Book/Media Review: The Validation Breakthrough—Simple Techniques for Communicating With People With Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias

We should be grateful for the life and death of Florence Trew (1872-1963). She influenced Naomi Feil to begin exploring “Validation.” It was born in 1963, on the death of Florence Trew. Validation is a theory, a method, and an attitude. It is a theory that very old people need to resolve unfinished issues before death; a method with 15 different techniques; and an attitude of respect for the disoriented older person. The basic premise of Validation is that we can relate to older persons with dignity and respect—even in the face of cognitive loss.

Naomi Feil is the founder of the Validation Training Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Today, more than 30 000 facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia use Validation. This is the third book written about Validation. The criticisms by dementia care professionals of earlier writings about Validation have proven helpful and resulted in this third book, which brings more clarification about Validation. The most dramatic change has been a shift from calling “Validation” a theory to calling it a method. It is now seen as a process that grows with trust and intimacy between care practitioners/givers and persons who are diagnosed with having Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The end result is to help disoriented persons resolve unfinished life tasks, crises, or other business in the final stages of their lives.

The book is divided into 3 sections: (a) Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia and the Use of Validation, (b) Validation in Practice, and (c) Group Validation. There is an additional discussion of Experiences of Professionals in the United States and abroad.

One of the techniques described when working with Validation is “centering yourself to rid yourself of your own emotions” before working with the other. Those of us who have been caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias will understand how important this is. This book will help thousands of professionals and family caregivers improve their relationships with those for whom they care.