DBT CERTIFICATION EXAM II | GUARANTEED
SUCCESS STARTS HERE! LEARN, PRACTICE &
EXCEL!
What is the purpose of validation? - Answer: to support or corroborate on a sound or
authoritative basis ...to attest to the truth or validity of something
Level 1 Validation - Answer: listening and observing of what the client is saying, feeling, and
doing
Level 2 Validation - Answer: Accurate reflection back to the client of the client's own
feelings, thoughts, and behaviors; without adding to what was said
Level 3 Validation - Answer: emotions and meanings the client has not expressed are
verbalized by the therapist; framed as a question and be willing to be wrong
Level 4 Validation - Answer: All behavior is caused by events occurring in time; validating
through their personal history/biology
Level 5 Validation - Answer: Normalizing the client's behavior; typical of what anyone would
experience or do
"kernel of truth"- searching for the piece that is valid
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
, Level 6 Validation - Answer: respond to the client as you would anyone else; not seeing
them as fragile
"cheerleading"- validating the inherent ability to overcome difficulties
Borderline Personality Disorder - Answer: dysfunction of the emotion regulation system; a
result of biological irregularities combines with the certain dysfunctional environments;
transacting with dysfunctional environments over time
Biosocial Theory - Answer: emotion dysregulation is a function of high emotional
vulnerability plus the inability to regulate emotion, and that these difficulties have their
roots in biological predispositions , which are exacerbated by specific environmental
experiences; biological sensitivity transacting overtime with invalidating environments
equals chronic Pervasive Emotional Dysregulation
Dialectical Dilemmas - Answer: 1. emotional vulnerability v. self-invalidation (emotional
intensity v. failure to trust own perceptions)
2. active passivity v. apparent competence (tendency to approach problems
passively/expecting others to problems solve v. tendency to appear competent)
3. unrelenting crises v. inhabited grieving (constants state of crisis v. avoiding the
experience of painful emotional reactions)
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
SUCCESS STARTS HERE! LEARN, PRACTICE &
EXCEL!
What is the purpose of validation? - Answer: to support or corroborate on a sound or
authoritative basis ...to attest to the truth or validity of something
Level 1 Validation - Answer: listening and observing of what the client is saying, feeling, and
doing
Level 2 Validation - Answer: Accurate reflection back to the client of the client's own
feelings, thoughts, and behaviors; without adding to what was said
Level 3 Validation - Answer: emotions and meanings the client has not expressed are
verbalized by the therapist; framed as a question and be willing to be wrong
Level 4 Validation - Answer: All behavior is caused by events occurring in time; validating
through their personal history/biology
Level 5 Validation - Answer: Normalizing the client's behavior; typical of what anyone would
experience or do
"kernel of truth"- searching for the piece that is valid
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
, Level 6 Validation - Answer: respond to the client as you would anyone else; not seeing
them as fragile
"cheerleading"- validating the inherent ability to overcome difficulties
Borderline Personality Disorder - Answer: dysfunction of the emotion regulation system; a
result of biological irregularities combines with the certain dysfunctional environments;
transacting with dysfunctional environments over time
Biosocial Theory - Answer: emotion dysregulation is a function of high emotional
vulnerability plus the inability to regulate emotion, and that these difficulties have their
roots in biological predispositions , which are exacerbated by specific environmental
experiences; biological sensitivity transacting overtime with invalidating environments
equals chronic Pervasive Emotional Dysregulation
Dialectical Dilemmas - Answer: 1. emotional vulnerability v. self-invalidation (emotional
intensity v. failure to trust own perceptions)
2. active passivity v. apparent competence (tendency to approach problems
passively/expecting others to problems solve v. tendency to appear competent)
3. unrelenting crises v. inhabited grieving (constants state of crisis v. avoiding the
experience of painful emotional reactions)
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
