See how your genes may affect your mental health medications
Your genes affect how quickly you break down antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers — part of why one person does well on a standard dose and the next has side effects or no response at all. A pharmacogenomic (PGx) test reads those genes once, from a cheek swab, and gives your prescriber information they can weigh alongside everything else they know about you.
One cheek swab · Results you keep for life · CLIA-certified Maryland lab
Pharmacogenomics
Tested once, relevant for life
Your DNA does not change
The cost of not testing
1 in 2
Try multiple meds
People who try more than one antidepressant before finding one that works for them.
6–8 wks
Waiting to know
Typical wait to know whether a new psychiatric medication is helping.
Avoidable
Side effects
Side effects or poor response from medications your body cannot process normally are often the first clue a different dose or drug would be safer.
Figures reflect published literature on antidepressant response and are provided for education, not as a prediction of your result.
If your counselor or therapist suggested this test, you are in the right place. Order below and we will make sure the results reach the people caring for you — your prescriber, and your counselor if you want them in the loop.
Everything you need to know, up front.
The total price, what is included, who orders your test, who reviews your results and when to expect them.
Total price
From $289
One-time price, shown in full at checkout before you pay. No separate fee for the kit, return shipping or the healthcare provider order.
What's included
Kit to report
A saliva or cheek-swab kit with instructions, a prepaid return label, the healthcare provider order, genetic testing in our lab and a gene-drug report in your secure portal.
Who orders the test
A licensed healthcare provider
A licensed healthcare provider in our network reviews your request and places the order during checkout, at no extra cost. No referral needed.
Who reviews the results
A board-certified geneticist
Every report is reviewed and signed in our lab by a board-certified molecular geneticist before it is released. Review your results with your prescriber.
When to expect results
A few business days
After the lab receives your sample. You are notified as soon as your report is in your secure portal.
Order a test
Choose the mental health PGx panel that fits your care. Kits ship to your door, or drop your sample off at our Maryland lab. No appointment and no insurance claim required.
From $289
All pharmacogenetics tests
NextCheckout opens in a new tab. Testing is not a diagnosis; results are reviewed with a licensed provider.
Is this test right for you?
If any of these sound familiar, this test was built for your situation.
Answering yes to even one of these is a good reason to test before the next prescription change.
Waiting 6–8 weeks to find out isn't best for you
That is the part nobody warns you about. Most psychiatric medications need weeks at a therapeutic dose before anyone can judge the result — so every attempt that does not fit costs a season of your life.
Side effects at a normal dose
If you metabolize a drug slowly, a standard dose can behave like a high one. That can look like intolerance when it may be a dosing question.
No response at all
If you clear a drug quickly, the level in your blood may stay too low to help, no matter how patiently you wait.
Interactions across several medications
Many drugs compete for the same metabolic enzymes. When you are taking more than one, that interaction is worth knowing about in advance.
The genes that control how you process medication
Our Neurological & Psychiatric PGx panel looks at the drug-metabolizing enzyme genes with the best-established prescribing guidance, then reports your predicted metabolizer status for each.
Metabolizer genes
CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2B6, CYP3A4, CYP1A2 — the enzymes that break down most antidepressants and antipsychotics. Your status is reported as poor, intermediate, normal, rapid or ultrarapid.
Drug classes covered
SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, ADHD medications — grouped by class, so the report stays useful if your prescriber changes direction later.
Guideline-based
Interpretation follows published prescribing guidance. Where recognized bodies such as CPIC have issued gene-drug guidance, the report reflects it rather than our own opinion.
What this test does not do: it does not diagnose a condition, predict whether a medication will help your symptoms, or choose a drug for you. It describes how your body is likely to process certain medications. Your prescriber decides what to do with that.
Written to be handed to your prescriber.
Two audiences, one document: a plain-language summary for you, and the gene-by-gene clinical detail your psychiatrist, PCP or nurse practitioner needs.
60+
Meds in your report
Antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and other medications your prescriber may consider.
1x
Valid for life
Your DNA does not change, so the same report stays useful if your care plan changes.
Share
With your care team
Download it or have us send it to your provider, counselor, or anyone you choose.
Who this is for
Pharmacogenomic testing is most useful at a decision point — before a new prescription, or after one has not worked.
You have tried two or more medications
Repeated non-response is the most common reason people test. It may reflect how you metabolize these drugs.
Side effects hit you hard
If standard doses consistently feel like too much, metabolizer status is worth knowing.
You are about to start your first prescription
Testing before the first prescription puts the information in hand for the first decision, not the fourth.
You take several medications
Overlapping metabolic pathways are easier to plan around when your enzyme status is documented.
One swab. One time. Yours to keep.
No blood draw, no clinic visit, no repeat testing — your genome does not change.
Order online
Check out in about two minutes. A licensed healthcare provider in our network reviews and places the order at no extra cost.
Swab your cheek
The kit arrives in unmarked packaging. Collection takes under a minute and needs no fasting or prep.
Send it to our lab
Use the prepaid FedEx overnight label, or drop it at our Maryland lab in person, Mon–Fri 9am–5pm.
Bring it to your prescriber
Your report lands in a secure portal. Download it, or have us send it to your provider.
Counseling centers, crisis lines and psychiatry practices
If you refer clients for pharmacogenomic testing, our lab can run it under your own brand — university counseling centers, 988 and crisis call centers, social work practices and concierge healthcare providers.
No consumer pricing on that page.
Keep your counselor and your prescriber on the same page
Therapy and medication work best when the people handling each one are looking at the same information. Your report is built to be shared — with whoever you choose, and no one else.
Talk it through in session
Your counselor cannot prescribe, but they see the week-to-week reality. The plain-language summary gives you both something concrete to bring into the conversation about how a medication is landing.
Send it to your prescriber
Download the clinical section from your portal, or tell us where to send it and we will deliver it directly to your psychiatrist, PCP or nurse practitioner.
You control who sees it
Nothing is shared without your say-so. No insurance claim is filed, so no explanation of benefits goes out to a policyholder.
What people say after testing
Shared with permission. Individual experiences vary, and a PGx result never guarantees an outcome.
After four years of trying different medications, my psychiatrist finally had a starting point instead of a guess.
My therapist mentioned it first. Swabbing at home took a minute and I had the report before my next appointment.
Turns out I clear one of the medications I had been on very quickly. That explained a lot about the last two years.
What the evidence says about getting tested.
Antidepressants and antipsychotics are among the most pharmacogenetics-sensitive medications in everyday care. CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 — the two genes with the strongest prescribing guidance — process most of the drug classes used in mental health, and clinical guidelines already assign dose or choice adjustments by metabolizer status. The STAR*D trial showed why timing matters: most people need more than one medication attempt, and each attempt costs weeks.
≈1 in 3
of people respond fully to their first antidepressant — most need a different medication, and each attempt takes weeks.
Source: STAR*D trial
≈25%
of people are intermediate or poor CYP2C19 metabolizers, so SSRIs can behave like higher doses in this group.
Source: CPIC CYP2C19/antidepressant guideline
≈1 in 10
of people are CYP2D6 poor or ultra-rapid metabolizers — categories with explicit prescribing guidance for many antidepressants.
Source: CPIC CYP2D6/antidepressant guideline
Up to 30%
of antidepressant users stop medication in the first weeks over side effects; slow metabolizers face higher exposure.
Source: Antidepressant discontinuation literature
How often should you test?
Test once — your genotype doesn't change. The highest-value moments are before a first prescription, whenever a medication has not worked or caused strong side effects, and before any new psychiatric medication is added while you are already taking others.
References
- Hicks JK, Bishop JR, Sangkuhl K, et al. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) guideline for CYP2D6 genotype and antidepressant dosing: 2017 update. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2017;101(1):46–60.
- Hicks JK, Sangkuhl K, Swen JJ, et al. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) guideline for CYP2C19 genotype and antidepressant dosing: 2015 update. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2015;98(2):127–134.
- Rush AJ, Trivedi MH, Wisniewski SR, et al. Acute and longer-term outcomes in depressed outpatients requiring one or several treatment steps: a STAR*D report. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2006;163(11):1905–1917.
How common is each metabolizer type?
Published population frequencies for the cytochrome P450 enzymes read on this panel. Your report places you in one of these groups for each enzyme.
| Cytochrome | Poor metabolizer | Intermediate metabolizer | Normal metabolizer | Rapid or ultra-rapid metabolizer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CYP2D6 | 4–7% | 9–35% | 50–90% | 2–3% |
| CYP2C9 | 3% | 30% | 68% | N/A |
| CYP2C19 | 2–20% | 24–36% | 14–44% | 30% |
Population frequencies compiled from CPIC guidelines and FDA pharmacogenomic biomarker tables; frequencies vary by ancestry.
FAQs and insights
My counselor recommended this — what do I do next?
Order the panel below — you do not need a referral code or paperwork from their office. Swab at home, mail the kit back, and share the report with your counselor and your prescriber when it lands in your portal.
Can my therapist see the results too?
Only if you want them to. You can download and share the report yourself, or tell us who to send it to. Nothing goes out without your permission.
How long do results take?
Most reports are ready within a few business days of your sample arriving at our Maryland lab. You get an email the moment it posts to your secure portal.
Will this tell me which antidepressant to take?
No, and be skeptical of any test that claims to. It reports how your body is likely to process specific medications. Choosing a medication involves your diagnosis, history, other prescriptions and preferences — that is your prescriber's call, informed by this.
Does my psychiatrist have to order it?
No. A licensed healthcare provider in our network reviews and places the order during checkout. That said, tell your prescriber you are testing — the report is only useful once it reaches them.
Do I need to stop my current medication?
No. Never stop or change a psychiatric medication on your own, and nothing about this test requires it. PGx reads your DNA, which is unaffected by what you are currently taking.
How much does it cost?
The Neurological & Psychiatric PGx panel starts at $289. You pay the laboratory directly — no insurance claim is filed, so no explanation of benefits is mailed to your policyholder.
Is my genetic data sold or shared?
No. Results live in a HIPAA-compliant portal only you can open, and we do not sell or license your genetic data.
Do I ever need to repeat it?
No. Your DNA does not change, so the same report stays valid if you switch prescribers or revisit medication years later.
Bring data to your next appointment.
One cheek swab, one report, and a medication conversation that starts from something real.
Order my testCLIA-certified · CAP-accredited · HIPAA-secure