2016 Banbury Meeting On Clinical Applications of Advances In Psychiatric Genetics: Background And Rationale

Abstract

In December 2016, in partnership with the US-based National Society of Genetic Counselors, ISPG co-supported a Banbury meeting on the topic of Clinical Applications of Advances in Psychiatric Genetics. The purpose of this presentation is to provide the background and rationale for the meeting as a frame and context for the contributions of the subsequent presenters, each of whom will present on one major theme of the meeting.Broadly, the foundation for the meeting was the recognition that genomic advances at the molecular level in psychiatry will not make a difference to human health if we cannot find effective strategies to translate these findings into clinical practice that are both effective and extensively adopted. Therefore, as co-chairs for the meeting, Francis McMahon and I brought representatives with relevant expertise from psychiatry, human molecular genetics, clinical genetics, and genetic counseling together with representatives of relevant professional societies. We challenged participants to consider the foundational question "How do we translate our ever-increasing understanding of the genetics of psychiatric disorders into interventions that improve outcomes for patients and their families?"As well as tackling issues around the application of genetic testing (including testing to predict risk, as well as diagnostic testing, and pharmacogenomic testing) in the context of psychiatric disorders, we also asked participants to consider the broader issue of the application of genetic counselling in the context of psychiatric disorders. Genetic counselling can be applied in the context of psychiatric illness even in the absence of genetic testing, and under these circumstances has been shown to result in important improvements in patient outcomes (like empowerment and self-esteem). Therefore, we also discussed barriers and opportunities to the application of genetic counselling in psychiatry.This presentation will focus on presenting the assumptions that we articulated and the questions that we wrestled with during the course of this meeting in an effort to push progress in helping people with psychiatric disorders and their families with the knowledge we are generating from molecular psychiatric genetics studies. This presentation will frame those that follow.