AbstractsPsychology

Validation (i.e., communication of understanding of another’s internal experience) has been theorized to be an important construct and potential mechanism of change in therapy. Its counterpart, invalidation (i.e., communication that valid responses are inaccurate, inappropriate or pathological), is thought to negatively impact treatment course. To date though, no studies have directly examined validation or invalidation in the therapy context. While validation is understood to be related to other therapeutic constructs such as empathy and thought to positively impact the therapeutic alliance (TA), associations among these constructs have yet to be measured. Further, it is unknown how validating and invalidating therapist behaviors may be shaped by pre-existing client characteristics such as emotion dysregulation, affect intensity or personality dysfunction. The current investigation was conducted in three graduate training clinics with a sample of 62 client-therapist dyads. One of the aims of the present study was to examine the associations of observer-rated validation and invalidation with empathy and the TA in order to ascertain whether validation and invalidation are related to but separable from more commonly studied therapeutic constructs. Validation was not significantly associated with empathy or the TA and invalidation was negatively associated with these constructs. A secondary aim was to examine whether therapist validation and invalidation were responsive to client presentation. Therapists were more validating with clients who were less sociable and goal-directed and more invalidating with clients who were more impulsive and had more borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. Our final aim was to examine if validation and invalidation predicted symptom course. Validation interacted with clinic such that more validating behavior by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) therapists (with clients who were on average, more emotionally dysregulated and depressed and had more borderline features and interpersonal problems than clients in the other clinics) predicted next session symptom change, such that next session depressive symptoms were greater than expected from prior session symptoms. Across clinics, invalidation predicted higher depressive symptoms than expected from prior session symptoms. While the findings were mixed, this study has important implications for therapist validating and invalidating behavior on symptom outcomes. Replication in a DBT sample specifically could help clarify findings from the current study. Advisors/Committee Members: Cheavens, Jennifer S. (Advisor).