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Biesecker, B., Austin, J., & Caleshu, C. (2017). Response to a different vantage point commentary: Psychotherapeutic genetic counseling, is it?Journal of Genetic Counseling, 26(2), 334-336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-016-0025-z
Whether genetic counseling is a form of psychotherapy is open for debate. Early practicioners in genetic counseling described it as such, and this claim has been replicated in recent publications. This commentary is a rebuttal to the claim that genetic counseling is distinct from psychotherapty. We argue that it is a a form of psychoterapy that aims to help clients manage a health threat that affects their psychological wellbeing, paralleling the goals of psychotherapy.