to avoid patients having to come back in as results can take weeks to be processed. If further counseling is needed in a more personal setting, or it is determined that additional family members should be tested, a secondary appointment can be made. Support Genetic counselors provide supportive counseling to families, serve as patient advocates and refer individuals and families to community or state support services. They serve as educators and resource people for other health care professionals and for the general public. Many engage in research activities related to the field of medical genetics and genetic counseling. When communicating increased risk, counselors anticipate the likely distress and prepare patients for the results. Counselors help clients cope with and adapt to the emotional, psychological, medical, social, and economic consequences of the test results. Each individual considers their family needs, social setting, cultural background, and religious beliefs when interpreting their risk. Clients must evaluate their reasoning to continue with testing at all. Counselors are present to put all the possibilities in perspective and encourage clients to take time to think about their decision. When a risk is found, counselors frequently reassure parents that they were not responsible for the result. An informed choice without pressure or coercion is made when all relevant information has been given and understood. After counseling for other hereditary conditions, the patient may be presented with the option of having genetic testing. In some circumstances no genetic testing is indicated, other times it may be useful to begin the testing process with an affected family member. The genetic counselor also reviews the advantages and disadvantages of genetic testing with the patient. Outcomes The most commonly measured genetic counseling outcomes included knowledge, anxiety or distress, satisfaction, perceived risk, genetic testing (intentions or receipt), health behaviors, and decisional conflict. Results suggest that genetic counseling can lead to increased knowledge, perceived personal control, positive health behaviors, and improved risk perception accuracy as well as decreases in anxiety, cancer-related worry, and decisional conflict. Sub-specialties Adult genetics Adult or general genetics clinics serve patients who are diagnosed with genetic conditions that begin to show signs or symptoms in adulthood. Many genetic conditions have varying ages of onset, ranging from an infantile form to an adult form. Genetic counseling can facilitate the decision-making process by providing the patient/family with education about the genetic condition as well as the medical management options available to