ABSTRACT
Genetic counselling is the ‘process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological, and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. With the growth in knowledge of genetic disorders and the emergence of medical genetics as a distinct specialty from the 1960s, genetic counselling progressively became medicalized, representing one of the key components of clinical genetics. The context of healthcare is changing rapidly, with genetic aspects of medicine receiving progressively more prominence. Much disease is caused by a complex interaction between a person's genes and their environment over time. The person who refuses to give any advice unless able to do everything personally is going to be of limited benefit to patients and colleagues. E-mail enquiries, coming directly from patients or family members, are increasingly frequent, particularly if one has expertise in a specific disorder or is closely involved with lay groups.
