Multicultural genetic counseling: then, now, and in the 21st century

Scholars, educators, and practitioners have argued that racial-cultural issues are obstacles for those seeking genetic counseling. When available, cross-cultural genetic counseling has focused on simplistic knowledge of client health beliefs and cultural customs, professional cultures, and biased theoretical models as reasons for failure to create realistic knowledge of members of racial-cultural groups in the United States. Recognizing the importance of meeting the needs for all who seek genetic counseling services, genetic counselors have been providing direction in cross-cultural genetic counseling research, practice, training, and developing competency, ethical, and professional guidelines. However, emanating from a cultural pluralism perspective, cross-cultural genetic counseling has often resulted in homogenized group stereotypes without attention to intragroup variation and individual differences. A transition from cross-cultural towards multicultural genetics shifts from culture-specific group norms to an integrated social, historical, psychological, and political perspective. By valuing the process of personal and professional racial-cultural identity development, the evolution from cross-cultural to multicultural genetic counseling that has occurred within the past quarter century is discussed.