This is done by specific symbols and connectors, telling the viewer if a child was miscarried, if there was an abortion, if there are twins, if someone is adopted, etc. Unlike family trees, however, genograms contain additional information including the way people are related. The most basic layer of the genogram contains the family members and the way each person is related to the rest. Moreover, family genogram provides a structured way of obtaining a comprehensive family history so that the practitioner and client can develop a complete. One of the primary goals of creating a genogram is to obtain a clearer picture of a family to understand the common problems and ways to resolve them. While in some genograms all layers co-exist, sometimes diagrams are drawn separately for each of the above-mentioned purposes. A genogram is a type of assessment tool used in psychology to understand individuals within the context of their family environments. The Genogram is like a family tree in that it depicts all of the important members and relationships within the family. The third layer adds additional clarity of the emotional bonds and relationships, including who was in love with whom, who is obsessed by someone else, who is abusive mentally and/or physically, etc.

The second layer usually contains information on diseases such as heart condition, diabetes, etc. Genograms can be used to display these relationships in an organized way using standardized symbols and lines. The genogram example shows how the cancer gene is transmitted, crucial in medical history and students studying oncology. A genogram is an inexpensive method of mapping your family history, relationships and assisting in tracking a variety of medical issues and other attributes that readers may be interested in. The first layer describes the basic information related to the people in the family - marriage, divorce, children, etc. Example 15: Cancer Risk Relationship Genogram Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases of the 21st century, and scientists are studying cancer risk relationship genograms to identify the chances of it spreading inside the family. The main task of genograms is to visualize the relationships between the members within a family on a very deep level, as well as the genetic diseases which may be transferred from/to a family member.ĭespite that genograms are not strictly categorized on different types, most of them contain three layers.

This report describes the genealogy and ancestry of families, , /. Although they are used to describe families and blood relatives connections, genograms greatly differ in look and purpose from the family tree diagrams. Summary report of containing 801 individuals and 280 families. It highlights the filiations and breaks of links, the transgenerational repetitions of dependent behaviors or vulnerabilities. Genograms are amongst the youngest members of the diagramming family, with a starting use in 1985. The genogram is an instrument for analyzing the family structure, making it possible to give a brief and rapid graphic image of it, often spread over three generations.

Genogram examples