By Rachel Egan, PMHNP-BC, Clinical Director and Co-founder of Harborside Psychiatrics

Aside from being a mouthful, pharmacogenetic testing is a relatively new technology that can serve as a guide for prescribers in selecting medications for clients. Conducted via a home kit, this testing can assess how someone is likely to metabolize various psychopharmaceuticals. For example, a client might be a rapid metabolizer of quetiapine, meaning the medication is in and out of their system so quickly that they don’t have opportunity to experience benefit, especially at starting doses. Or, someone might be a slow metabolizer of escitalopram, meaning that the medication is not broken down appropriately, which puts the client at risk for poor efficacy and side effects from the medication.

This testing can be particularly useful for clients who feel like they have tried every medication under the sun with poor results, whether this means low or no symptom improvement or uncomfortable side effects. It can be very validating for clients to see that the testing supports their experience. Additionally, I have yet to meet the client who truly has tried every option—and the genetic testing typically gives us an outline of the best meds to try as next steps.