Genetic counseling in the middle East

Abstract

Genetic counseling is a new profession in the Middle East - and one that is highly in demand, given the demographics and health issues of the populations in this region. The practice of genetic counseling can be differentiated from the larger field of clinical genetics due to its intrinsic focus on communication and psychosocial issues. Although genetic counseling and clinical genetic services are closely interwoven, and typically offered together, the provision of genetic testing may not encompass the genetic counseling process in its entirety.