Genogram social work symbols how to#
Genogram social work symbols professional#

Cutting people off is the only way the family knows how to resolve conflict. Another example is a family riddled with “cut offs” with various members not speaking to other members for years. Infidelity, for example, may be present generation to generation, with the same painful behavior creating pain in each succeeding family. Often discussion does reveal patterns that keep repeating. It’s fascinating to map out a family over several generations. Such patterns are called the intergenerational transmission of an issue or style. Often, if a problem in a couple or family isn’t solved, it bumps down into the next generation. The central belief is that families repeat themselves, both positively and negatively. Questioning about the various family members and family events can help both therapist and client develop a renewed or new appreciation for the culture and issues within each person’s family that they bring to their relationships. To see examples of genograms of famous individuals (such as Sigmund Freud or John F. There are now even computerized templates available.

as well as different types of relationships. McGoldrick and Gerson provided us with useful symbols to indicate pivotal life events like births, adoptions, deaths, divorces, marriages and remarriages, etc. Treatment begins from there.Īctual genograms are much more complex than the example of Mary and Mike. This is a very simple example as an illustration of what can come from a discussion. They don’t know how to change their relationship to a more egalitarian one, even though they both say that is what they want and neither one grew up with an egalitarian model of marriage. Mike’s major complaint is that Mary seems to think it’s “Her way or the highway.” They have fallen into their accustomed roles without realizing it. But Mary’s complaint about Mike is that he seems to expect her to do everything. He is accustomed to being both bossed and coddled. She is accustomed to being in charge and to seeing men as passive but nice.

In many ways, Mary and Mike are a good but problematic fit. Dad felt Mike could do no wrong and bailed him out of both minor and rather major scrapes. He loved having a son and spent lots of time doing projects with him. Dad set the family rules but kept his distance from all the women by spending time in his workshop or at work. The girls dressed him up and played with him. He was known as the “ittle prince” at home. Mike is the only son following three girls.

(See: Genograms: Assessment and Intervention Norton Professional Books.) Constructing the genogram in session with an individual or family helps both therapist and patient take a step back and look at the patterns of interacting that have had, and continue to have, an impact on the people involved. During the 1980s, Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson standardized the icons used for construction so that professionals could readily share information. Genograms are a powerful and sympathetic way to get an overview of your patient’s background and the early conclusions that are now giving him or her trouble.Ī genogram is a formalized version of a family tree that provides a visual representation of an individual’s family over several generations. If, like some of my early career supervisees, you were not taught this valuable tool, then I do urge you to learn more about them. If you were fortunate enough to be given instruction in the use of genograms during your graduate training, you can skip this article.

Genogram social work symbols professional#