ABSTRACT
Validation strategies provide the counterpoint to the problemsolving strategies (see Chapters 18-23) and together these two sets of strategies form the heart of DBT. In validating the client, the therapist identifies and confirms veridical aspects of the client’s emotional responses, thoughts, behaviours and goals. Validation strongly contrasts with clients’ self-invalidation and historical and current environmental invalidation, in which others in their environment dismiss aspects of the clients’ responses as inaccurate or inappropriate. DBT assumes that within all aspects of the clients’ functioning-no matter how dysfunctional to the outside observera component of the response is wise, functional and makes sense, i.e. is valid. The client’s goals, past history or current environmental context may provide reasons for validation. For example, suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviour may be the only strategy that the client has learnt to decrease extreme negative affect; as such these behaviours are valid in terms of both the client’s past learning history and current goal to decrease emotional arousal. If a client lives in an environment that only responds to legitimate demands for attention and care when the client harms herself, then this behaviour becomes a valid means of obtaining care in that particular environment. The therapist works with the client to distinguish the valid aspects of any behaviour from the invalid. For example, non-suicidal, self-injurious behaviour has validity with respect to a short-term goal of reducing affect but not with respect to a long-term goal of becoming more stable and in control.
