Genetic counseling in psychiatry

This chapter offers a sober analysis of the history and prospects of genetic counseling in psychiatry. The present intersection of genetics and psychiatry is complex and limited in scope. The argument is made that recent genomic discoveries are unlikely to revolutionize genetic counseling because the complex nature of psychiatric conditions are not reducible to models of prediction. Susceptibility testing for psychiatric disorders is not a stable platform for clinical psychiatry because tests based on “common variation” are clinically unhelpful. Nevertheless, there are expectations that genetic counseling for psychiatry will be an area of growth and potential. The rest of the chapter focuses on the practical work of individuals and experts as they manage their moral or professional obligations to communicate and understand genetic risk in psychiatry