ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a reappraisal of the notion of activity type with special reference to institutional/professional domains of language use. The overlap between activity types and discourse types is most apparent when we deal with counselling and therapy, as they constitute both a type of activity and a form of discourse. The chapter examines how different discourse types are interactionally managed in the context of genetic counselling. It discusses the activity analysis over the last ten years in genetic counselling as a discursive site. The chapter analyzes the 'interactional hybridity' to understand how certain discourse types are overlaid within and across activity types. It describes three critical moments of the genetic counselling activity for further analysis: giving information, seeking advice and negotiating decisions about predictive tests. The chapter talks about the Stephen Levinson's notion of 'activity types', which developed the idea that language analysis needs to be done in context by participant.
