The Validation Breakthrough : Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimers and Other Dementias

Since the 1980s, the Validation method has been recognized worldwide as a reliable and effective approach used by care staff and families to communicate with people experiencing memory loss and disorientation. Put into practice, it can relieve distress and confusion, promote dignity, improve engagement, and reduce conflicts.

This easy-to-read book explains the essential principles and practices of Validation and illustrates them with compelling stories and photos. When a person’s actions or expressions seem inexplicable, the Validation method is a tool to bridge the gap and connect with that person’s reality. Care providers gain powerful tools for improving lives by focusing on the social and psychological needs of the person experiencing dementia.

Through case studies presented by a variety of practitioners, see how Validation works in different care settings. Also in this revised edition, learn how to:

• Choose the best strategies to use for each situation or phase
• Use empathy and compassion to build trusting relationships with residents
• Move beyond facts to relieve hidden sources of stress, fear, and anger
• Interpret nonverbal cues to promote better engagement

This resource is essential for professionals in all settings serving adults with memory loss. The Validation method empowers care partners to achieve surprising results and connections—in all manner of circumstances. Enjoy the many benefits of breaking through dementia to touch the true lives within.

Benefits of Validation:

• Residents express less anger and anxiety
• Use of antipsychotic medications declines
• Improved communication produces increased engagement and feelings of self-worth
• Residents often exhibit more flexibility and strength in their movements
• Staff members feel better prepared to handle difficult situations
• Work-related stress and burnout diminish
• Families experience more joy in their relationships with loved ones

Naomi Feil, M.S., A.C.S.W., is the developer of Validation. She was born in Munich in 1932, and grew up in the Montefiore Home for the Aged in Cleveland Ohio, where her father was the administrator and her mother, the head of the Social Service Department. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University in New York, she began working with the elderly. Between 1963 and 1980, Mrs. Feil developed Validation as a response to her dissatisfaction with traditional methods of working with the severely disoriented older people who were her clients. In 1982 she published her first book, Validation: The Feil Method, which was revised in 1992. Her second book, The Validation Breakthrough, was published in 1993, and updated and revised in 2012. Feil and her husband have made many films and videos about aging and Validation. Feil is the Executive Director of the Validation Training Institute and a popular speaker in North America and Europe. Since 1989 she has toured Europe 3 times a year offering workshops in Validation to participants in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, and Austria. Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Italian, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, and Japanese.

Vicki de Klerk-Rubin, R.N., M.B.A., works full-time as a Validation Master-Teacher and lecturer as well as Naomi Feil’s manager in Europe. As European Manager, she was a founding member of the European Validation Association (1993) and assisted in the development of Authorized Validation Organizations in Austria, Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States of America. She taught the first formal Validation course in 1994 and since then has been training internationally, delivering certification courses at all levels. As AVO Coordinator for the Validation Training Institute, she has assisted in the development of Authorized Validation Organizations in the United States, and written the AVO Guidelines. Ms. de Klerk-Rubin, working with teams of Validation Teachers, has shepherded the development of standardized course curricula, levels of certification, quality guidelines and testing materials. She has been an advisor to the Validation Training Institute Board of Trustees since its inception and a member since 2009. She currently holds the dual positions of Board Secretary and AVO Coordinator. Ms. de Klerk-Rubin received her BFA from Boston University (1978), an MBA from Fordham University (1983), and a Nursing degree from Hogeschool Holland, Amsterdam (1997). She has published numerous articles on Validation in Dutch and British magazines and co-authored the revisions of Naomi Feil’s publications. Her book, Validation Techniques for Dementia Care: The Family Guide to Improving Communication has been published in multiple languages.