The Future of Genetic Counseling

The field of genetic counseling is rapidly growing and evolving. We recently asked some of the genetic counselors we work with in clinical rotations to tell us where they think the field is headed. Here are some of their responses:

“I think genetic counseling will continue to become important in additional fields as genetic testing becomes useful in more conditions/as research identifies genetic contribution to disease, and public health genetics will expand requiring genetic counselors to enter that field.”

“There will be more and more opportunities for genetic counselors as time goes on. Find your niche or carve one out!”

“With the shift towards personalized medicine, the field of genetic counseling will need to continue to expand through the addition of new specialty clinics, growth in the use of telemedicine, and increase in the number of genetic counselors due to an increase in patient volume.”

“I think that genetic counselors will be largely responsible for post-test counseling in the future. As genetic testing becomes more accessible and affordable, the genetic counseling field will be unable to accommodate the number of patients requiring pre-test counseling.”

“Online and Clinical laboratories”

“Different subspecialties”

“I would hope as the field of genetic counseling expands it becomes integrated into more routine care. More and more genetic testing is ordered by physicians without genetic training, particularly primary care. It would be great to have them know we are a resource both for them and their patients for pre- and post-test counseling.”

“I believe there will be a move toward genetic counselors being involved in personalized medicine and risk assessment for common conditions. Cancer and cardiovascular will continue to grow, with genetic counselors becoming part of a multidisciplinary care team.”

“More private practice for genetic counselors is coming in the wake of all the direct-to-consumer 23andMe and Ancestry-type testing.”

“Genetic counselors will probably rarely be seeing patients for hour-long pretest counseling sessions but rather serve patients as a consult through their doctor or online as a posttest service.”

“Training will be extended.”