This therapeutic technique can really help depressed people, research finds.
A technique called ‘Socratic questioning’ can help depressed people recover, a new study finds.
Socratic questioning is used by many therapists to help patients explore new perspectives on themselves and the world.
Mr Justin Braun, one of the study’s authors, said:
“People with depression can get stuck in a negative way of thinking.
Socratic questioning helps patients examine the validity of their negative thoughts and gain a broader, more realistic perspective.”
Socratic questioning differs from ‘normal’ questioning by focusing on fundamental issues and concerns.
For example, if a patient feels their life is a failure because of a divorce, the therapist might ask:
- Is everyone who experienced divorce a failure?
- Can you think of anyone for whom that is not true?
- How does being divorced seem to translate into being a failure as a person for you?
- What evidence is there that you have succeeded, and thus not been a “total failure?”
Dr Daniel Strunk, another of the study’s authors, said:
“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.”
The study involved 55 patients who were followed over a 16-week course of cognitive therapy.
[For more go to http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/...sthash.a2bwHHnB.dpuf]
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