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Traditional Workshop

Basic Processes

A 4-Stage Model of Socratic Dialogue to Improve Therapy Effectiveness

Traditional Workshop 17 - A 4-stage Model of Socratic Dialogue to Improve Therapy Effectiveness

Sunday, June 28, 2026
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM PDT
Location: Pacific H, 4th Floor
Earn 3 Credit
Ticketed Session
Keywords: Methods, Therapeutic Relationship, Therapy Process
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: Braun, J. D., Strunk, D. R., Sasso, K. E., & Cooper, A. A. (2015). Therapist use of Socratic questioning predicts session-to-session symptom change in cognitive therapy for depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 70, 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.05.004 ,   Heiniger, L.E., Clark, G.I., & Egan, S.J. (2018). Perceptions of Socratic and non-Socratic presentation of information in cognitive behavior therapy. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 48, 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2017.09.004 ,   Padesky, C.A. (2020). The Socratic Dialogue Rating Scale and Coding Manual. Manuscript available from: https://www.padesky.com/clinical-corner/clinical-tools/ ,   ,  
Do you sometimes struggle with common clinical traps such as clients not doing between session activities, in session avoidance, or rigid beliefs? Christine Padesky demonstrates how her 4-stage Model of Socratic Dialogue can help you effectively navigate these types of issues in ways that maximize client learning and elicit curiosity and discovery. Research suggests clients may prefer Socratic therapy methods over didactic ones (Heiniger, Clark, & Egan, 2018). Skillful therapist use of Socratic questioning has been linked to better therapy outcomes for both depression and PTSD (Braun et al., 2015; Farmer et al., 2017). Unfortunately, therapists cite guided discovery therapy methods such as Socratic questioning as the most difficult therapy skills to master (Waltman, Hall, McFarr, Beck, & Creed, 2017). Padesky's 4-Stage Model of Socratic Dialogue (Padesky & Kennerley, 2023) makes the processes of effective guided discovery much clearer and provides a structure to help therapists develop these skills more quickly and apply them artfully. Participants learn how to: (1) Ask relevant informational questions, (2) listen empathically, and (3) make written summaries so that clients can answer (4) analytical and synthesizing questions. This workshop includes interactive discussion and clinical demonstrations that marry structure with a client-centered, collaborative, strengths-based therapy approach. Don't miss this training opportunity to learn best practices directly from Christine Padesky, the innovator the 4-Stage Model of Socratic Dialogue.

Outline:

I. Research on Socratic Dialogue
II. Demonstration: 4-stage Model of Socratic Dialogue (SD)
a. Informational Questions
b. Empathic Listening
c. Written Summaries
d. Analytical & Synthesizing Questions
III. Therapy Application #1 Group Practice: Debriefing learning experiences with SD
a. Emphasize learning not outcomes
b. Focus on client discovery
IV. Therapy Application #2: Demo using SD to test rigid beliefs
a. Importance of written summary
b. Impact of curiosity and discovery rather than trying to change client’s mind
V. Therapy Application #3: How to use SD for session summaries and as a bridge to future learning

Learning Objectives:

  • LIST the four stages of Socratic dialogue.
  • DESCRIBE three common circumstances in which Socratic Dialogue is likely to be utilized in therapy sessions.
  • IDENTIFY two reasons that written summaries that use clients' exact words can be one of the most powerful therapy interventions you can make.