Worry exploration questions
Free worry exploration questions worksheet
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If you’re a therapist looking for worry exploration questions to enhance your clients’ insight into their anxiety, you’re in the right place.
This article gives mental health therapists a brief overview of Socratic questioning, examples of anxiety exploration questions, and a free downloadable worry exploration questions worksheet to save to your electronic health record (EHR).
What are Socratic questions?
Originating from the Greek philosopher Socrates, Socratic questioning is a type of inquiry that promotes reflective and critical thinking, which can be helpful for those experiencing anxiety or excessive worry.
Using this communication style, therapists ask clients open-ended questions to prompt a deeper understanding, insights, and solutions to cognitive distortions they’re experiencing or situations they’re going through in their lives.
While there is a formal Socratic method used as part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Socratic questions can be used by clinicians at any time.
Socratic questioning follows a four-stage process, involving:
- Asking informational questions that are open-ended, non-judgmental, and guided
- Actively listening to the client and reflecting
- Summarizing information
- Asking analytical questions to synthesize the new information in relation to the client’s original problem
There are six types of Socratic questions:
Clarification questions
Ask the client to expand on the topic, using questions like:
- What do you mean by that?
- How does that relate to …?
- Can you expand on that?
- What do you think the critical issue is here?
Assumption questions
Seek to understand any assumptions the client has made and their accuracy by asking questions like:
- Why do you think a person would reach that assumption?
- What could be assumed instead?
- How can the assumption be validated or disproved?
Probing questions
Ask for evidence and reasoning to support the client’s position, such as:
- What is an example of that?
- Why?
- What do you think causes … to happen?
- What is your reasoning for your point of view?
- Is there another explanation or reason to doubt that?
- What is the evidence to contradict that statement?
Implication and consequence questions
These questions promote an understanding of the impact those assumptions may have to help the client think more critically.
Questions may include:
- What are the consequences of that assumption?
- What are you implying?
- How does this affect …?
- How does this connect to the earlier issue we were discussing?
Viewpoint and perspective questions
These seek to gain a different perspective on the issue by asking:
- What are some different ways to look at this?
- What might other people think about this issue?
- Who benefits most from this issue?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of …?
- How might others respond if …?
Questioning the question
Reflect on the importance of the original question or issue by asking questions such as:
- Why is this question or issue important to you?
- What does this reveal about your values?
- How does this apply to …?
Worry exploration questions
Worry exploration questions help to increase awareness of the impact anxiety may be having on a client’s life, problem solve ways to decrease anxiety, and strengthen the client’s coping strategies.
Examples of worry exploration questions include:
- What are some of the things you are worried about? Is there a specific situation or thought that is causing you to feel worried?
- What are you most afraid of happening?
- What triggered the worry?
- When did you first notice this worry happening?
- How does the worry affect you, your time, your relationships, and your daily life?
- Where do you feel the worry in your body?
- Is the worry making life harder?
- What evidence do you have to support your fears and worries?
- What evidence contradicts your worry?
- What are some alternative explanations?
- Has your worry ever come true? If so, how did you handle it?
- What is in your control right now?
- What is outside of your control?
- What steps can you take to decrease your worry?
- What is the most likely outcome of this situation?
- If you could talk to your worry, what would you say?
- What can you do right now to feel less worried?
- What steps can you take to make you feel grounded?
- If you imagine yourself in a year thinking about this worry, how would you feel?
Anxiety exploration questions
Anxiety exploration questions are similar to worry exploration questions, but focus more on recognizing patterns and identifying coping skills.
Examples of anxiety exploration questions include:
- What are you anxious about?
- What are you most frightened of?
- What are the worst case scenarios?
- When did you first notice feeling anxious?
- What was happening around you when you began feeling anxious?
- Where in your body do you feel anxious?
- What thoughts run through your mind when you feel anxious?
- How likely is that fear or anxiety to be true?
- What is another possible explanation?
- What are some different ways to look at this situation?
- How might someone else think about your anxiety or fears?
- Is there another time you felt this way? How did you overcome the situation?
- In what ways is this anxiety affecting your life?
- Which activities do you avoid because of feeling anxious?
- Do you notice a cycle or pattern to your worry?
- What do you usually do when you feel anxious?
- Are there coping skills that help reduce your anxiety?
- What has worked for managing your anxiety in the past?
- Have you ever tried mindfulness, deep breathing, or other calming techniques? How did they feel?
How to use the worry exploration anxiety worksheets
The worry or anxiety exploration questions worksheet contains four steps for clients to follow with questions that help them identify their worries, explore the impact on their lives and relationships, evaluate their worries, and manage them.
You can download and use the worry exploration questions worksheet in several ways:
- As an anxiety worksheet for teens, adults, or adolescents that you use in session to help your clients better understand their anxiety
- To empower the client to identify the core beliefs underlying their worries and anxieties
- As a handout for clients to complete the activity worksheet in between sessions, then debrief with the client at their next therapy appointment
Sources
- Penninx, B. W., Pine, D. S., Holmes, E. A., & Reif, A. (2021). Anxiety disorders. Lancet (London, England).
- University of Connecticut. (n.d.). Socratic questions.
- The Priory. (n.d.). An explanation of guided discovery in cognitive behavioural therapy.
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