What is circular questioning?
Circular questioning is a family therapy technique that asks how members respond to and influence one another, rather than treating a problem as one person's fault. The Milan team of Selvini Palazzoli, Boscolo, Cecchin and Prata set it out in 1980 with three guidelines for the therapist: hypothesizing, circularity and neutrality.
- Root
- Circular causality in family systems theory
- Guidelines
- Hypothesizing, circularity, neutrality
- Focus
- Relationships, differences, change
- Effect
- Families generate new views themselves
Linear vs circular questions
| Aspect | Linear | Circular |
|---|---|---|
| View | Cause → effect | Mutual loops |
| Example | "Why are you depressed?" | "When Mom seems low, what does Dad do?" |
| Effect | Gathers facts | Shifts perspectives |
Types and examples
- Relationship: "When your daughter shuts herself in her room, who notices first?"
- Difference: "Who worries more about your son's grades, Mom or Dad?"
- Ranking: "Who is most affected by this, then who next?"
- Time: "How did your conversations change after Grandma moved in?"
- Hypothetical: "If the problem vanished tomorrow, who would be most surprised?"
Why does "Why did you do that?" end conversations? "Why" singles out a culprit and invites defense. "What did everyone else do then?" lets the family see they are part of one loop, and hearing others answer shows each person how they are seen.
Tomm's four types
Karl Tomm (1988) distinguished lineal, circular, strategic and reflexive questions. Reflexive questions invite new possibilities, much like the miracle question in solution-focused brief therapy.
Cautions
Because they ask about absent or present third parties, circular questions must not turn into gossip. The therapist stays neutral and uses each question to test a hypothesis.
Frequently asked questions
- Who developed circular questioning?
- The Milan team led by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, in 1980.
- Are linear questions wrong?
- No, they gather facts, but they can fix blame on one person, so they are mixed with circular ones.
- Can families use it at home?
- Asking "what did each of us do then?" instead of "why?" helps everyday conversations too.
References
- Selvini Palazzoli, M., Boscolo, L., Cecchin, G., & Prata, G. (1980). Hypothesizing—circularity—neutrality: Three guidelines for the conductor of the session. Family Process, 19(1), 3–12.
- Tomm, K. (1988). Interventive interviewing: Part III. Intending to ask lineal, circular, strategic, or reflexive questions? Family Process, 27(1), 1–15.