Final answer:
Validation is acknowledging and accepting someone's feelings as legitimate, which demonstrates active listening and can help build rapport and strengthen relationships.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a PT (patient or perhaps a participant in a therapy session) states an observation or recognition of their feeling, they are engaging in the process of Validation. Validation refers to acknowledging and accepting another person's feelings, thoughts, experiences, and emotions as understandable and legitimate. This is crucial in communication as it can help build rapport and strengthen relationships. By validating someone's feelings, you show that you are actively listening to them and that their emotions matter. Active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and then remembering what is being said. Active listening is defined by recognizing emotions, withholding judgment, providing physical cues of understanding, and placing the speaker's concerns at the forefront. It's different from empathy and sympathy in that those are responses that relate to sharing and understanding emotions, rather than the acknowledgment and acceptance that validation offers.