Climbing the Family Tree: Working with Genograms

Abstract

The genogram is a practical and widely adopted tool for mapping families in therapy. Its use can be easily learnt and is recommended for beginners in family therapy. The genogram promotes thinking In system and transactional terms, and shifts emphasis away from individual problems to relational issues. A family system can be given a visual focus, and this often reveals patterns and connections previously unnoticed. A set of conventions for constructing genograms is suggested, with ways of elaborating on this basic frame. The applications of the genogram in joining families, in planning interventions, as a clinical communication medium, and in learning family therapy are discussed. Other types of network diagrams are briefly listed, and a clinical example of a genogram is given. Finally, limits and cautions on the use of genograms are discussed.

A Biopsychosocial Instrument to Study and Intervene in the Complexity of Changes and Stability of Family and Community System Health: The Genogram

“…The genogram promotes thinking In system and transactional terms, and shifts emphasis away from individual problems to relational and community issues. A family system can be given a visual focus, and this often reveals patterns and connections previously unnoticed (26). Genogram construction provides the client and counsellor or to GP with important information about client relationships and interactions.…”

Deconstructing the Genogram: A Tentative Proposal

“…The genogram in family therapy is fundamentally associated with Murray Bowen, whose team created the first genograms (Stagoll & Lang, 1980). Monica McGoldrick, a social worker, and Randy Gerson, a psychologist, are the other key names in their early popularisation of the genogram.…”

“…There does not seem to be any more interest in the earliest genogram literature on why the basic genogram looks the way it does. Stagoll and Lang (1980) share my conceptual separation between the basic structure or ‘skeleton’ of the genogram (gender and generation/kinship) and the ‘rich saga of family history’ which lies on top of it. I find it notable that gender is considered part of the skeleton here, rather than the richness of life in the family in question.…”

Indecision regarding a couple relationship A working model for ambivalence

“…A genogram is a family tree diagram generally covering three generations (Stagoll and Lang, 1980). It is a means of obtaining information which connects both the past and the present with the relationship.…”