Socratic Questioning: A CBT Tool to Hack Our Minds and Gain Perspective

Have you ever had a thought that felt so convincing that you didn't even consider questioning it?

When we're anxious, stressed or overwhelmed, our thoughts can feel like facts. Our minds are very good at making quick interpretations of what's happening around us — and sometimes those interpretations are useful. But sometimes they aren't.

The interesting thing is that we don't have to believe every thought our mind produces.

This is where Socratic questioning can help.

What is Socratic questioning?

Socratic questioning is essentially the practice of becoming curious about our own thinking.

The approach has its roots in the questioning method associated with the philosopher Socrates and has become an important part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Rather than simply accepting a thought as true, we pause and examine it.

The aim isn't to replace every negative thought with a positive one.

It's to ask: “What else might be true?”

Our minds have thinking habits

We all have habitual ways of interpreting situations. When we're under pressure, these patterns can become particularly strong.

For example:

A mistake has happened. That's a fact. But “I'm terrible at my job” is an interpretation.

The anxiety is real. But the feeling itself isn't necessarily evidence that something bad is happening.

Learning to notice the difference between what happened, what we feel and what we're telling ourselves about it is an important first step.

Become curious, rather than critical

When we notice an unhelpful thought, it's tempting to fight it: “That's ridiculous. I shouldn't be thinking this.” But criticising ourselves for thinking negatively can simply create another problem.

Instead, try curiosity.

Imagine your thought has been put on trial. What evidence would support it? What evidence would challenge it? What assumptions are you making?

You might ask:

• What exactly am I telling myself?
• What evidence do I have for this thought?
• What evidence do I have against it?
• Am I jumping to a conclusion?
• Am I treating a possibility as a certainty?
• Am I looking at the whole picture?
• Is there another possible explanation?
• What might I be overlooking?
• What would I say to someone I care about in the same situation?
• Is this way of thinking helping me?

These questions don't tell you what you should think. They simply help you examine whether the conclusion you've reached is the only possible one.

From a thought to a question

One of the most useful things about Socratic questioning is that it encourages us to test our conclusions rather than automatically accept them.

Instead of:

We can ask:

Perhaps we've struggled with something similar before. Perhaps we're worried about an upcoming situation. Perhaps someone gave us feedback that was difficult to hear.

Those things may be important. But they don't necessarily prove the conclusion we've reached.

We can then ask: “What evidence points in the other direction?”

Maybe we've succeeded at similar things before. Maybe we've prepared thoroughly. Maybe the outcome is uncertain rather than inevitable.

The aim isn't to convince ourselves that everything will be fine. It's to move from assumption to evidence and from certainty to curiosity.

Sometimes we'll discover that our original thought contains some truth. Sometimes we'll realise it was exaggerated. And sometimes we'll find that we simply don't have enough information to know yet.

A simple practice

The next time you notice a thought that is particularly strong or distressing, write it down.

Then ask:

1. What happened? Separate the situation from your interpretation.
2. What am I telling myself about it? Write the thought exactly as it appears in your mind.
3. What thinking pattern might be involved? Is there catastrophising, mind-reading, black-and-white thinking, overgeneralising or emotional reasoning?
4. What is the evidence? What supports the thought — and what doesn't?
5. What else could be true? Try to come up with two or three alternative explanations.
6. What would I say to someone I love? We often offer other people considerably more compassion and perspective than we offer ourselves.

You don't need to find the “perfect” thought. You're simply looking for a more balanced and useful way of understanding the situation.

We don't have to believe everything we think

The goal isn't to control every thought, it's to become better at examining the thoughts that affect how we feel and behave.

We can ask whether they're based on evidence, whether we're falling into a familiar thinking trap, and whether there is another way of interpreting what has happened.

We don't always need a more positive thought. Often, we need a more accurate, balanced and flexible one.

Sometimes the most helpful conclusion is simply: “I don't know yet. There may be another way of looking at this.”

Further reading

• ReachOut Australia – How to Challenge Unhelpful Thoughts
• Centre for Clinical Interventions – Unhelpful Thinking Styles