Socratic Questions With Children: Recommendations and Cautionary Tales

Abstract

This clinically focused article offers cognitive behavior therapists recommendations and cautionary tales for using the Socratic method when working with children. The importance of the therapeutic relationship in combination with developmental considerations is discussed. The use of Socratic method in various cognitive behavioral modules is illustrated by means of case examples. Dialogues provide examples of how the cognitive specificity hypothesis and downward arrow technique can be used to support young clients in eliciting negative automatic thoughts. The importance of pacing, the mixing of closed and open-ended questions, and behavioral experiments to aid cognitive restructuring are also highlighted through extracts from clinical conversations. Finally, the article emphasizes that the purpose of the Socratic method is to broaden thinking and to access new knowledge rather than just giving young clients new thoughts and problem solving strategies.