Therapist use of Socratic questioning predicts session-to-session symptom change in cognitive therapy for depression

Socratic questioning is a key therapeutic strategy in cognitive therapy (CT) for depression. However, little is known regarding its relation to outcome. In this study, we examine therapist use of Socratic questioning as a predictor of session-to-session symptom change. Participants were 55 depressed adults who participated in a 16-week course of CT (see Adler, Strunk, & Fazio, 2015). Socratic questioning was assessed through observer ratings of the first three sessions. Socratic ratings were disaggregated into scores reflecting within-patient and between-patient variability to facilitate an examination of the relation of within-patient Socratic questioning and session-to-session symptom change. Because we examined within-patient variability in Socratic questioning, the identification of such a relation cannot be attributed to any stable patient characteristics that might otherwise introduce a spurious relation. Within-patient Socratic questioning significantly predicted session-to-session symptom change across the early sessions, with a one standard deviation increase in Socratic-Within predicting a 1.51-point decrease in BDI-II scores in the following session. Within-patient Socratic questioning continued to predict symptom change after controlling for within-patient ratings of the therapeutic alliance (i.e., Relationship and Agreement), suggesting that the relation of Socratic questioning and symptom change was not only independent of stable characteristics, but also within-patient variation in the alliance. Our results provide the first empirical support for a relation of therapist use of Socratic questioning and symptom change in CT for depression.