Universe of Platonic Thought 2020

Universum of Platonic Thought: Plato and Rhetoric

Daria Sergeevna Zaikina; Saint Petersburg State University (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Student

Alisher Khamidov; Saint Petersburg State University (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Postgraduate

The Socratic Dialogue in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy*

In contemporary psychotherapy, one of the most influential and demanded is the cognitive-behavioral approach. Its disciples use the so-called “Socratic dialogue” in their practice. Just as Socrates in the dialogues of Plato asks his interlocutors, driven by a search for truth, psychotherapists organize a conversation with their clients, thus directing their knowledge of themselves. The very position of Socrates` ignorance turned out to be instructive for psychotherapists. In this article we will consider the interpretation in CBT of such concepts as mayevtics, elenhos associated with Socrates, as well as the therapeutic function of a similarly organized discourse.

Keywords: Socrates, truth, subject, CBT, psychotherapy, dialogue, mayevtics, elenhos

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapists actively use the so-called “Socratic dialogue” in clinical practice. In this report, we will try to find out how the method of conducting Socrates' conversation in psychotherapy was integrated and how his figure was useful in the clinic.

The technique requires the presence of another in the process of changing one's own personality and the fact that in a certain way organized discourse can significantly change the subject`s psychic reality.

In addition, the figure of Socrates had a significant impact on the very position of the psychotherapist in the treatment process as an unaware person. At the beginning of the conversation, none of its participants can be sure what their joint research will lead to. The psychotherapist is not a carrier of the truth of the subject, however, what distinguishes him from the patient in a relationship is knowledge of mayevics, knowledge of how to organize a research. The reception of the principles of the Socratic dialogue in CBT was reflected in the statement of emphasis on the patient’s independence and occupation by the therapist of the position of obstetrician.

The main targets of the art of refutation in cognitive-behavioral therapy are cognitive distortions, conflicting beliefs and maladaptive thoughts of the client, which he learned in early childhood from significant adults. Using the method of Socratic dialogue, the specialist first seeks to lead the client to the verbal formulation of their own thoughts, and then - to detect contradictions in them, assess their impact on the model of thinking, emotions and everyday life.

Summarizing, the figure of Socrates largely inspired the style of conducting conversations in modern psychotherapeutic practice, however, CBT theorists currently claim not only the prospects of this method, but also the growing tendency to reduce the Socratic dialogue to a specific set of questions and answers. It can be assumed that a return to Platonic Socrates, an acquaintance with his life, and recourse to primary sources can contribute to overcoming this tendency and become an inexhaustible source of new intuitions.

* This study was supported by the Alumni Association of St. Petersburg State University