Socratic Questioning: The Most Effective Method To Fight Against Depression

Do you know what is the most effective treatment method for people with depression? Some people with depression may expect answers from their therapists. A study suggests that asking questions may be the key.

This study, carried out by researchers at Ohio State University, is the first to find that patients with depression experienced positive changes in their depressive symptoms when their therapists used a technique called Socratic questioning. . The study was published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy.

Socratic questioning and cognitive therapy

Socratic questioning is a therapeutic tool for cognitive restructuring of cognitive therapy.

Socratic questioning consists of asking a series of well-directed questions, and the therapist asks the patient to consider new perspectives about himself and his place in the world.

According to Justin Braun, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State University: “People with depression can be stuck in a form of negativity in thinking”.

“Socratic questioning allows patients to examine the validity of their negative thoughts and gain a more realistic and broader perspective.” 

From a cognitive therapy perspective, people suffer from depression because of how they interpret events, not who they actually are.

During therapy, we try to get the patient to relax the meaning he gives to events, and find more functional and realistic interpretations of himself.

Thus, the therapy not only reduces depression, but also protects the patient against future depressive episodes.

According to Daniel Strunk, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University: “Many other studies have focused on how the relationship between patient and therapist could encourage a positive therapeutic response. ”

“Going through previous studies, we found that Socratic questioning provided greater improvement in symptoms  than just the therapeutic relationship.”

How is Socratic questioning effective?

55 patients participated in the study. For 16 weeks, they received cognitive therapy for their depression at Ohio State University.

Patients completed a questionnaire at the start of each session. The objective of such a questionnaire was to measure the depressive symptoms of each person.

The researchers then analyzed the video recordings of each patient’s first three sessions, and estimated how often the therapist used Socratic questioning methods.

They observed that in sessions in which therapists most often used Socratic questioning, there was a marked improvement in depressive symptoms in patients.

According to Braun, “ Patients gradually become familiar with this questioning process and begin to move away from their own negative thoughts. When they do, they tend to have a dramatic decrease in their depressive symptoms . ”

For example, a patient might tell their therapist that their whole life is a failure and not worth living because their marriage ends in divorce.

The therapist can then ask a series of Socratic questions to challenge the patient’s beliefs about their situation.

As an example, the researchers suggested this list of questions:

• Do you think all people who have gone through a divorce have failed?
• Can you think of someone for whom this is not the case?
• How do you think getting a divorce means failing as a person?
• What proof of success in your relationship do you have? 

According to Strunk: “ The goal is to help patients learn to use this time to reflect on themselves .”

“We believe that one of the reasons for the positive and lasting effects of cognitive therapy is that patients learn to question their negative thoughts and continue to question them after the session is over. ”

Strunk also adds that patients “come to realize the distance created between their interpretations and reality .”

The specialists are continuing their research with new patients, this time in the case of the treatment of clinical depression.

One of the objectives of these new studies is to precisely characterize the patients, so that the use of Socratic questioning is as effective as possible.