The skill of articulating the client's feelings, in response to tuning in or perceiving the client's indirect communications, prior to the client's direct expression of affect is:

• A. Putting the client's feelings into words
• B. Reflective listening
• C. Active summarization
• D. Empathic engagement

Answer: (A)

Putting the client's feelings into words involves translating the emotional cues and indirect communications that a client expresses into verbal acknowledgments of those feelings. This skill is crucial because it demonstrates the clinician's ability to accurately interpret and validate the client's emotional state, even before the client has explicitly articulated those feelings.

By putting the client's feelings into words, the practitioner helps the client recognize and process their emotions, fostering a deeper therapeutic connection. This technique encourages clients to explore their feelings more thoroughly and can be particularly effective in situations where clients may struggle to express their emotions directly.

In contrast, reflective listening focuses on actively listening and repeating back what the client says, which emphasizes understanding rather than articulating unspoken feelings. Active summarization condenses and emphasizes key points in the dialogue, while empathic engagement involves actively connecting with a client's emotional experience. Each of these options has its own role in therapeutic practice, but the specific act of putting feelings into words aligns most closely with the described skill.