Which interviewing technique is used to draw attention to distress experienced by a client?

The technique described in the question is the affect response, which is used to focus on the emotional experience of a client, particularly in relation to their distress. This approach involves acknowledging the client's feelings, which can help to create a safe space for them to express their emotions more fully. By bringing attention to the distress, a genetic counselor can better understand the client's experiences and work collaboratively to address their concerns.

An affect response is critical in therapeutic settings because it validates the client's feelings and encourages them to explore their emotions more deeply. This can lead to greater insight and facilitate coping strategies, making it an essential tool in genetic counseling where clients may be dealing with anxiety, fear, or grief related to genetic information or familial health histories.

In contrast, other techniques like content response focus more on the specific details of what the client is saying rather than their emotional state. Minimal encouragement involves giving brief verbal acknowledgments to prompt the client to continue speaking, and rephrasing is about paraphrasing what the client has said to ensure understanding. While these techniques are valuable in their own right, they do not specifically aim to highlight or delve into the distress the client is experiencing as effectively as the affect response does.