Socratic Questioning: It May Improve The Symptoms Of Depression

New findings published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy reveal that "Socratic questioning," otherwise known as a series of guided questions in which a therapist asks patients to consider new perspectives on themselves and their place in the world, could help improve existing depressive symptoms. 

In this recent study, researchers examined 55 patients who underwent a 16-week course of cognitive therapy for depression.

The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire at the beginning of each session that measured their depressive symptoms. Researchers also analyzed video recordings of the first three sessions for each of the patients, estimating how often the therapists used Socratic questioning techniques.

"We found that Socratic questioning was predictive of symptom improvements above and beyond the therapeutic relationship -- the variable that has been most examined in previous studies," concluded co-author Daniel Strunk, an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State, in a news release. "Patients are learning this process of asking themselves questions and being skeptical of their own negative thoughts. When they do, they tend to see a substantial reduction in their depressive symptoms."

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