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Validation therapy is a way to approach older adults with empathy and understanding. It is often used to comfort and reassure people who are living with Alzheimer's disease or another kind of dementia.

AIMS

An introduction to Validation principles, theory and practice

WHO IS VALIDATION FOR?

A useful analogy
'Imagine how it must feel to be lost in a foreign city (receptive dysphasia), not knowing the way back to our hotel, family and friends (place disorientation) and not being able to communicate our needs to the people around us (expressive dysphasia). Not having any money or personal identification ready to hand (institutionalisation) or being able to read signposts (visual agnosia), would be an additional source of anxiety'.

Please watch the following:

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DEFINITION

“A method of communicating with and helping disorientated very old people. It is a practical way of working that helps reduce stress, enhance dignity and increase happiness. Validation is built on an empathetic attitude and a holistic view of individuals.
When one can step into the shoes of another human being and see through their eyes, one can step into the world of disorientated very old people and understand the meaning of their sometimes bizarre behaviour”

(The Validation Training Institute Incorporated)

In more general terms you could define validation as:- the acceptance of reality and personal truth of another’s experience

Imagine that Mrs April Jones who has Alzheimer's disease, is being cared for in hospital and frequently calls out for her own mother. According to the Validation Training Institute, people who practice validation therapy can use the following techniques in that situation:
Kim PKH. Serving the Elderly: Skills for Practice. Livingston, NJ: Transaction Publishers; 2017.

Center Yourself
Take a deep breath and slow down. Your initial reaction may be to try to use logic when April , who is 92 years old, starts calling out loudly for her mother. But before you react, think — and breathe.

Reminisce
Ask April what her mom was like, and what she misses about her. Share a memory about your grandmother and ask her to share memories about her mother. Allow April  to express her loneliness and / or feelings / emotions

Use Extremes
Ask her if she always misses her mother, or what she misses most about her mother. This can allow her to process those feelings of grief related to losing her mother.

Match and Express the Emotion
Join with April in her feelings. Acknowledge the sadness of losing her mother and the special relationship they had with each other.

Rephrase
Rephrasing her feelings back to her can provide reassurance that you understand and feel her loss. Saying "You must really miss your mother" can decrease her ​anxiety because she hears you expressing what she is feeling.

Use Senses
Ask questions about her mother. For example, ask about her favorite food that her mother cooked and how it smelled, or how pretty her mother looked all dressed up for church on Sunday mornings.

Taken from https://www.verywellhealth.com/using-validation-therapy-for-people-with-dementia-98683#citation-3

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Becoming sensitive to the emotional needs of people with dementia 

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Becoming sensitive to the emotional needs of people with dementia 

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Consider the following statement:

“The absence of positive feelings and the presence of feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, loss of self esteem, anger and frustration lead to poor quality of life and behavioural symptoms.
But experiencing normal, positive emotions no longer happens effortlessly as dementia erodes abilities for positive experiences.
The staff must work to create opportunities for positive experiences”

Taken from: Mace N.L (2005). Teaching Dementia Care. John Hopkins University Press

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Validation is the way to communicate with old old disoriented people.  Using empathy and listening makes all the difference.

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Validation, communication through empathy | Naomi Feil | TEDxAmsterdamWomen

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Research is mixed when it comes to conclusions about the effectiveness of validation therapy.
Different studies conducted on validation therapy have different conclusions, with some stating that it's effective, and others determining that it's no more helpful than a placebo.
A couple of Cochrane Database Systemic Reviews conclude there's insufficient evidence to conclude that it's effective—not meaning that it's ineffective, but that there wasn't strong enough data to show that it is clearly helpful.

(Neal M, Barton wright P. Validation therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;(3):CD001394. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001394)

Erdmann A, Schnepp W. Conditions, components and outcomes of Integrative Validation Therapy in a long-term care facility for people with dementia. A qualitative evaluation study. Dementia (London). 2016;15(5):1184-204. doi:10.1177/1471301214556489