How to create a genogram step by step

The genogram is a tool that allows you to schematize and synthesize family information. of a person. It looks like a family tree, but focuses on more specific aspects of family ties and is much more technical in appearance.

In a document on the subject, from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Barcelona, ​​the genogram is defined as follows: graphic representation (in the form of a family tree) of the basic information of at least three generations of a family . It includes information about its structure, the demographic data of the members and the relationships they maintain with each other.

What is a genogram for?

It is used to collect and organize information about a person’s immediate environment. This information serves as input for a clinical or pedagogical intervention. However, Anyone can make their genogram to know themselves better. It is particularly useful for finding patterns of hereditary problems, inter- or intragenerational conflicts and/or behavioral patterns transmitted by the environment.

A genogram allows you to quickly visualize what a person’s family structure is like. In many cases, makes it possible to make a first hypothesis about the causes that originate a certain problem personality, emotional management, etc. Likewise, they are a valuable instrument to increase self-knowledge.

The stages to prepare a genogram

It is not difficult at all to prepare a genogram. It only has 3 stages:

General outline of the family structure: It serves as the axis for the entire genogram. At this stage, the biological and legal ties that exist between the different members of the family must be defined. There is a set of pre-established symbols to graph these links.Gathering basic information about a person’s family: demographic information, information on the level of functioning of family members (are they functional or not, to what extent and for what reason?), and critical family events.Delineation of family relationships: The links between members are established, but in this case the biological or legal links are no longer observed, but rather the psychological ties.

Prepare a genogram, essential tips

To construct a genogram from start to finish, a series of steps must be completed. They are detailed and well explained later, so you don’t miss anything.

Define the objective of the genogram

The first thing is to define what the purpose of the genogram will be.. Obviously, in all cases it provides information about a person’s historical-family environment. However, this information can be used for different purposes.

Sometimes the data obtained is very useful for medical uses. Family history is also a genetic history and makes it possible to visualize the physical strengths and weaknesses that are inherited. At the same time, The genogram provides valuable information about emotional problems that are repeated, or are common, in the same family..

It is also the case that the genogram has a very specific objective. It perfectly lends itself to making you wonder: where does my depression come from? It is possible to trace a particular condition through different generations. In any case, the important thing is to always define a prior objective.

Establish the number of generations that will be analyzed

It is important to approach work realistically. Ideally, three generations should be taken as a basis, but this is not always possible.. There are families in which an entire generation has already disappeared, or there is no contact with its members.

In other cases, the contact we have with other generations is indirect. This means that you can only get information about a family member from what others say about them. This gives rise to possible bias. In those cases, It is best to have other sources of information to corroborate or deny the initial information..

The most advisable thing is to make a list of living relatives with whom you can establish contact.. Then, make a new list of people who can offer information about family members who cannot be consulted. And, finally, define how many generations the genogram will cover.

Prepare a guide questionnaire to collect information

This is one of the most important steps and is closely related to the objective that has been defined. What we are trying to do here is to develop a set of questions that serve as a guide to gather the necessary information.with a view to preparing the genogram.

It must contain a set of basic questions that allow demographic information to be collected.. Within this group of questions there should be elements such as: names, dates (birth, death, marriage, divorce, city transfer, etc.). Also others such as social level, educational level, profession, number of children, sex of children, etc.

Then there should be a group of questions that allow us to delve deeper into the specific traits of each family member.. For example, illnesses that you suffer or suffered, grief that you had to face, hobbies and interests, extreme experiences, major conflicts, etc.

Finally, it is necessary to ask a third group of questions aimed at investigating critical family events.. These are those moments of crisis or serious problems that were common to several members of the family. Facts that marked a before and after in their history. In accordance with the purpose of the genogram, the critical events that we seek to clarify will be defined.

Collect field information

Not all genograms have the same level of depth. Some will provide the most visible elements, while others will delve into one or more aspects. This, to a large extent, will depend on the field information that can be collected.

What this step is about is establishing contact with possible sources of information.. It is important to keep in mind that not everyone is willing to talk about their story. Therefore, at the outset, it is necessary to understand that it could be an arduous task that will require patience.

It is advisable that, when establishing contact, you directly express what you are looking for, that is, information to prepare a genogram. So that everything flows, The best thing is to give time to time, so that greater confidence arises and the information is delivered without prevention..

Collect documentary information

Letters, photographs, videos and any family document eventually turn out to be very relevant.. Sometimes it is possible to find significant information in an identity document, in a purchase and sale contract or in a medical prescription.

A good part of families treasure the so-called family album. Generally, images of large collective events are stamped there.. You can sense a lot about someone when you look at a photo carefully. What emotional climate prevails in the photo? What is the attitude of each other in it?

Standardize the symbols to use

Currently there are templates to create genograms. They are pre-designs that have the essentials to organize the information collected. There are also computer programs that make the preparation of this type of diagrams much easier.

There is also a set of standardized symbols to graph the data. Likewise, each person can design their own graphics, if the standards are not attractive or appropriate. Anyway, The most used symbols are the following:

Men are represented with a square and women with a circle. Marriages are represented with the man’s symbol on the left and the woman’s symbol on the right, joined by a horizontal line. Two inclined parallel lines represent a divorce or separation .The oldest children are located below the family, to the left. The minors on the right.

The goal of the genogram should never be lost sight of. That’s why, If necessary, specific symbols must be designed to graph events such as abuse, alcoholism, abortions, suicides, fatal accidents or any other relevant event that is being tracked.

Graph the scheme based on the links

The type of relationships between family members is always an important piece of information.. That is why it is necessary that not only the link be represented, but that some element be provided that allows us to establish what the quality of that link was, even in general terms.

It is appropriate to design standardized symbols to graph close, distant, tense, conflictive relationships, etc.. And it is also convenient to have symbols on hand that allow you to graph cases of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. In many cases, some element would have to be added to denote that they are suspected, but no evidence was found.

Analyze the genogram

Analyzing a genogram is a creative and sometimes fascinating activity. In principle, what it is about is evaluating the precision of what was recorded in the graph. If there is doubt about any information, it is best to highlight the doubt in some way or find means to corroborate the information.

The initial analysis allows the information to be organized as clearly as possible and the links to be delineated as accurately as possible.. This effort at precision pays off as it allows us to carry out the next step with greater consistency.

Find patterns

In this step the validity of the genogram is specified. All the information collected, organized and graphed must allow the discovery of patterns. In other words, at this point you must be able to visualize the events, circumstances or elements that are repeated in one generation and another.

Patterns are the key to understanding. Is there any disease that is recurring in different family members and/or successive generations? Is there some pattern of dysfunctional behavior that is passed down from generation to generation? Why do any of the family members escape this pattern? What is there in your personal history that allowed you to break the mold?

These and many other questions are the ones that should be able to be answered when finishing making a genogram. It probably doesn’t provide complete information, but it does. gives valuable clues to continue delving deeper and, above all, to understand the causes of a current event.

Verify compliance with the objective

The preparation of a genogram is not a mechanical task nor does it give absolute results. Perhaps the same process causes the initial objective to be reconsidered once or several times.. Sometimes, the discovery of some unexpected information can advise us to adopt a new approach.

Therefore, verification of compliance with the initial objective has a relative value. Actually what I know…