Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Ancestry Testing in Clinical Encounters: Perspectives From Psychotherapy Cases

Abstract

Despite the fact that direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic ancestry testing (GAT) has been available for two decades, there is a lack of evidence-based guidance for clinicians who may work with patients who raise the topic of DTC-GAT. Although DTC-GAT accounts for the majority of the DTC genetic testing marketplace, it has received less attention than health-related testing from scientific and clinical communities. Importantly, however, from our personal experience, patients have been raising the topic of DTC-GAT in clinical encounters, including psychotherapy sessions. In this viewpoint, we present two cases of patients seen by two of the authors to raise awareness of this issue. We describe the implications of DTC-GAT for patients and clinicians, offer recommendations, and suggest future directions.