Genetic counseling provides medical information and helps patients make decisions about hereditary diseases. Counselors take family history and recommend genetic testing if necessary. Patients can seek counseling for various reasons, including curiosity, and counselors offer support for processing serious news.
Genetic counseling is a service that is offered to patients who may be at risk for hereditary diseases. It is also offered to expectant parents who are concerned about the genes they may pass down. A genetic counseling session is designed to open communication, provide helpful medical information, and help patients make decisions and advocate for themselves with medical professionals. This medical field has been around since the 1970s; the first genetic counseling training program in the United States opened in 1971.
The requirements to become a genetic counselor vary depending on the region in which you wish to practice. As a general rule, applicants complete a master’s program in genetics and counseling, then must pass an exam administered by a national genetic counseling program. During their training, genetic counselors will have the opportunity to interact with patients in a clinical setting and accumulate hours of field work that will help them professionally.
There are several reasons to seek genetic counseling, and in some cases, patients can be referred. Parents are commonly referred to a genetic counselor when a doctor thinks they may be passing dangerous traits to their children, and parents with failed pregnancies may choose to attend genetic counseling to find out how and take steps to prevent early termination if they decide. to try again. Patients who have been diagnosed with diseases that have a genetic link are also referred for genetic counseling, as are some patients with a family history of genetic problems. People may also opt for genetic counseling out of curiosity.
During a genetic counseling session, the counselor will take a family history and discuss the patient’s reasons for opting for counseling. If the counselor deems it necessary, he will recommend genetic testing, which will typically be done by a doctor. Once the test is complete, the patient meets with the counselor again to discuss the results and their ramifications. For example, if a woman tests positive for a mutation in her BRCA1 gene, she may want to notify family members so they can get tested too, as this mutation is linked to breast cancer.
If a patient tests positive for a mutation, the counselor will discuss the effect this may have on the patient’s life. Genetic counseling offers information about the likelihood of future problems, along with steps to prevent, diagnose, and treat various diseases with a genetic component. Since the diagnosis of a dangerous mutation can also be a traumatic event, genetic counseling also offers a space for processing serious news and asking questions about it.
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