The art and science behind socratic questioning and guided discovery: a research review

Abstract

Socratic questioning is used to enhance the process of guided discovery in psychotherapy sessions. Objective: Socratic questioning and guided discovery are defined, and assorted clinical examples are provided. Methods: The limited research on the impact of Socratic questioning is reviewed and integrated with 30 + years of clinical experience. Results: The scant research suggests that Socratic questioning significantly reduces depression from one session to the next, particularly for patients with a pessimistic cognitive bias, but there is no research on patient improvements at the end of psychotherapy. Conclusion: Socratic questions and guided discovery can facilitate sensitivity to issues related to diversity and can be useful in psychotherapy training. The Socratic approach relies on an integration of the research evidence, ancient philosophy, and contemporary cognitive therapy.

Keywords:

• Socratic questioning
• socratic method
• psychotherapy
• psychotherapy outcome
• guided discovery
• cognitive therapy
• cognitive behavioral therapy

Acknowledgement

This article is adapted, by special permission of Oxford University Press, by the same authors in C.E. Hill and J.C. Norcross (Eds.) (2023), Psychotherapy skills and methods that work. New York: Oxford University Press. The interorganizational Task Force on Psychotherapy Methods and Skills was cosponsored by the APA Division of Psychotherapy / Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).