Epigenetics

Nurture, Nature, Change, and Hope

Nurture wins so hard it tells nature what to do – for a long time we knew about inheritance via genes and memes, but 2004 marked the discovery of another way to inherit, and understanding how this works can give your clients a real sense of hope.

Behaviors and emotional orientation can be physically inherited. This soft inheritance is not via genetic changes; epigenetics refers to heritable chemical modifications to DNA that alter gene activity without changing nucleotide sequence. Your clients may believe that they have inherited a family curse like trauma or addiction. The good news that, unlike genetic inheritance, epigenetic inheritances are not destiny can be changed. We will review the current state of behavioral epigenetics with a focus on ways to help and encourage your clients as they create change.

Dr. Fredric Mau (D.Min. M.A. M.Div., LPC, LPCS) served on a psychiatric medical faculty and is regularly invited to provide training for physicians. He contributed to a psychiatric medical textbook published by Norton, has written three books, has given keynote addresses on three continents – including the closing keynote address at the UKHC, has been fêted with numerous professional awards, and has over twenty years’ experience in clinical practice. His presentations are fun, practical, and evidence-based.