Circular Questioning

Circular questioning is a way of asking questions that focuses on relationships rather than on single causes. It was developed for family therapy by the Milan team.¹

It does not ask why one person behaves badly. Instead it asks how family members influence one another, and how each of them understands what the others do. Patterns and connections then become easier to see.

The sections below cover where the method comes from and how the questions are built. They also set out what the research does and does not show.

What circular questioning is

Circular questions look at the links between people. They do not look for one person's faults. Instead they ask family members to compare things, and to comment on how others see a situation.²

This brings several viewpoints into the room at once. One account is heard next to another, and the differences between them are useful. Circular questioning is better understood as a way of thinking than as a set of fixed techniques.²

Where it comes from: the Milan approach

The approach was shaped by Selvini-Palazzoli, Boscolo, Cecchin and Prata.¹ Their thinking drew on Gregory Bateson's ideas about relationships.¹ Systemic therapy assumes that a family is always changing, and that its members affect one another continuously, so that each change leads on to the next.¹

Each member is seen as playing an equal part in how the family works.¹ No one is singled out. Symptoms are understood as arising from the family's history rather than from one cause.¹

In the Milan model the work also involves a team.¹ A meeting comes before each session, with breaks to talk it over.¹

The approach set out three guidelines: hypothesising, circularity and neutrality.³ Hypothesising is forming a working idea about the family before the session. Circularity is following the links between people. Neutrality is the therapist not taking sides.

What makes these questions different

Everyday questions often ask why. Why questions tend to invite explanations about the past. In systemic work, therapists lean towards what and how instead, and those questions keep attention on what is happening now.

The therapist also asks each person for their own view. The answers show where the family agrees and where it does not.

Throughout, the therapist stays neutral and does not take sides.³ The questioning is exploratory: an open enquiry rather than a search for who is at fault.²

Asking people to compare and to comment on one another makes what was unspoken clearer.² New information can come up as well.

The questions also help family members look at the problem from outside their own position in it. Writers call this taking a meta-perspective.²

Common types of circular question, with examples

Writers have grouped circular questions into recognisable types.¹ The examples below are illustrations, not scripts. A therapist adapts them to the family in the room.

Difference questions

These invite comparison. The comparison can be between people, between relationships, or between one time and another.

• "Who is closest to whom in your family?"
• "When is the problem better, and when is it worse?"

Relationship questions

These ask how one person sees the bond between others. The focus is the relationship itself, not either individual.

• "How does your mother see your relationship with your father?"
• "What would your sister say about how you and your brother get along?"

Hypothetical questions

These open up what if. Possibilities can be considered before anyone has to act on them.

• "If your father were here, what might he say about this?"
• "What would change if the problem were gone tomorrow?"

Triadic questions

These ask one person about the bond between two others. A third person describes the pair.

• "Who do your parents worry about most?"
• "How does your father see your mother's bond with your brother?"

Time questions

These follow how relationships and patterns shift over time. They set the present against an earlier period.

• "How has your bond with your mother changed since your father died?"
• "When did you first notice this pattern?"

Future questions

These explore hopes, fears and what people expect ahead. What one person expects may differ from what another expects.

• "What do you hope will be different in a few years?"
• "What worries you most if nothing changes?"

What circular questioning aims to do

The questions help family members connect behaviours, events and relationships.² That connection can change how they understand the problem, and it can point to options they had not considered.²

Much of the value lies less in new facts than in the conversation itself.² It invites people to describe things in a fresh way.² The problem can then look different.

When a problem is seen in its context, people are freer to choose.² They can decide whether to keep the relationships around it as they are, or to change them.²

The steady question and answer format has its own effect. It can help people become better observers of their own situation.²

Though built for families, the same style has been explored with individuals.² Everyone lives inside many relationships, not one.²

What the research says

Circular questioning has drawn steady interest from clinicians and researchers.¹ Writers have worked on training therapists, and on sorting the questions into types.¹

One study compared circular questioning with a cognitive-behavioural interview,³ and looked at how each shifted people's view of their problems.³ The evidence is still developing. Circular questioning is best understood as a way of opening up conversation, rather than as a guaranteed fix.

If you think family therapy might help, the therapist matters more than the label. Our guide on how to find the right therapist is a good place to start.

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for professional assessment or care. If this is affecting your life, consider reaching out to a qualified mental health professional.

References

1. [1] Aldarondo, E. (1988). The Effects of Circular Questioning on Individuals' Perspectives of Their Problems [Master's thesis, University of Massachusetts]. — Circular Questioning thesis (pt 1) (pp 1-8).
2. [2] Aldarondo, E. (1988). The Effects of Circular Questioning on Individuals' Perspectives of Their Problems [Master's thesis, University of Massachusetts]. — Circular Questioning thesis (pt 2) (pp 9-16).
3. [3] Aldarondo, E. (1988). The Effects of Circular Questioning on Individuals' Perspectives of Their Problems [Master's thesis, University of Massachusetts]. — Circular Questioning thesis (pt 13) (pp 97-104).