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Debates about the core values of genetic counselling have drawn on various conceptions of ‘non-directiveness’ as a point of reference throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The use made of this concept has varied over this period, reflecting an evolution of the identity of the genetic counselling profession (in the broader sense of the practitioners of genetic counselling, thereby including many clinical geneticists). The term was used in the early phase of genetics clinics (up until about 1970) as a way to stress the difference from the former eugenics clinics. It became established as a key aspect of professional identity and was readily applicable to genetic counselling for decisions about reproduction and about predictive testing for essentially untreatable disorders (notably Huntington’s disease).