WORKSHOP RECORDING | 2 HOURS OF VIDEO | 2.0 NBCC CE HOURS
Validation: The Communication Skill That Changes Everything
Learn Dr. Robin Barre's 9-step validation process to reduce conflict, lower defensiveness and build real trust at home, at work, and in your community.
$50 | One-time purchase | Lifetime access
Harness the power of validation.
For years, Dr. Barre watched conversations between teens and their parents end with the same words: You just don't get it. Often the parent did get it. What was missing was the teen's felt experience of being understood. So she set out to deconstruct validation. How does it work? What does the other person need in order to know, in their bones, that you get them? And what gets in the way?
What came out of that work is a 9-step map of a validating interaction. Dr. Barre has taught it to hundreds of people around the world and uses it in her personal and professional life every day. It saved her relationship with her estranged oldest son. This course gives you the same map.
Who this course is for: Anyone. Parents, adolescents, therapists, teachers, coaches, business and community leaders, spouses and partners, and families have all taken this course.
"What we want in any given moment is to be seen, heard, accepted, valued, and loved for who we are in the moment as we are."
Learning objectives
In this course, participants will:
Define validation and distinguish validating responses from ones that are commonly mistaken for validation, such as reassurance, advising, problem-solving and empathy.
Identify at least three research-supported psychological and physiological effects of chronic invalidation, and name the four parts of traumatic invalidation: frequency, rejection, absence and relationship.
Describe the nine steps of validation, including how to use parts language (exiles, managers, firefighters) to self-validate their own "yeah-buts" before validating a client.
Explain the six parts of a validating ecology and apply at least two of them to a clinical, family or workplace setting.
Course content
The course is one two-hour workshop recording plus materials. These accordions break the recording into the topics it covers.
Explore several definitions of and approaches to validation, along with the surprisingly invalidating forms of communication most people use every day.
Learn what happens when people are repeatedly invalidated, and why it can register as a trauma response. This is what makes validation so necessary, and so powerful.
Using a case study, you'll explore common barriers to validation, how to validate those barriers, and how to clear the way to be with the people you care about in healing, compassionate and attuned ways.
Validation is a simple process, but it isn't easy. There's front-end work to do before saying a word to the other person. You'll walk through the 9 steps of a validating interaction and the Guiding Principles that help when the process gets stuck.
We don’t always have to use our words to validate. Learn how your presence can be one of the most validating ways to communicate.
What if validation shaped the whole environment, not just one conversation? You'll explore what a validating ecology is and how to bring this practice into your family, school, workplace and community.
What's included
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The full two-hour workshop recording
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The Practice & Process of Validation: A Comprehensive Guide ($15 value)
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The 9-step map of a validating interaction, plus printable slides and take-home resources
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Lifetime access, so you can come back whenever you need a refresher
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A multiple-choice quiz and a 2.0 CE hour certificate on completion is available
About Dr. Robin Barre
Dr. Robin Barre has 30 years of experience working with adolescents in a range of settings, from teaching high school and middle school to running a private practice. She is a Level 3 certified Internal Family Systems therapist and an IFS Institute Approved Clinical Consultant. Dr. Barre earned MA degrees in counseling and depth psychology and a Ph.D. in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington State and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia. Drawing on her years in the field and in research, she helps caregivers, practitioners and organizations improve the lives of the adolescents they serve.
Nearly 30 years in classrooms, agencies, and clinical practice * PhD in Depth Psychology * Level 3 certified IFS therapist * IFS-Institute approved consultant
"I entered Robin’s validation course feeling like a 'fish out of water' since I don’t work in a traditional therapeutic field. However, I walked away with far more than I bargained for. Robin’s insights into the long-term effects of lacking validation helped me identify a 'missing feeling' I’ve carried my whole life. More importantly, she articulated the validation process as a tangible skill—one I realized I already possessed but hadn’t fully harnessed. Since learning her framework, I have used these steps daily to strengthen my personal relationships and better engage with underserved communities in my professional revitalization work. The impact has been profound and entirely positive.”
Shane Farthing, Community, nonprofit & economic development leader
I highly recommend this workshop and will be spending time with the Validation workbook to deepen my learning. I'd also like to keep this workshop in my back pocket as a referral source for my clients who are parents and especially parents of teens!
Abigail Whitney, Therapist
FAQ
Yes. Validation is a communication skill for any relationship. Parents, partners, teachers, managers and teens have all used the 9 steps in their everyday lives.
Access never expires. Your course, recordings and materials stay in your account, so you can come back whenever you need a refresher.
No. Work through the course at your own pace. If you're earning CE hours, each video needs to be watched start to finish in one sitting, but you can take as long as you like between videos
No. The course is open to anyone. Only licensed and associate-licensed professionals can apply the CE hours toward their license.
Reach out through the contact page or reply to any course email, and someone from our team will get back to you.