Genetic Counseling
Genetic counseling is a supportive conversation with a specialist who helps you understand inherited risk, weigh whether genetic testing is right for you, and interpret results. It also supports family-planning and reproductive decisions. The approach is non-directive: the counselor gives clear, balanced information so you can make choices that fit your own values.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
Genetic counseling is a structured, supportive conversation with a clinical genetics specialist. It helps you understand how inherited conditions or risks may affect you and your family, what genetic testing could and could not tell you, and what the possible results might mean. It is not the same as testing: counseling can take place before any test to help you decide whether to proceed, after a test to interpret the findings, or entirely on its own when you simply want to understand your risk.
A central principle is that counseling is non-directive. The specialist reviews your personal and family history, explains the relevant medical facts in plain language, and lays out the options and their implications, including the emotional, ethical, family, and privacy dimensions, without telling you what to decide. This is especially valuable for sensitive situations such as reproductive and family-planning decisions, where the right choice depends on your own circumstances and values. Where testing is chosen, the counselor helps arrange it and later explains the results.
For international patients, a coordinator arranges the referral, and counseling sessions can often be held remotely as well as in person. If testing follows, a transparent, itemized cost estimate is provided before any samples are taken, and results can be discussed remotely after you return home.
Who is a candidate?
- You have a personal or family history of an inherited condition and want to understand your risk
- You are deciding whether genetic testing is right for you and want to weigh the pros and cons first
- You have received a genetic test result and need help understanding what it means
- You are planning a pregnancy or family and want to discuss reproductive and family-planning options
- A relative has a known genetic condition or variant and you are unsure what it means for you
- You want balanced, non-directive information before making a personal or medical decision
What happens
- 1
Referral & preparation
A coordinator arranges your consultation and gathers relevant medical and family-history information in advance so the session is focused and useful.
- 2
History review
The specialist reviews your personal and family history, sometimes drawing a family tree, to assess patterns of inherited risk relevant to your questions.
- 3
Discussion & options
In plain language, the counselor explains the relevant genetics, your options including whether testing is appropriate, and the emotional, ethical, and privacy considerations, in a non-directive way.
- 4
Decisions & follow-up
You decide on any next steps at your own pace. If you choose testing, the counselor helps arrange it and provides post-test counseling to interpret the results, which can be done remotely.
Benefits
- Helps you make informed, unpressured decisions that reflect your own values
- Clarifies your personal and family risk in plain, understandable language
- Explains what genetic testing could and could not tell you before you commit to it
- Supports sensitive reproductive and family-planning decisions
- Provides expert interpretation of results and guidance on implications for relatives
Risks & considerations
- Counseling clarifies risk and options but cannot remove uncertainty or guarantee an outcome
- Some questions can only be partly answered, as not every risk can be measured or predicted
- Discussions may raise difficult emotional, ethical, or family issues, which the counselor helps you navigate
- Any testing that follows has its own limitations, including uncertain or incidental findings
- Information about inherited risk can have privacy and insurance implications worth considering
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Medical Genetics.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Genetic Counseling — frequently asked questions
No. Counseling and testing are separate. Many people have counseling purely to understand their risk and options, and some decide not to test at all. If you do choose testing, the counselor helps arrange it and later explains the results.
No. Genetic counseling is deliberately non-directive. The specialist gives you clear, balanced information about your risk, options, and their implications, and supports you in making the decision that is right for your own situation and values.
Yes. Counseling can address reproductive and family-planning questions, including inherited risks that might affect a pregnancy and the options available. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is offered by the group and is covered separately; your counselor can explain whether it is relevant to you.
Any information about your personal medical history and, importantly, your family history is helpful, including which relatives were affected and at what age. Your coordinator will let you know what is useful to gather before your session.
Often, yes. A coordinator arranges your referral, and many counseling sessions can be held remotely as well as in person. If testing follows, an itemized cost estimate is provided before any sample is taken, and results can be discussed remotely after you return home.
We provide a transparent, itemized estimate after reviewing your case and do not quote fixed prices online because each plan is individual. The number and timing of sessions depend on your situation, and your coordinator confirms the details in advance.
Related treatments
Considering genetic counseling?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.