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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 1–3Cite as

Socratic Questioning in Couple and Family Therapy

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Synonyms

Guided discovery; Socratic method

Introduction

Socratic questioning ascribes to an ethos of prioritizing discovery. The goal of Socratic questioning is not to change the client’s mind to a desired result but to guide the client’s own discovery. This is true for both appropriate and maladaptive thoughts, and it benefits the client to promote the discovery of their own conclusions rather than throwing therapist constructs at the client and seeing what sticks. Socratic questioning allows a client to devise their own plan and distinguish what makes sense emotionally from what does not. Socratic questioning can be instrumental in changing dysfunctional beliefs and helping individuals discover the adaptive beliefs that make sense for them (Padesky 1993).

Theoretical Framework

Socratic questioning is used most in cognitive behavioral therapy. Within this model, guided discovery helps structure the therapy as therapist and client work together to confirm or disprove client beliefs or...

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References

  • Beck, A. T., & Dozois, D. J. (2011). Cognitive therapy: Current status and future directions. Annual Review of Medicine, 62, 397–409.

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  • Overholser, J. C. (2011). Collaborative empiricism, guided discovery, and the socratic method: Core processes for effective cognitive therapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(1), 62–66.

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  • Padesky, C. A. (1993, September). Socratic questioning: Changing minds or guiding discovery. Paper presented at the meeting of the European Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, London, UK.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Rebecca Patterson & Danielle A. Black

Authors
  1. Rebecca Patterson
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  2. Danielle A. Black
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca Patterson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, IL, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, IL, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay L. Lebow Ph.D.

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Patterson, R., Black, D.A. (2019). Socratic Questioning in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_112-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_112-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

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