Validation Therapy

Validation therapy was developed by Naomi Feil for older people with cognitive impairment and dementia. Feil's approach classifies people with cognitive impairment into one of four stages on a continuum of dementia: mal-orientation, time confusion, repetitive motion and vegetative state. Its basic principle is validation, meaning reciprocated communication of respect that acknowledges another person's opinions as heard and respected, and treats them as a legitimate expression of feeling regardless of whether the listener agrees, rather than marginalizing or dismissing them. It is contrasted with reality orientation, in which caregivers regularly remind a person of their current situation, and gave rise to an approach called therapeutic deception, in which caregivers protect people with advanced dementia from re-learning distressing facts they will not remember from one day to the next, for instance by saying a deceased relative is asleep rather than repeatedly telling them the relative has died. There is insufficient scientific evidence to determine whether validation therapy reduces the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, though it has been found to improve job satisfaction and reduce stress for professional caregivers.