From Genomes to Conversations: Outreach and Engagement in Psychiatric Genetics

Outreach in psychiatric genetics bridges the gaps across research advancements, clinical practice, and public understanding. Effective communication with a range of audiences faces multiple challenges, including the complex nature of psychiatric disorders and of genetic findings, the chronicled and ongoing misuse of genetic data, and the rapid growth of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. This is particularly true in the internet and social media era, which has accelerated the spread of inaccurate information with serious consequences, including perpetuating stigma and increasing shame. Yet a significant gap remains in outreach: a recent survey found that only 51% of psychiatric genetics researchers participate in outreach, largely attributed to their perceived lack of skill and support. The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) developed an Outreach Committee to organize and catalyze initiatives including: the Worldwide Lab, an online seminar series covering new and important approaches that is then posted on YouTube; the PGC Video Textbook, which has resources for clinicians, researchers, educators, and the broader public; patient and family engagement programs; and social media campaigns designed to inform both researchers and affected communities about new developments in psychiatric genetics. These initiatives were developed to demystify psychiatric genetics research and empower broad audiences with reliable, actionable information. Along with research and traditional teaching, the psychiatric genomics community should continue to prioritize and recognize engagement as a core component of our academic mission and values.