My counselor mentioned a concept that is similar to validation, but more designed to defuse arguments. The concept is called "fogging." Like a fogbank, you act resilient when confronted by an argument. You offer little to no resistance, simply agreeing with any partial truths they say.
For example, if my W says "You are always leaving your dirty laundry lying on the floor"
You would respond with a partial truth:
"You're right, I need to do a better job of picking up after myself."
