Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2017 Apr;26(2):334-336.
doi: 10.1007/s10897-016-0025-z. Epub 2016 Nov 2.

Response to A Different Vantage Point Commentary: Psychotherapeutic Genetic Counseling, Is it?

Barbara Biesecker  1 , Jehannine Austin  2 , Colleen Caleshu  3
Affiliations
Comment

Response to A Different Vantage Point Commentary: Psychotherapeutic Genetic Counseling, Is it?

Barbara Biesecker et al. J Genet Couns. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Whether genetic counseling is a form of psychotherapy is open for debate. Early practicioners in genetic counseling described it as such, and this claim has been replicated in recent publications. This commentary is a rebuttal to the claim that genetic counseling is distinct from psychotherapty. We argue that it is a a form of psychoterapy that aims to help clients manage a health threat that affects their psychological wellbeing, paralleling the goals of psychotherapy.

Keywords: Genetic counseling; Psychotherapeutic genetic counseling; Psychotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Barbara Biesecker, Jehannine Austin and Colleen Caleshu declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Comment on

References

    1. Ardito RB, Rabelliano D. Therapeutic alliance and uutcome of psychotherapy: historical excursus, measurements, and prospects for research. Frontiers in Psychology. 2011;2 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Austin J, Semaka A, Hadjipavlou G. Conceptualizing genetic counseling as psychotherapy in the era of genomic medicine. Journal of Genetic Counseling. 2014;23:903–909. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Biesecker BB, Peters KF. Process studies in genetic counseling: peering into the black box. American Journal of Medical Genetics. 2001;106(3):191–198. - PubMed
    1. Biesecker B, Austin J, Caleshu C. Theories for psychotherapeutic genetic counseling: Fuzzy trace theory and cognitive behavior theory. Journal of Genetic Counseling 2016 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Elwyn G, Lloyd A, May C, van der Weijden T, Stiggelbout A, Edwards A, Frosch DL, Rapley T, Barr P, Walsh T, Grande SW, Montori V, Epstein R. Collaborative deliberation: a model for patient care. Patient Education and Counseling. 2014;97:158–164. - PubMed