ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces to different types of therapeutic dialogues to promote cognitive restructuring. It finds five types of dialogues to be most useful with students: direct teaching, Socratic dialogues, metaphors, humor and problem solving. The chapter includes the types of dialogues in the heart of the cognitive piece of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The Socratic dialogues used in CBT today are structured a bit differently than the history books tell us that Socrates constructed his dialogues. Metaphorical style is used in CBT to help individuals understand a particular concept by using an example or story that communicates the concept without teaching it directly. Another style that can be useful in CBT is humor. There are times when it can be quite adaptive to see the humor in a challenging situation. Problem-solving models are used to address a wide variety of issues in schools. Problem solving is used when no particular cognitive distortions seem to be evident.
