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This article defines and illustrates therapist questions in individual psychotherapy and then reviews the naturalistic, empirical research on their effectiveness. The research on immediate impacts of questions in psychotherapy has been mixed. The available research indicates that positive impacts, particularly of open questions, include increased client emotional expressiveness and affective exploration. However, negative impacts have also been found, suggesting that questions may be related to negative client perspectives of the therapist's empathy and helpfulness and session smoothness. The article focuses on definitions and clinical examples as well as research findings and limitations. The article concludes with training implications and therapeutic practice recommendations based on the empirical research. Clinical Impact StatementQuestion: Arguably, psychotherapists often rely on the use of questions in psychotherapy (such as to better understand their clients' perspectives), but it is unclear how effective questions really are. Findings: This article presents research that examines the immediate impact of asking questions in individual psychotherapy. Meaning: The research is mixed, suggesting that there are both positive impacts (such as client's increased exploration and expressiveness) and negative impacts (such as client concerns about therapists' empathy and their experience of the session). Next Steps: More targeted research is needed to help better guide the effective use of questions in psychotherapy.

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