Dr. Andrea Farkas Patenaude demonstrates her approach to counseling clients who are facing the possibility of inheriting an illness or disorder from a parent or grandparent. Many disorders, such as cancer or Alzheimer's disease, may have a genetic component, making it likely that someone will inherit them. Dr. Patenaude works with clients on associated stress and anxiety and also provides information on the benefits and limitations of genetic testing. In this session, Dr. Patenaude works with a young woman whose mother died of breast cancer. She discusses genetic testing and then helps the client begin to work through some of her grief as well as her anxiety about being diagnosed with cancer.
