title: Psychiatric disorders in clinical genetics I: Addressing family histories of psychiatric illness.
abstract: This is the first article of a two-part professional development series addressing genetic counseling for personal and family histories of psychiatric disorders. It is based on an Educational Breakout Session presented by the Psychiatric Special Interest Group of the National Society of Genetic Counselors at the 2006 Annual Education Conference. This article examines issues that arise in addressing family histories of psychiatric illness, while the second article in the series considers the generation and provision of individualized recurrence risks for psychiatric disorders. In this article we discuss the importance of managing uncertainty for affected individuals and their close family members who have been referred to genetics for a number of different indications. We then use four simulated cases to make recommendations about the scope and timing of discussions related to the psychiatric family history.
authors.affiliation: National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA, hpeay@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Holly L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Peay
authors.forename: Patricia McCarthy
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Veach
authors.forename: Christina G S
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosen-Sheidley
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gettig
authors.forename: Jehannine C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Austin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D035501:Uncertainty