Many of the respondents in these surveys were optimistic that genetic testing would provide benefits. A common hope is that it will allow affected persons to obtain treatment to prevent relapses (Murphy & Thompson, 2009). This was endorsed by 68% of bipolar patients and spouses (Meiser et al., 2005) and by 83% of unaffected persons in a genetic study of depression (Wilhelm et al., 2009). A related belief is that it will allow at-risk persons to avoid stressors or triggers (Meiser et al., 2005), an idea embraced by 89% of bipolar patients and family members (Meiser et al., 2008) and by 77% of unaffected genetic research subjects (Wilhelm et al., 2009). Psychiatrists at a CME course were optimistic that genetic testing would improve understanding of the biological basis of disease (91%), aid discovery of new and better treatments (79%), provide diagnostic clarification of affected patients (77%), identify presymptomatic patients at risk for illness (77%), allow targeting of resources to at-risk populations (74%), allow prenatal testing to guide reproductive choices (66%), and lead to destigmatization of mental illness (58%) (Finn et
