Traumatic Invalidation

Traumatic invalidation is an issue that affects many people, often leading to emotional vulnerability and distress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides valuable insights and strategies for understanding and addressing this challenge. This blog post explores traumatic invalidation from a DBT perspective, examining how it impacts emotional well-being and offering strategies for managing its effects.

Understanding Traumatic Invalidation

Our emotions serve as essential signals, guiding us through our experiences and interactions. They provide valuable information about our needs, values, and well-being. Validating emotions is crucial because it acknowledges their significance and allows us to address underlying issues effectively.

Traumatic invalidation occurs when an individual’s emotional experiences are dismissed, ignored, or minimized. This form of invalidation can be particularly harmful when it happens during or after a traumatic event. It often involves the denial of someone’s feelings or experiences, leading them to feel unworthy or misunderstood.

In DBT, invalidation is seen as a significant factor contributing to emotional dysregulation and distress. DBT, developed by Marsha Linehan, emphasizes the importance of validating clients’ experiences while helping them develop skills to manage their emotions effectively.

When we validate our feelings, we affirm that our emotional responses are legitimate and worthy of attention.

This recognition helps individuals process their experiences constructively, build healthier coping mechanisms, and maintain a balanced perspective. Invalidation, on the other hand, can lead to confusion and self-doubt, making it harder to address and manage our emotional states.

The Impact of Traumatic Invalidation

Erosion of Self-Worth

When individuals experience traumatic invalidation, it can erode their sense of self-worth. They may begin to doubt their own feelings and perceptions, believing they are not entitled to their emotions. Some individuals believe that they are “bad” for experiencing certain emotions. They can also believe that emotions themselves are bad.

Increased Emotional Vulnerability

Traumatic invalidation can heighten emotional vulnerability. When people feel invalidated, they may struggle to regulate their emotions, leading to increased sensitivity and heightened emotional reactions. They may also have negative biases about what it means to be emotional. They likely have no idea how to healthily process emotions because they were never taught.

Difficulty Trusting Others

Experiences of invalidation can make it challenging to trust others. If someone’s feelings have been repeatedly dismissed, they might become wary of others’ intentions and support. They are also likely to have problems communicating their emotions. If they aren’t sure what they are feeling, or believe that what they are feeling is bad, how are they going to effectively communicate their experience to others? This typically leads to even more feelings of invalidation.

Impaired Coping Mechanisms

Invalidation often disrupts the development of effective coping mechanisms. When emotional experiences are dismissed, individuals may not learn healthy ways to manage their emotions, leading to maladaptive behaviors. This can also lead to more explosive behavior as well. If you aren’t processing your emotions as they arise, something small could cause an influx of big emotions. This can be very confusing and damaging.

DBT and Traumatic Invalidation

Validation in DBT

Validation is a core component of DBT. It involves acknowledging and accepting a person’s feelings and experiences as understandable and legitimate. DBT therapists use validation to counteract the effects of the invalidating environment and build a supportive therapeutic relationship.

Emotional Regulation Skills

DBT provides skills for regulating emotions, which are crucial for individuals who have experienced traumatic invalidation. These skills include identifying emotions, opposite action, problem solving, check the facts, and ABC PLEASE.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps individuals become aware of their emotional states and accept them without judgment. This practice can reduce the intensity of emotional reactions, help us slow down when in crisis, and promote self-compassion.

Distress Tolerance

Distress tolerance skills help individuals manage distressing emotions without resorting to harmful behaviors. Techniques such as TIP, self-soothing, distraction, and acceptance are part of this skill set.

Emotion Regulation

Emotion regulation skills teach individuals how to identify and change emotional responses. Skills such as checking the facts, opposite action, and problem-solving can help manage intense emotions more effectively.

Strategies for Addressing Traumatic Invalidation

Therapist – this one is for you! Here are some ways that you can help support healing in those who have experienced traumatic invalidation.

Build a Strong Therapeutic Alliance

A strong therapeutic alliance is crucial for addressing traumatic invalidation. Establishing trust and safety in the therapeutic relationship allows clients to explore their experiences and feelings more openly.

Use Validation Techniques

Incorporate validation techniques into your interactions with clients. Reflect their feelings back to them, acknowledge their experiences, and validate their emotional responses.

Develop Coping Strategies

Help clients develop and practice coping strategies. Encourage them to use mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation skills to manage their emotional vulnerability.

Educate Clients About Invalidation

Educate clients about the effects of traumatic invalidation. Understanding how invalidation impacts their emotional well-being can empower clients to recognize and challenge invalidating behaviors from other people in their lives.

Encourage Self-Compassion

Promote self-compassion as a means of counteracting invalidation. Encourage clients to treat themselves with kindness and understanding, recognizing their inherent worth and validating their own experiences.

Case Study: Applying DBT to Traumatic Invalidation

Consider a client, Jane, who experienced childhood trauma and invalidation from her family. Her emotions were frequently dismissed, leading to significant emotional vulnerability and difficulties in managing her feelings.

Initial Assessment

During the initial assessment, Jane reports feeling overwhelmed and unsupported. She describes a pattern of feeling dismissed and invalidated by her family. Jane’s self-esteem is low, and she struggles to trust others.

Implementing DBT Techniques

Building Rapport and Trust

The therapist begins by building a strong therapeutic alliance. They create a safe space for Jane to express her feelings and experiences without fear of judgment.

Validation

The therapist uses validation techniques to acknowledge Jane’s feelings. They reflect her experiences back to her, helping Jane feel heard and understood.

Mindfulness

The therapist introduces mindfulness exercises to help Jane become more aware of her emotions. Mindfulness helps Jane observe her feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them.

Distress Tolerance

Jane learns distress tolerance skills to manage her intense emotions. Techniques such as self-soothing and distraction are introduced to help Jane cope with distressing feelings.

Emotion Regulation

The therapist works with Jane on emotion regulation skills. They explore how to identify and challenge unhelpful emotional responses and practice problem-solving techniques. This is where Jane learns the nuances of her emotions and how to effectively cope with them. This may also involve challenging emotion related cognitions and negative perceptions about emotions.

Outcome

Over time, Jane begins to feel more empowered and supported. The validation she receives in therapy helps her challenge the invalidating messages she internalized. As she develops and applies DBT skills, Jane experiences a reduction in emotional vulnerability and increased self-esteem.

Conclusion

Traumatic invalidation is a significant issue that impacts emotional well-being and vulnerability. Through DBT, individuals can gain valuable tools and strategies to address the effects of invalidation and build resilience. By incorporating validation, mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation techniques, therapists can help clients manage their emotional responses and foster a sense of self-worth.

Understanding and addressing traumatic invalidation through a DBT lens provides a comprehensive approach to supporting individuals in their journey toward emotional health. Through the application of these principles, clients can work towards healing, self-compassion, and improved emotional regulation.