Featured in Parade Magazine’s: “A Clinical Psychologist is Begging Parents and Grandparents to Stop Making this Punishment Mistake”

Article excerpt: If you have kids in your family, you’ve likely had (and continue to have) plenty of conversations around super fun topics like time-outs, house rules and apologizing. No matter what your parenting style (there’s quite a mix between commando, gentle, FAFO, authoritative, free-range and more), parents and grandparents have a lot to keep in mind when outbursts and tantrums inevitably happen. Even when adults try to be proactive and regulate their own emotions before approaching an upset or dysregulated…

Featured in Greater Goods Magazine’s: “How to show someone you’re listening”

Article excerpt: How often do we feel misunderstood by those around us, even our closest friends and family? On the other side of the equation, how often do we feel as though we are unable to adequately provide comfort to our loved ones, even when we have the best intentions? Licensed psychologist Caroline Fleck’s new book is all about a tool that can help us be there for others in…

Seen in CNBC’s “Successful couples use these 3 therapist-designed communication tools to solve conflict”

Excerpt from article: In any long-term partnership, it’s common for a trivial skirmish to become a months or even years-long battle. Almost half, 45%, of Americans in serious relationships say they argue multiple times a month or more, according to a 2022 YouGov poll of 1,000 adults. While conflict is sometimes necessary, learning how to find your way out of it is, too. Here are three therapist-approved exercises that can help you…

CliffsNotes on validation featured on LinkedIn Presents

Check out the article I wrote for Psyche: “How to make someone feel seen and heard”

Excerpt from the article: If you’re like most people, you probably have at least one insecurity or past experience that you keep close to the vest, something you wouldn’t want most people to know. It might be a memory of when you acted against your values, or a perceived weakness you don’t want others to discover. Try to think of something that meets these criteria. Now, picture yourself disclosing this…

I really enjoyed this interview for The Good Men Project: “Dr. Caroline Fleck, ‘Validation’ and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy”

Article excerpt: Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So today, we are here with Caroline Fleck, PhD, a licensed psychologist, clinical instructor at Stanford University, and highly sought-after business consultant. She holds a doctorate in psychology and neuroscience from Duke University and a BA in English and psychology from the University of Michigan. She combines academic rigour with practical experience and is renowned for her expertise in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioural…

Featured in Dr. Aliza Pressman’s substack: “Climbing the Validation Ladder”

Excerpt: We all want to connect with our children, understand their world, and support them through life’s ups and downs. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we struggle to truly “get” what they’re going through. This is where the power of validation comes in. Validation isn’t just about agreeing with our kids; it’s about acknowledging their feelings, experiences, and perspectives – even when we don’t necessarily share them. It is the…

Featured in CNBC’s: “We should all seek external validation, Stanford psychologist says: ‘That is true intimacy.’”

Article Excerpt: You can’t control how other people see you, so needing — or demanding — that someone else understand your perspective has always seemed like a flaw to me. And depending on the approval of others feels risky because there is no guarantee you’ll actually get it. That’s why I was surprised when Caroline Fleck, an adjunct clinical instructor at Stanford University, told me that the “biggest misconception” about…

NBIC article picked up by Fast Company: “The secret to influencing others? Validation”

Article snippet: What’s the big idea? The secret to influencing others isn’t about persuasion—it’s about validation. In Validation: How the Skill Set That Revolutionized Psychology Will Transform Your Relationships, Increase Your Influence, and Change Your Life, Fleck reveals how acknowledging and accepting others’ experiences can strengthen relationships, defuse conflicts, and even increase self-compassion. Through captivating stories and actionable techniques, she introduces eight powerful skills to harness validation’s transformative impact. Validation uncovers how truly seeing…

Featured in Fast Company’s: “Perfectionism is a rigged game—here’s how to stop playing”

Article snippet: Being a perfectionist is like playing a rigged carnival game. It’s presented as easy and within reach when it’s actually impossible and unattainable. People who are expected by others, or expect themselves, to be perfect are trapped in a nonsensical world where normal and difficult are confused with perfect and easy. Unable to achieve perfection, they’re bombarded with messages that they’re not thinking, feeling, or performing normally:  Everyone else…