Emotional Validation

An Emotional Validation is a psychological process of expressing acceptance and understanding of another person's emotional experience.

• Context:
  • It can be a component of Healthy Relationships.
  • It can be practiced in Therapeutic Settings.
  • It can improve Human Communication, Trust, and Emotional Well-Being.
  • It can require Emotional Intelligence.
  • It can satisfy a Craving to be Heard.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • A friend replies “You're really hurting, I'm here for you” when a friend shared their feelings of sadness.
  • In a therapy session, a therapist may use emotional validation to acknowledge and normalize a client's feelings of anxiety.
  • In a couple dealing with chronic pain, one partner acknowledges and validates the other partner's pain and struggles.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Emotional Invalidation, such as: “You shouldn't feel that way” or “You're overreacting".
  • Emotional Disinterest, such as: A parent continues watching television.
• See: Active Listening, Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Mental Health, Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

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References

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_validation Retrieved:2023-7-18.
  • Emotional validation is the process of acknowledging and accepting another person's inner emotional experience and communicating that acceptance. Validating an emotion does not mean agreeing with the other person or justifying it.

2023

• https://youtu.be/Mde2q7GFCrw?t=657
  • QUOTE: ... Most individuals, if not all, crave to be heard. They want someone to focus entirely on them - their spouse, parent, friend, or even their political representatives. Unfortunately, this often isn't the case. However, with the rise of AI, there is now an entity capable of focusing 100% of its attention on our feelings. This presents a considerable temptation, but it's also a great danger. ...

2023

• (Andalibi & Garcia, 2023) ⇒ Nazanin Andalibi, Pamela Garcia. (2023). “Sensemaking and coping after pregnancy loss: the seeking and disruption of emotional validation online.” In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer,
  • QUOTE: Discusses the dual facets of emotional validation – informational and experiential. The authors identify encounters that disrupt the process of seeking, achieving, and maintaining emotional validation.

2021

• (Ferrajão, 2021) ⇒ Paulo C. Ferrajão. (2021). “The role of parental emotional validation and invalidation on children's clinical symptoms: A study with children exposed to intimate partner violence.” In: Journal of Family Trauma, Child Custody & Child,
  • NOTE: Ferrajão explores the impact of emotional validation, particularly parental, on children's mental health, especially those exposed to intimate partner violence.

2016

• (Lambie & Lindberg, 2016) ⇒ John A. Lambie, Ashley Lindberg. (2016). “The role of maternal emotional validation and invalidation on children's emotional awareness.” In: Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (1982-),
  • NOTE: Describes emotional validation as a nonjudgmental approach to a child's feelings and note that successful validation is crucial for the child's emotional awareness.

2011

• (Leong, Cano & Johansen, 2011) ⇒ Leanne E. M. Leong, Annmarie Cano, Annette B. Johansen. (2011). “Sequential and base rate analysis of emotional validation and invalidation in chronic pain couples: Patient gender matters.” In: The Journal of Pain,
  • NOTE: This study examines the patterns of emotional validation and invalidation in couples dealing with chronic pain and the relationship of these patterns to pain management and marital satisfaction.

2008

• (Kasworm, 2008) ⇒ Carol E. Kasworm. (2008). “Emotional challenges of adult learners in higher education.” In: New directions for adult and continuing education,
  • NOTE: Investigates the emotional struggles of adult learners, and how their worlds of action, commitment, emotional validation, and conflict intersect.

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