A visit from 1st year Genetic Counseling Students from Sarah Lawrence.

Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College. Integrating education, healthcare, and humanism, this celebrated program prepares genetic counselors to work in a growing, dynamic field.

The mission of the Human Genetics program is to improve health care for all people by educating and training individuals to become genetic counselors so they are prepared to meet current and future needs of their clients, their communities, their profession, and society at large.

Established in 1969, the program was the first of its kind in the United States. It remains the largest graduate program in genetic counseling in the world.

About Genetic Counseling

Genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological, and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. This process integrates:

• Interpretation of family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence.
• Education about inheritance, testing, management, prevention, resources, and research.
• Counseling to promote informed choices and adaptation to the risk or condition. (National Society of Genetic Counselors Definition Task Force. Journal of Genetic Counseling (2006); 15(2):77-83.)