Validation is a technique that can help you to help and communicate with your aging adult. Typically used with dementia patients,
validation can also be helpful if your senior is simply disoriented or feeling unheard. The technique uses empathy and compassion to help you get through to your senior.
She Might Be Less Anxious or Angry
Validation helps your senior to let go of anxiety and anger that she might feel when you don't validate her. This can help her to relax a little more easily and to be more comfortable in her surroundings. When everything feels as if it will be a fight that might be all your senior knows to do.
She Might Communicate More Freely
When your elderly family member is feeling calmer, she is likely to be able to communicate more effectively with you and with other people, such as senior care providers. If communication has been difficult with your senior, this might be part of the solution you've been seeking.
She's Less Likely to Withdraw
People tend to withdraw when they feel as if they're not being listened to or that they're not getting what they need from interactions. So if your senior has withdrawn from interacting with you, validation can help you to repair that situation a bit.
She May Seem to Be More Involved Overall
Once you've used validation techniques a few times, you may find that your senior is more involved overall in what is going on around her. She may actively seek to be engaged, which could be something she's avoided for a time. It's not necessarily that she's paying more attention, but that she's more willing now to actively appear as if she's more involved.
You Might Feel Less Overwhelmed
When you have all these effects working together, you're likely going to experience far less overwhelm yourself. You're no longer fighting an uphill battle with your senior during every interaction and you're expending less energy. You're free to focus on aspects of your elderly family member's care that genuinely require your time and your attention more than these smaller issues did.
Validation may feel weird for you at first, but it's a valuable tool to have in your toolkit. It's not about being right when you're dealing with certain issues for your aging adult and that can be where a lot of conflict comes in. Using validation takes that out of the equation.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Avenues, UT, contact the caring staff at Interim Healthcare. Call today 801-401-3515.
Author: Michael and Marlena Hawkins, Owners, Interim HealthCare, Salt Lake City, UT
Interim HealthCare of Salt Lake City has been in business since February 2014, providing in-home personal care and support services that help our elderly and/or disabled neighbors live enriched, safe and independent lives. Our goal is to provide customized care and support services that make it possible for our clients to remain in the comfort of their own homes rather than relocate to an assisted living facility. Interim HealthCare is family owned by Michael and Marlana Hawkins, and is a Veteran Owned Small Business.
