Psychotherapy Volume 36/Summer 1999/Number 2

ELEMENTS OF THE SOCRATIC METHOD:VI. PROMOTING VIRTUE IN EVERYDAY LIFE

JAMES C. OVERHOLSERCase Western Reserve University

The Socratic method includes asystematic series of questions designed tohelp clients confront broad life issues,respect their lack of knowledge, andmake philosophical changes in theirapproach to life. In some circumstances,the Socratic method focuses on helpingclients explore aspects of virtue and viceas related to their current psychologicalproblems. The Socratic method focuseson five cardinal virtues: wisdom,courage, moderation, justice, and piety.Each virtue is discussed as it pertains tocontemporary psychotherapy. Byevaluating virtues in general as well asspecific terms, clients can makeimportant shifts in their attitudes andbehaviors.

The Socratic method can be a useful tool inpsychotherapy. It is compatible with cognitivetherapy (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Beck,Wright, Newman, & Uese, 1993), rational-emotive therapy (Ellis, 1994; Ellis & Dryden,1987), and psychodynamic therapy (Rychlak,1968). The Socratic method uses systematic ques-tioning and inductive reasoning to help cli-

The author is indebted to Abe Wolf, Mark Fine, Julia DiFi-lippo, Liz Nasser, Jana Clarke, Robin Cautin, Eden Sil-vennan, Bob Smith, and Patti Watson for their valuable com-ments on earlier versions of this manuscript, and a specialthanks to Albert Ellis for his review of the material. Also theauthor wishes to thank Katie Brooks and Nick Williams forhelping him keep a proper perspective on life.

Correspondence regarding this article should be addressedto James C. Overholser, Ph.D., Department of Psychology,Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue,Cleveland, OH 44106-7123.

ents generate universal definitions relevant toproblems in their lives (Overholser, 1993a,1993b, 1994). Universal definitions help clientsfocus on personal issues at a broad level of con-ceptualization (Overholser, 1994). Instead of ad-dressing each specific problem as it arises, ther-apy can help clients identify general themesconnecting a diverse array of life situations. Fur-thermore, the Socratic method relies on a generalattitude of modesty and skepticism that inhibitsdogmatic and directive approaches (Overholser,1995). Thus, the therapist gently guides the dia-logue but does not offer solutions to the client'sproblems. Instead, the Socratic dialogue empha-sizes strategies for self-guidance and self-improvement in clients (Overholser, 1996). Pre-vious reports on the elements of the Socraticmethod have described the processes used in ther-apy. The present manuscript focuses on contentthat can provide useful goals for therapy.

An important aspect of the Socratic methodinvolves understanding virtue as it relates to theclient's life. Virtue focuses on long-term issues,such as the good of one's moral character,whereas vice involves an emphasis on immediate,tangible satisfactions (Gerson, 1992). Accordingto Socrates, misbehavior is due to ignoranceabout what is in our best interests in the long run(MacKenzie, 1981). Many deviant behaviors areguided by emotional reactions or appetitive drives(Irwin, 1977). Some clients display maladaptivebehavior because they simply have not taken thetime to consider seriously the broader issues oflife, goals, values, and virtue. To be effective,clients need to change their daily behavior as wellas their lasting intentions. It takes work, effort,and persistence to help clients promote their atti-tudes and daily behaviors toward virtue (Kekes,1988).

Virtue includes noble intentions, specific ac-tions, and the beneficial results of the actions(Dent, 1984). To be considered a virtue, the be-havior must be performed deliberately and with

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knowledge of its likely consequences (Wallace,1978). Simply focusing on observed behaviorsmay ignore a person's intentions (e.g., a rich per-son donating to the poor in order to obtain a taxdeduction). Alternatively, intentions to harm an-other person can be damaging, even if neveracted upon.

Different situations require different virtues(Despland, 1985). Socrates focused his discus-sions on five cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,moderation, justice, and piety. The virtues areclosely interrelated, so it is difficult to excel inone virtue while lacking others. Each virtue willbe discussed in terms of its components, and clini-cal examples will be provided.

WisdomWisdom does not refer to a specific body of

knowledge (Godlovitch, 1981), but emphasizes ageneral reasoning ability used to make decisionsbased on limited or fallible information (Birren& Fisher, 1990). More important than findingclever solutions to practical problems, wisdom isbased in moral knowledge and life goals. Wisdomincludes understanding which acts are harmfulto one's moral character (Prior, 1991), becauseaccording to the Socratic method, the most im-portant thing is to live a life that is good andnoble (Beckman, 1979). Technical knowledge(e.g., how to obtain financial gain or how to suc-ceed in business) does not involve virtue (Vlastos,1994) because such false pleasures have little last-ing benefit. However, their immediate gains maydistort the appraisal of their value (Hampton,1990). Inappropriate behavior comes not fromlacking the ability to achieve goals but having thewrong goals (Stalley, 1986). Money and powerare not good or bad in themselves, but wisdomcan guide them to be used for good or evil pur-poses (Vlastos, 1991). Wisdom involves the abil-ity to see and work toward what is of lasting valuein life (Maxwell, 1984).

Wisdom allows a person to display excellentinsight, judgment, and advice about general lifematters (Smith & Bakes, 1990). The wise persondisplays good judgment about important but un-certain aspects of life (Baltes & Smith, 1990).Wise individuals approach problems acceptingthat they may not know how to deal with a specificproblem, but they remain convinced that they candeal with it. For example, an adult male whosurvived the crash of a private plane was adjustingto paraplegia. When he was asked about his emo-

tional reactions to his injury, he initially feltshocked and saddened. Upon further reflection,however, he was able to appreciate the fact thathe had confronted death and survived. More im-portantly, the client could see that he still hadhis family and friends, his personality, and hisintelligence. Although he remained unsure aboutmany aspects of his future, he felt content withhimself and his abilities. Even though his life waschanged in many ways, he was able to see thepositive qualities that were still present. Thera-peutic dialogue can help clients cultivate the skillsneeded to look into the heart of a recent upsettingevent and be able to find its beneficial aspects.This client was able to see how his injury forcedhim to slow down his hectic lifestyle, appreciatesimple qualities of life, and deeply value hisfriends and family.

An important aspect of wisdom is an apprecia-tion of the limits of one's knowledge (Meacham,1990). The systematic use of questions can helpuncover areas of ignorance, and can help pushclients toward a greater understanding of them-selves and their problems (Overholser, 1993a).The client's answers are greatly influenced by thetypes of questions that are asked, however (Arlin,1990). For example, an adult female client withchronic depression reported frequent difficultiesgetting along with friends and neighbors. She wasa divorced mother of two children, and often ar-gued with her ex-husband about custody and childsupport. Minor conflicts would upset her for days,causing strong, pervasive feelings of sadness,loneliness, anger, and resentment. She describeda minor mishap in which she had refused an invi-tation to socialize with her elderly neighbor soshe could spend the day cleaning her basement.In therapy, when she was asked, 'Ten years fromnow, what difference will this make in your life?"the client could admit it was a minor concern.When asked to jump ahead SO years and anticipatewhat her obituary would say, she first repliedsarcastically, "She had a clean house." Upon re-flection, she stated that she hoped it would say,"She had lots of friends and truly appreciatedpeople." When she was asked, "When you are99 years old and on your death bed, what do youwant to say about your life?," the client said shewanted to see herself as "a good person." Thetherapist asked, "What does it take to be a goodperson?" The client said she wanted to say shehad been a good parent, a good friend, and agood daughter. She began to focus on cultivating

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these broad, positive qualities instead of lettingherself get bogged down by minor disagreementswith others. The persistent use of questionshelped to guide the therapeutic dialogue by en-couraging the client to shift her view of theseevents. For most clients, the cognitive shift occursgradually over a number of sessions during whichtherapist and client confront issues related tovirtue.

Wisdom is often oriented toward the optimal,long-range consequences instead of short-termgains (Birren & Fisher, 1990). Wisdom requiresa proper perspective on life events, such as beingable to differentiate something that is truly terriblefrom a minor inconvenience. For example, a de-pressed female client tended to become very upsetover daily problems. After several months of ther-apy, she was able to reduce her emotional distressand greatly shift her perspective. One day whileworking at home, her clothes dryer started onfire. She became quite upset as she focused on thetime and money needed to repair it. She quicklyshifted her view, however, to appreciate that thisevent was an inconvenience, not a catastrophe.It could have become a catastrophe if it had hap-pened when the family was asleep. She was evenable to say, "It was good it happened" becauseshe was home at the time and quickly identifiedthe problem so it could be repaired without dam-age to person or property. The client was ableto make this shift in perspective because of herexperiences with several similar events over theprevious months, such as dealing with damage toher porch roof, and finding her children safe withher ex-husband after panicking because they werenot returned on time. Repeated examples fromthe client's daily life provide many opportunitiesfor therapeutic dialogue. Gradually, clients cometo make the perspective shift without the activeguidance by the therapist's questions.

Wisdom involves a mastery of reason overemotion so that the client's decisions are notoverly influenced by emotions (Birren & Fisher,1990), impulses, or appetites (Godlovitch, 1981).For example, an adult male client was discussinghis frequent anger and irritability over minorevents. After several months of therapy, he beganto see progress in his ability to distance himselffrom minor daily hassles and evaluate his emo-tional response from a broader perspective. Heworked as a pilot, and during one session, hereported that he was almost in a plane crash,barely escaping without collision. He then spent

4 days recording the details of the events to bereported to his superiors. Unfortunately, afterwriting extensively about the events, he lost allof his notes. He was extremely upset over losinghis notes and frustrated by the wasted time. Intherapy he was asked a series of questions regard-ing what lasting damages he had suffered andwhat he had learned from his experiences. Hewas able to stop his negative emotional reactionby saying, "This is silly. I am more upset overlosing the notes than I was over almost losing mylife in a crash." Wisdom allowed him to see thebigger issues hidden behind the minor nuisances.He had learned to step back from the trivial prob-lem (losing his notes) and focus on the importantissue (nearly dying).

Wisdom is the only virtue that is good in itself(Brickhouse & Smith, 1987). All other virtuesrequire wisdom of morality to guide them (Dever-eux, 1977). Such things as wealth, power, andfame can be used for good or evil purposes. Evencourage and piety can be used destructively ifseparated from wisdom. Thus, all virtues involvewisdom (Brickhouse & Smith, 1994).

CourageCourage involves (a) a situation that poses a

risk of harm, (b) a rational desire to leave or avoida dangerous situation, (c) wisdom to determinewhat is best in the long run, and (d) strength ofwill to suppress negative emotions in order toendure a difficult situation (Schmid, 1992). Thus,courage includes boldness, wisdom, and volition(Devereux, 1977).

Courageous behavior can be seen in situationsthat are risky, difficult, or dangerous (Rorty,1986). Courage has been traditionally portrayedin behavior on the battlefield, but a soldier maybe brave in battle while lacking courage in otherareas (Gericke, 1994). Courage also occurs whendealing with emotions, sickness, loss, and death(Santas, 1971; Schmid, 1992). The courageousperson may risk suffering physical injury, finan-cial loss, or social alienation. Most people fearpoverty, injury, and death, whereas Socratesviewed damage to one's moral character as theonly danger to be genuinely feared (Seeskin,1976). Courage is based on knowledge of long-range goals instead of fleeting pains and pleasures(Duncan, 1978).

Courage does not imply a lack of fear but wis-dom (Versenyi, 1963) in the form of knowledgeof good and evil (Seeskin, 1976). The courageous

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person knows when it is important to risk harm(Penner, 1992). In contrast, cowardice is basedon ignorance of what is truly dangerous, givingexcessive weight to danger to the body insteadof to the soul (Wallace, 1978). Courageous actsshould be oriented toward important and valuablegoals (Seeskin, 1976; Wallace, 1978). Takingun-necessary risks simply to prove one's courage isfoolishness (Santas, 1971). Behavior may appearcourageous but really be foolhardy if lacking wis-dom (Irwin, 1995; MacKenzie, 1981) and a wor-thy goal (Schmid, 1992).

Courage is based on the proper beliefs aboutwhat should be feared and the strength to act onone's beliefs even when confronted with fear,temptation, or coercion to behave differently (An-nas, 1981). Courage implies boldness of actionand a willingness to risk personal injury or lossin order to obtain a greater good. Courage re-quires the self-control to pursue one's goals with-out being deterred by fears or danger (Dent, 1981;Devereux, 1977). Courage requires the determi-nation to stand up for the rights of oneself andothers even in the face of danger (Irwin, 1995).For example, an adult female client had experi-enced sexual harassment on the job. After severalmonths of negotiating for a new position to workwith a different supervisor, she was ready to dropall allegations. In therapy, however, she dis-cussed the different concerns in light of at-tempting to protect herself versus correcting a badsituation. She realized the importance of pro-tecting not only herself but also protecting otherswho would encounter this deviant supervisor. Shedecided to pursue legal charges against the super-visor despite the social pressure to "let it go."

Courage is displayed when a person has theoption to avoid danger but chooses not to (Wal-lace, 1978). Volition is an essential componentof courage because a dangerous act is not trulycourageous if it is performed due to external pres-sure (Schmid, 1992), social conformity, or fearof dishonor (Lycos, 1987). Virtuous behavior isnot determined by the demands of authorities,individual preferences, or social consensus(Despland, 1985). Courage requires rationalviews that help the individual transcend social,political, religious, or superstitious customs(Schmid, 1992). The person must be willing toconfront a physical injury, social alienation, orfinancial loss in order to do'what is right.

It can be useful to cultivate courage in clientsduring therapy. For example, an adult male client

with obsessive-compulsive disorder had manyproblems stemming from the need to repeat cer-tain acts. If he walked through a doorway, drovehis car, or placed something down on a table andit did not feel "just right," he would repeat theact until it felt better. Sometimes this repeatingcould take hours. The client admitted he had thesuperstitious belief that, unless it "felt right," hewould suffer from bad luck or his health wouldsuddenly deteriorate. He was unwilling to changehis behavior for fear his superstition would cometrue. Therapy discussions helped the client evalu-ate his fears, realize there was little danger in-volved, and develop a new perspective regardingthe trivial nature of the potential harm involvedin these situations. Over the course of therapy,he was able to develop the courage to challengehis superstitions and slowly eliminate his re-peating rituals. When he was asked what hewould lose if he let the obsessive-compulsive dis-order rule his life, he gradually realized that heneeded to confront his fears and reduce his avoid-ance. He realized that he needed to fight off hisurges and tolerate discomfort in order to regainpersonal control over his life. He developed an atti-tude that helped him take on a challenge, whichgreatly helped him overcome his compulsive ritu-als. He was able to see these anxiety-provokingsituations as trifling and insignificant. He hadgained a better view of his life and his goals. Hedeveloped the courage to be himself (Tillich, 1952),and could accept himself as an imperfect humanbeing (Brouwers & Wiggum, 1993).

ModerationModeration involves rational choices over

temptation and pleasure (Schmid, 1992). A clientcan demonstrate moderation when several possi-ble options are available and the client choosesthe behavior that (a) allows some gratification ofdesires, (b) is most beneficial to self and othersin the long run, (c) is perceived as beneficial forother people in a similar situation, and (d) is theaction that a wise person would recommend(Hughen, 1982). Moderation includes self-control, proper desires, and a priority of reasonover desire.

Moderation refers to retaining rational controlover one's pleasures and appetites (Brickhouse& Smith, 1994), but people sometimes displayexcess in their emotions, attitudes, and behaviors.The self-indulgent person pursues easily obtainedtemptations (e.g., eating, drinking, and sexual

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pleasures) to an excessive degree (Wallace,1978). For most people, desires can become lim-itless (Kaplan, 1977). Appetites and primitive de-sires become insatiable in the intemperate person(MacKenzie, 1981), and when carried to excess,can result in physical or mental illness (Hughen,1982). Hie excessive indulgence of bodily appe-tites can lead to obesity, alcoholism, and sexualdeviation. When clients become accustomed tosatisfying their appetites, the strength of their de-sires increases (Dent, 1975).

Moderation includes an awareness of one's lim-itations and weaknesses, making the individualmore modest, gentle, and restrained (Crombie,1962). Moderation can help soften emotions sothey become more gentle (Wilson, 1984). Forexample, a chronically depressed male client,who worked as a professional musician, foundthat his high standards and self-critical style oftentriggered feelings of anxiety, depression, and in-security. During therapy, he was helped to seehow he based his self-esteem on his musical per-formance. When his practice or recital was flaw-less, he felt good about himself. Whenever hemade mistakes in his music, he felt worthless asa person. In therapy, he was asked how importantit would be for him to practice 2 hours and makeonly one mistake. When he admitted that onemistake was inconsequential, he was asked aboutthe implications of two mistakes, then three, four,and a dozen mistakes. He felt mistakes meant heneeded more practice. The therapist asked himhow he should perform if he practiced 1, 2, 3,. . . 12 hours each day. Then, he was asked toestimate his self-esteem and quality of life if hepracticed flawlessly 8-10 hours each day. Bycarrying these issues out to ludicrous extremes,the client was able to see his excessive focuson perfectionism. Subsequent discussions helpedhim to see his tendency to overemphasize musicalskills had caused a relative neglect of other areasof his life. He reevaluated his long-term prioritiesand began working to improve his relationshipswith friends and family members.

Moderation involves mastery over one's ownpleasures and desires (Curzer, 1991). A client'sdesires, appetites, and motivations should be con-trolled (Robinson, 1995) and guided by knowl-edge and reason (Annas, 1981). Happiness doesnot mean satisfying all desires and aspirations,but taming one's desire to match one's circum-stances. The person's emotions and appetitesshould be indulged only to the extent that their

satisfaction is in the best interests of the person(Crombie, 1962). For example, an adult maleclient reported deviant sexual habits that involvedexposing his genitals and sometimes masturbatingin front of young adult females. He sought helpto control these urges. In therapy, he was askeda variety of questions to shift his view from theimmediate gratification to the subsequent conse-quences: What would happen if your wife knewabout these behaviors? How would you feel ifyour son did the same things? In this age of hiddenvideo cameras, how would you feel if someonetaped you during these acts? What would happenif the tape ended up on television? What if youwrote down a description of your adventures andwe mailed it to your wife? The client reportedsudden strong feelings of panic, guilt, and a fearthat he would lose his wife. The client foundthese questions helpful in suppressing his devianturges and refocusing his energies on his relation-ship with his wife and son. Additional therapeuticdialogue focused more on cultivating internalconstraints, so that when he felt guilty or ashamedof a deviant act, these negative emotions shouldprovide sufficient impetus for discontinuing thebehavior.

Moderation involves a general ability of self-control and reduces the overindulgence in easypleasures (Irwin, 1995). Even good things (e.g.,work, exercise, leisure time) may become harm-ful if done to excess (MacKenzie, 1981). Modera-tion requires avoiding excessive behavior (Annas,1981) and striving for a healthy and balancedlifestyle. For example, one female client dis-played workaholic tendencies. She was often de-pressed because her daily life was filled withwork, chores, and details. She had little time forher family, friends, or relaxing leisure activities.She typically worked longer hours than her co-workers and held very high standards for herself.She was able to see that minor events (e.g., com-pleting a report 1 day late) caused major shifts inher moods (e.g., depression for several days) andher attitudes (e.g., severe self-criticism). In ther-apy, much of the discussion focused on obtaininga balance across different areas of her life. Com-mon events throughout her week were used asexamples to explore the advantages and disadvan-tages of her high standards. She was helped tosee that excelling in one area (her job) impliedshe was probably neglecting other areas of herlife (her family and social life). Therapeutic dis-cussions viewed balance and moderation as an

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ideal, better than an unrealistic view toward per-fection.

Virtuous behavior is oriented toward long-range pleasures that bring happiness not just whileone is experiencing the act (such as physical plea-sures) but pleasure and worth for their own sake(Trianosky, 1988). Many people can benefit froma view that emphasizes long-term satisfaction (El-lis, 1994; Ellis & Dryden, 1987), guiding one'sbehavior toward goals of lasting benefit. Greed,gluttony, and other forms of excess should beavoided. The goal is not to eliminate or frustrateone's appetites, but to redirect them towards last-ing satisfactions, such as love, friendship, andvirtue (Brickhouse & Smith, 1994). For example,one male client had difficulties with self-control.Whenever he would become upset over interper-sonal problems, he would respond with severebouts of depression, excessive eating, or sexualacting out. He lacked an ability to moderate hisemotions or his behavior. In therapy, the clientwas asked to self-monitor the frequency of vari-ous maladaptive activities. The self-monitoringhelped him to see the pattern of excess that hedisplayed in various situations. Then, he wasasked to monitor (a) the impulse to engage in thedeviant acts, (b) the time the impulse occurred,and (c) the precipitating events. In session, hewas asked to anticipate the positive and negativeconsequences of his behavior, both for himselfand others, in the near and distant future. Slowly,he learned to express his emotions in more con-structive ways, and was able to reduce his relianceon less constructive outlets. The impulsive spend-ing was the easiest urge to learn to control. Then,strategies that helped curtail the impulsive spend-ing were applied to other forms of impulse con-trol. As he learned to control his primitive desires,he was able to display moderation in most areasof his life. His emotional problems became lessintense, less frequent, and less disruptive, andhe began moving toward his long-term goals ofstability in job and relationships. The notion ofbalance was emphasized. The client, however,typically viewed his need for balance as beingsimilar to a high wire acrobat about to fall. Thus,it became important to emphasize balance interms of walking; it is easy to recover if knockedoff balance.

JusticeJustice refers to making reasonable decisions

that are fair to all parties involved. Justice in-

cludes honesty, integrity, impartial decision-making, creative problem-solving, fairness, and aview to the good of society. Also, justice includesaspects of wisdom, courage, and moderation (Ir-win, 1995). Justice is necessary in order for peo-ple to live together in society (Rawls, 1971). Jus-tice promotes friendship, harmony, and socialcohesion (Lycos, 1987). Justice must take intoaccount the welfare of the group, the number ofindividuals affected by a decision, equalityamong people, and attempts to promote the great-est good for most people (Fishkin, 1992).

Justice involves being honest with self and oth-ers, even when an honest response could harm theclient (Wallace, 1978). Justice implies impartialdecision-making, suppressing one's personal in-terests from influencing the situation (Annas,1981). The just person does not make specialallowances for oneself, does not make exceptionsto general rules, does not take advantage of one'sposition, and treats all people alike when in aposition of power (Pincoffs, 1986). Justice doesnot mean blindly following the established laws,or behaving according to majority rule. The justperson is not influenced by bribes, threats, orcoercive pressure. Thus, justice helps peoplemake decisions that are justifiable to all insteadof enforceable by the strongest power (Reiman,1990). Behaving justly requires an individual toset aside personal interests and behave in a waythat helps others while sometimes bringing nega-tive consequences to oneself (Annas, 1981).

Justice requires wisdom and creative problem-solving. Clients may need to learn creative waysof approaching interpersonal conflict. For exam-ple, a female client was frequently upset over herdifficulties with her father-in-law. During familygatherings, she often felt ignored, slighted, orridiculed. During therapy, she was helped to un-derstand family interactions from her father-in-law's perspective and was able to see the humorof many misunderstandings. She experimentedwith several novel ways of engaging her father-in-law in friendly conversation. More importan-tly, she was able to understand family gatheringsas experienced by her father-in-law. She devel-oped a better perspective for knowing when toforgive, forget, or ignore an interpersonal conflictversus the need to speak up or fight back. Thus,justice includes wisdom for discriminating pettygrievances from major life problems.

Forgiveness plays a central role in justice.When clients return a wrong after they have been

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wronged, they exhibit revenge, not justice(Vlastos, 1991). According to Socrates, it is neveracceptable to deliberately injure another personor return an injury suffered (Allen, 1984; Vlastos,1991). If the client's behavior will harm anotherperson, no other positive consequence can com-pensate for the harm it does to the client's moralcharacter (Brickhouse & Smith, 1994; Vlastos,1991). For example, a male client described nu-merous minor physical altercations while playingsoccer with friends. He interpreted remarks andgestures made by the opposing goalie as an insultto his manhood. He enjoyed telling stories ofrevenge, deliberately injuring opposing playersbecause of minor comments made on the field. Hefocused on the enjoyment he felt when assaultingother players, feeling strong and powerful. Hebelieved his acts were justified and legal, as longas he did not get caught by the referees. He failedto see the damage to himself and others, and lostsight of the friendly aspects of the game.

PietyPiety involves behaving according to the

wishes of God (McPherran, 1985; Weiss, 1994)in an attempt to benefit other people (Vlastos,1989,1991). Piety is based on attempts to alwaysdo one's best and therefore develop the greatestpossible excellence in one's soul (Morgan, 1990).While some people only seek spiritual guidancefor help with current problems or when seekingforgiveness for past events, piety involves a sin-cere conviction to help self and others becomecloser to God while striving to display holinessthrough daily actions. Piety involves using Godas an ideal on which to model one's behavior(Kachi, 1983). Piety includes faith, generosity,and compassion for others.

Attempting to cultivate piety in therapy canbe complicated. The therapist must respect theclient's religious background while helping to ex-plore and clarify the client's spiritual beliefs. Al-though many therapists avoid discussing religiousissues in psychotherapy, piety is based on spirit-ual faith, the belief that God exists and plays animportant role in human lives. Piety includes aview that death is not the end of our existence,but a transformation. It can be helpful to askclients a series of questions to elucidate the cli-ent's spiritual faith. Relevant questions includeDo you believe in an afterlife? What do you thinkyour afterlife will be like? Do you think that yourbehavior on earth determines the quality of your

existence after death? What does your currentbehavior imply will happen to you? When youare on your death bed and you look back overyour life, how will you feel? Will you be readyfor the transition into the next life? Questions likethese can help clients reevaluate their attachmentto material possessions and physical passions. Forexample, a depressed and pessimistic male clienttypically focused on his mistakes and failures.Minor misunderstandings were construed as ma-jor failures, and he tended to see his entire lifeas empty, devoid of meaning, and lacking in ma-terial success. He typically focused on the ap-praisal, "My life is terrible." In therapy, he wasasked to list any positive qualities in his life. Hewas able to value his strained relationship withhis daughter, and despite problems with his super-visor, he could see the benefits of his job. Healso stated that "things could be worse." As anassignment between sessions, the client wasasked to notice times he felt upset about dailyhassles, and to remind himself that "things couldbe worse." The next session, the client reportedthat this phrasing shifted his view to other prob-lems that could potentially happen to him, makinghim feel even more distraught. The client reportedthat the phrasing "I'm thankful for what I've got"helped reduce his depression and shift his focus.In addition, the attitude of thankfulness generateda renewed interest in spiritual matters that helpedhim tolerate ongoing stressors and helped allevi-ate his depression.

Compassion and generosity are key features ofpiety. Compassion includes a genuine concern forthe welfare of others, their feelings, and theirhappiness (Trianosky, 1987). The compassionateperson is genuinely happy for the well-being ofothers, perceiving positive outcomes for othersas beneficial to society. Generosity involves notbeing selfish or greedy, but giving to others basedon their need instead of your surplus. For exam-ple, a shy female with chronic depression tendedto be critical of herself and others. When therapysessions focused on using her spare time to helpothers, she soon developed a more positive atti-tude toward people. She set aside some of herpettiness and began to appreciate the daily strug-gles encountered by friends and neighbors.

According to Socrates, the ultimate goal of lifeis improvement of our soul (Cushman, 1978).Thus, people should care more about their soulsthan their bodies (Legomsky-Abel, 1989). Socra-tes viewed moral goodness as analogous to health

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of the soul and evil as disease (Kekes, 1988). Itis mote important for a person to focus on pro-tecting and improving his or her moral characterthan to become invested in material things (An-nas, 1981). According to Socrates, the greatestharm is harm to a person's soul (Brickhouse &Smith, 1991) and only the client can bring harmto his or her own soul. Nothing in the externalenvironment can damage one's soul (Brickhouse& Smith, 1994). Alternatively, happiness comesfrom what a client does to oneself, regardless ofwhat others may say or do to the client (Annas,1981).

ConclusionsThe Socratic method uses a therapeutic dia-

logue to promote a broad view of people and lifegoals. Through this dialectic process, clients canclarify their understanding of the virtues and eval-uate their own behavior in terms of virtue andvice. When therapist and client focus on wisdomof the good in life, many of the problems peopleconfront become insignificant and less troubling.Therapy can cultivate a new perspective, movingfrom a focus on recent problems or current symp-toms, and beginning to confront broad issues ofmorality and virtues. Even with the most difficultclients, the therapist can consider "Where is thegoodness in this person and how can I help itgrow?"

The therapist may help clients attempt to definethe virtues in general terms by examining a seriesof specific applications. The dialogue does notintend to derive a final definition of the virtues.Discussions with Socrates rarely produced cleardefinitions of the virtues, but this was acceptablebecause the process of exploring these issues ismore important than providing others with abso-lute definitions (Anderson, 1967). It can be usefulto listen to clients and identify inconsistenciesbetween the clients' stated values and actual be-haviors. Thus, many people will say they honorvirtue while doing little to demonstrate virtuousbehavior in their daily lives (Cushman, 1978).Virtues need to be lived through daily events soclients can understand them in light of their ownlife experiences (Kohak, 1960). The therapist isnot a moral proselytizer but helps clients sortthrough their own life goals and values. Whenusing the Socratic method the therapist does nothave the answers, but has questions that can facili-tate a collaborative exploration. According toSocrates, virtues cannot be taught through tradi-

tional teaching methods, but they can be learnedthrough action and discovery (Brumbaugh,1975). The dialogue helps promote a process ofsearching for information and definitions(Seeskin, 1987) and encourages clients to ques-tion their attitudes and values (Annas, 1981). Intherapy the client's views of virtues can be madeexplicit so they can be challenged and revised.The dialogue helps keep the client's views of thevirtues open to change and growth (Kohak,1960). In addition, clients benefit when they canview their stressors, conflicts, mistakes, and fail-ures as opportunities to develop, test, and exercisetheir moral character.

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