ABSTRACT
Many pitfalls in the delivery of Socratic procedures exist, even among seasoned professionals. Some of the most common are telling instead of helping the client to come to a conclusion on their own (i.e., provided discovery instead of guided discovery. This chapter will be informed by previous research studies on the common mistakes that clinicians make. In this chapter, these challenges are itemized and proven remedies specific to each pitfall are offered and demonstrated in the text. In this chapter we describe seven pitfalls frequently observed in clinicians learning Socratic strategies. The solutions generally fell into two categories: (1) Socratic skill refinement as described in this chapter and other sections of the book; and (2) personal application of cognitive restructuring strategies to Socratic strategy-interfering cognitions. Finally, though we have an overall framework, it is important to remember that ultimately this is a Socratic dialogue and a guided discovery process.
