Taking Their Side
These ideas are so much better Shared!!
Conflict Reduction
We all experience conflict, albeit some more than others.
What happens during conflict?
We feel the need to present our side.
We want to be heard and validated.
If the conflict increases we feel invalidated, and become defensive.
We close ourselves off to the other party.
In addition to using the DBT skills for interacting (DEAR MAN, GIVE, and FAST), I want to share with you a technique that really helps us change direction even at the height of conflict.
Take the other person’s side.
I know, it seems like the last thing a person would want to do when they’re feeling invalidated, unheard, and mistreated. In the moment when you feel the most disconnected from the other person, pause.
Pause, and take a very deep breath. Ask for just a moment from the other person if you need to.
What’s reasonable about what they are saying?
Are they getting their needs met?
Have you taken time to validate them the way you would like validation?
What does the narrative sound like from their perspective? What does the situation look like when you put your two narratives together?
Echo your understanding of the other side of the narrative back to the other person, and invite them to fill in blanks you may be missing.
Tell them you would like a chance to be fully heard as well.
Keep using DEAR MAN, GIVE, and FAST from The Toolkit.

What do you think?