anything valid?
The result shows that as a coaching need for practitioner review.