With this post, my posts on genetic counseling are now a trilogy (which somewhat unfairly puts them in the same category as some amazing literature, – and films).

From a recent Nature News Special Report:

No one denies that genetic test results can be life-altering for some individuals. But research by Theresa Marteau, a health psychologist at King’s College London, and others has shown that most people are remarkably resilient in the face of traumatic genetic test results. They typically report feeling anxious or depressed around the time of testing, but these effects dwindle within a few months.

This fits well with my first post where I argued that the need for genetic counselors was overrated. After reading an article on Huntington’s disease however, I changed my mind, and wrote another blog post. But now, this quote contradicts what I thought was my final conclusions and I am left wondering where I stand … again:

Studies by Aad Tibben, a psychologist and psychotherapist at Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and his colleagues showed that people who took predictive tests for Huntington’s disease mostly recovered from the shock. Many actually felt more in control after testing because they could make arrangements for care, or even for euthanasia.

And I am not the only one who is confused on these matters

With so much uncertainty about how people deal with genetic risk, is genetic counselling necessary or helpful for people undergoing the less definitive tests for an increased propensity for heart conditions or diabetes? “I’m convinced it’s necessary,” says Tibben. But he and others in the field acknowledge that there is little in the way of controlled trials to support their belief.

I have decided to go with the conclusion that the best thing to do is probably to do the genetic counseling,… and then evaluate,… and then stop doing it if it doesn’t work. This simply because to my knowledge, genetic counseling doesn’t do any harm. It may even do some good even if the effect is all placebo:

“……….Did the counsellor help the patient understand complicated risks, or just provide some face-to-face contact and empathy in a confusing medical world?

So, until someone comes out with a study that says that genetic counseling is harmful, this post will reflect my final (!?) postition. End of story (trilogy).