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Genograms, Focused
A genogram is a schematic of a family, including legal relationships, relationship quality, and background information (e.g., ethnicity, age, religion, health information) over at least three generations. These drawings are used for collecting and organizing information about clients, assessing intergenerational patterns, and as a point for intervention to change problematic patterns of relating to family members and others. Clients are asked information about their family (e.g., birth dates, death dates, religion, ethnicity) and about perceptions of family relationships and intrapersonal and interpersonal patterns across at least three generations. They are an integral part of Bowen family systems theory and are also utilized by behavioral health and medical professionals.
Since the original genogram, variations have been created such as focused genograms. Focused genograms concentrate on a particular theme or issue, rather than being used to only gather information on general facts and patterns. Focused genograms explore salient aspects of a presenting issue with a specific theme (e.g., sexuality, gender, attachment, anger, intimacy, trauma). Focused genograms help professionals understand the family’s context and can also be used to help clients understand how societal and familial issues influence them as related to the chosen theme. They can also be used to understand the impact of diversity and social justice issues such as racism, immigration, and poverty on individuals, couples, and families. This entry provides an overview of focused genograms, then examines their purpose, use, and different types.
Basic Genograms
The basic genogram is a visual representation of complex family dynamics. Clients’ relational patterns and styles of dealing with emotional reactivity are hypothesized to be related to family intergenerational patterns, which influence all relationships in a person’s life and their emotional health. The more healthy a person is (associated with a high level of differentiation from a Bowen family systems perspective) the more the family has patterns of balance between closeness and distance, tend to think things through rather than just react, have clear communication, and communicate with people directly rather than through a third party (triangling). This visual representation of family relationships and family patterns of communication, distance/closeness, emotionality, intimacy, and other intrapersonal and interpersonal processes provides a visual aid to guide clinician and client work.
Creating genograms is a diagnostic process that organizes biopsychosocial, systemic, and historical information in an integrative and comprehensive way. There are specific symbols and relationship lines used to map the family of origin’s (FOO) patterned ways of interacting. Traditionally, men are represented by squares, women by circles, and marriage by a line connecting the spouses. With the recognition of the restrictiveness of predetermined symbols, some focused genograms encourage the development of new symbols with personal meaning or relevance to the client.
Genograms have been adapted in different ways to specifically address contextual systems (including social locations and systems of oppression). Social locations refer to common markers of social and public identities (e.g., gender, age, ability, economic status, religious affiliation, sexual orientation). These identities (and their value in society) intersect in powerful ways that influence health, wellness, and opportunities for a client. Exploring experiences and beliefs relevant to social locations, such as poverty and gender, can elicit awareness of sources of empowerment, support, or areas of disempowerment and distress.
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