A genogram is a family history or map that is based on the use of special symbols to describe relationships, important events and dynamics of a family over multiple generations; imagine it's some kind of extremely detailed family tree. Physical and mental health professionals often use this tool to detect recurring patterns of mental and physical illness, such as depression, bipolar disorder, cancer, and other inherited conditions. To start creating a genogram, you must first interview your family members. Then, it is possible to use standard symbols to make a diagram that documents its specific history.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Deciding What You Want to Find Out with a Genogram
Step 1. Determine why you want to create a genogram
The goal of this diagram is to help you focus on the specific family information you want to gather. It also helps you decide who you will share the complete document with - sometimes the data might be considered worrying or too intimate for some family members, so you need to look at this based on context.
- Genograms can focus on numerous recurring patterns and inherited disorders, including substance abuse, mental or physical illness, and physical violence.
- Genograms can be used by mental or physical health professionals as they are a graphic document that traces the history of your current psychophysical inclinations through your family line.
Step 2. Try to understand what you want to know
Once you are sure why you want to make a genogram (whether it's for a doctor, a school project, or just to get to know yourself and your family better), knowing what you want to find out can help you organize how you want to do it. you will compile.
- Genograms resemble family trees, except that, in addition to creating branches, in this case you will also consider the leaves of each branch. You will not only define your genealogy, but also the physical and emotional connections between all family members.
- For example, a genogram can tell you who is married, divorced, widowed, and so on. It will also tell you how many children are born from each union (usually between two individuals), what are the characteristics of each child and what are the individual relationships between the members beyond the simple degree of kinship.
- Think about the information you want to gain from making a genogram. Do you want to know which members of your family are suffering from depression or addictions? Which relatives got cancer? Maybe you want to know more about why your mother and grandmother never got along. If you find the right keystone, you will be able to create a genogram that will meet your goals.
Step 3. Decide how many generations should be represented in the genogram
This will allow you to clearly understand who you need to talk to in order to get the right information in order to complete the diagram. Furthermore, you will understand if this will be possible in light of the age and geographical location of the different members.
- Thankfully, you can always use email, Skype, and other means of communication to connect with family members you can't meet in person.
- Knowing when to start will facilitate and speed up the process. Do you want to start with your grandparents? Maybe you want to go even further back in time to find out more about your great grandparents. Making this decision will make you understand who you need to contact.
Step 4. Develop a series of questions to ask yourself and your relatives
Consider what you want to discover with the genogram to come up with questions to ask, so you can get a lot of information as quickly as possible. Here are some examples:
- "Let's start with your grandmother. What was her name? Who was she married to? When and how did she die? What was her ethnicity?"
- "How many children did your mother's parents have?"
- "Did [family member name] abuse drugs or alcohol?"
- "Did [Family Member Name] have any mental or physical illnesses? What were / are they?"
Part 2 of 3: Doing a Family History Research
Step 1. Write down what you already know
You probably already have some information about your family history, especially if you have a close relationship with at least one relative.
Take a look at the questions you have prepared and think about how many answers you can find for yourself
Step 2. Talk to your family members
Once you have written down and exhausted everything you know, you need to contact your relatives. Ask questions about family relationships and significant events. Take careful notes.
- While the previously written questions will help you draw a lineup of what you are trying to find out, you may also gain useful information that you may not have thought of as you listen to your family's stories.
- Remember that these discussions may be difficult for some family members.
- Be prepared to hear lots of stories. Stories are some of the most effective tools, from a mnemonic point of view, as they help to remember and transfer information. When you are told a story, invite your interlocutor to deepen; listen carefully and ask open-ended questions that motivate him to share more details.
Step 3. Search through familiar books and documents, but also on the internet
Sometimes your family won't be able to remember everything you want to know, or maybe they won't share it.
- Web and book searches can be used to verify what your family has told you or to fill in gaps.
- However, you should make sure that this information is accurate, should you decide to use it.
Step 4. Consider your past
You have a lot of information regarding your personal history that can give you a point of reference.
- Collect information using your medical records.
- Consider the medications you are taking, as you can use this information to find out if other family members are taking them too - or perhaps using similar ones for a certain ailment.
Step 5. Learn about family relationships
When making a genogram, you need to understand the connections between all family members. Research your relatives' partnerships by collecting data on marriages, divorces, children, and so on.
- Write down who is married, who is divorced, who lives together.
- Are there any widowed people? Were there any separations, even forced ones?
- Depending on what you want to uncover with the genogram, you may need to ask deeper - and sometimes uncomfortable - questions to define relationships. You may need to ask if anyone in your family has ever had casual or very short-term relationships, and how many. Or, it may happen to ask if anyone has ever been forced to have a forced relationship.
- Pay attention to your interlocutor and the type of questions you ask, as this may be uncomfortable for someone.
Step 6. Learn about emotional relationships
Now that you know the connections between all family members, you need to find out what kind of emotional relationships they have experienced or are experiencing. Getting answers on this topic will be extremely helpful whenever you try to determine your family's psychological traits.
- Do members of a union feel a mutual affection? Do they get along? Maybe some of your family members can't stand each other.
- As you dig deeper, look for recurring patterns of abuse or neglect. You can also go further and distinguish between physical and emotional factors.
Part 3 of 3: Drawing the Genogram
Step 1. Draw the genogram
You can find templates online, but you can also create one from scratch and fill it out by hand. You can also buy programs specifically designed for making this diagram.
Step 2. Use standard symbols to represent family members and relationships, both normal and dysfunctional
The symbols serve as graphic indicators of the information collected with the interviews. You can draw them by hand or using word processor tools, such as drawing or geometric shapes.
- Men are symbolized by a square. When denoting a marriage, place the male symbol on the left.
- Women are symbolized by a circle. When indicating a marriage, the feminine symbol is placed on the right.
- A single horizontal line indicates a marriage, while two oblique lines a separation.
- The eldest child should always be placed under the parents 'name on the left, while the youngest child should always be written below the parents' names and on the right.
- There are other symbols that help you describe family events such as pregnancy or miscarriage, illness and death. There is also the diamond symbol, which represents pets.
Step 3. Organize the diagram based on family interactions starting with the oldest generation you want to represent
Insert it at the top. For example, you may decide to start the genogram with your grandparents, or with great-grandparents. This diagram can be used to specifically demonstrate family relationships as well as recurring disease patterns.
- A genogram can include symbols that indicate family interactions such as conflict, closeness, separation, and so on. Emotional relationships have specific symbols that make the flow of the genogram clear.
- There are also symbols that denote sexual and physical abuse, as well as mental disorders and other conditions.
Step 4. Look for recurring patterns
After creating the genogram, take a close look at it to see if you can spot patterns. There are genetic factors or particular psychological tendencies that immediately catch the eye when grouped in this way.
- Be careful when trying to make assumptions. The data is useful, but avoid using it to confirm that your family has a particular physical or mental illness. Talk to a professional to learn more about potential genetic problems of this type.
- Avoid using the genogram to hypothesize the reasons for the choices made by your family members, do not use it to compare yourself with them. Maybe you find that your aunt regularly tends to quit, while your cousin seems to have always stolen boyfriends from other girls. However, it is not at all a good idea to use the genogram to impose your theories and invite a certain family member to go to psychoanalysis just because you think it is right. After making this diagram, be very careful and don't risk addressing a relative critically. Before you come to certain conclusions with a genogram you created yourself, talk to your closest family or a psychologist about it.
- If you want to write your family history, the recurring patterns you will identify in the genogram are potentially very useful. They can explain why certain ancestors moved from one geographic area to another, understand what types of relationship problems your family members had, and discover family members who have not been officially recognized.
Advice
- Keep the complete genogram in a safe place. The information represented by the diagram may be embarrassing or harmful to some family members.
- It can be an excellent exercise for school. If you teach, ask students to choose a famous person to research this person's origins and family in order to create his or her genogram. It should be an easy project thanks to the internet, but recognize its limitations: it should be considered a research exercise, but it does not necessarily have to be exhaustive (or exhausting).
- The genogram is also called the McGoldrick-Gerson study.
- Always protect the privacy of your relatives when sharing the genogram with people outside the family.
- Genograms can also be used for plants and animal species to discover mutations, survival skills, and so on.
