Constructing the

Multi-Generational
Genogram
TRAINING MODULE
FOR
MULTI-GENERATIONAL GENOGRAM
AND CULTURAL TRAUMA RESEARCH

DR. JEFFREY K. EDWARDS

DR. JAMES RUBY

DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELOR EDUCATION

FAMILY COUNSELING PROGRAM
NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
(COPYRIGHT, 2006)
 ”Widely used by both family
therapists and family physicians, the
Genogram is a graphic way of
organizing the mass of information
gathered during a family assessment
and finding patterns in the family
system.”

McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., &  Shellenberger, S. (1999). Genograms:

Assessment and Intervention (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: W. W.
Norton & Co, Inc.
Related Concepts
Multigenerational transmission
What a Genogram looks for -
◦ The “presence of the past” in day to day living and the emotional responses
to this
◦ The nature and the degree of intensity of the emotional responses are
passed down from generation to generation
Patterns and meanings
Symptoms cluster around transitions
Some families get stuck and cannot reorganize
◦ Maybe to avoid repeating a pattern
◦ Maybe to preserve a legacy
Fusion and Differentiation
Emotional anxiety
◦ “Stuck togetherness”
◦ Emotional maturity

Cultures that focus on family and team functioning rather than on the
individual
Distancing and Cut Off
Exist in all cultures
Analyzing distancing and cut off is essential for tracking the systemic
process
Jockeying for an optimal position in relation to one family member over
another
Cutting off by physical or emotional distance does not end the
emotional process
Triangles
A typical way for two-person systems under stress to stabilize
◦ A triangle is a third person or thing (TV, Internet, or alcohol)

Each relationship is independent

Detriangulation
Differentiation
A stage of self-knowledge and self-definition
Acknowledge the disparities of opportunity and power that exists
within our society
Minorities are influenced by lack of power and stigmatized status in the
larger society
Conceptualize the problem using triangles
Optional relationships
Reversals and Detriangling
Detriangling: shifting the motion of a triangle and unlocking the
compulsory loyalties
Reversals: recurring pattern in the triangle but place the client in a
different position
◦ Expresses the unspoken and unacknowledged other side of an issue
Opening Up a Closed System and
Engagement & System Mapping
“A tempest in a teapot”
Stirring up an emotional system
Triangles and dysfunctional patterns tend to be dormant until the next
family crisis
Asking about similar issues at earlier life cycle phases
Planning: Learning About the
System and One's Own Role in It
Draw a genogram; look for gaps
Family chronology
Set a calm, matter-of-fact tone
Hold off on concrete moves for now until coachee’s anxiety has
diminished
Guidelines to teach clients
First things first
Get the basic information down on paper starting with your immediate
family.
Circles are for females

Squares are for males

Basic Notations
Connect the people using straight lines if the family has a legal marital
relationship

Mark a back slash across the line, if a divorce occurred.

Notations, continued
Indicate the first name and age of the person, the date of marriage,
and/or divorce close to the graphic shapes.

Bob
Carol 46
Married
45 4/05/1982, Divorced 10/09/1998
 Notations, continued
Connect the children to the parents, constructing a
family of origin for them.

Children are noted from oldest to youngest moving left to right.

The index person of the Genogram (person from whose perspective
it is being drawn) is identified with a double line.
Thus, the Genogram above is being constructed by the youngest son.
 Notations, continued
Other common notations follow:

A couple living together unmarried

A married couple that is separated

A deceased family member

(date of death is often noted)
Notations, continued
In the case of divorce where children were involved, you place the slash
mark through the relationship line in such a way that it is clear with
whom the children primarily live/lived
Notations, continued
Other important notations would include…

Identical Twins Fraternal Twins Adopted Child Foster Child Stillbirth Miscarriage
Notations, continued
It is also often appropriate to describe the “quality” or “nature” of
family relationships using specific symbols

A conflictual relationship

A close relationship An enmeshed relationship

 Notations, continued
Investigation through the genogram commonly requires asking
parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who are alive to help.
Genograms go back in time, looking for patterns of behavior,
strengths and world-views, so the earlier generations hold
valuable information.
One continues going backward for several generations, until you
can either go no further, or the data becomes more myth than
“fact.” But, myths are also important to family world-views. Both
sides of each family are indicated, and yes you need lots of big
sheets of paper.
Family Patterns
Genograms look for patterns that connect (Bateson,2000 ). Patterns indicate
how family members pass on their view of the world, including strengths,
resiliencies as well as dysfunctional patterns.
World-views can include things like how one survives in a hostile world,
religious beliefs, the meaning of education in one’s life, any family operating
principles that inform family members about day to day life.
Dysfunctional as well as strength-oriented
relationships occur in all families.
Notations regarding intergenerational family patterns
such as beliefs about education, values, honoring
elders, how the genders relate with one another, use of
the “golden rule,” patriotism, the need and use of
money, all are passed on in various ways to the
generations that come after. In constructing the
Genogram, one wants to look backward, in order to
make sense of the current situation, so one can have
choices about what is passed on to the future.
Dysfunctional as well as strength relationships
occur in all family.
The investigation of family patterns, rather than being a
trip down “dysfunctional memory lane,” is about
understanding what has been, so one can influence
what will be.
Dysfunctional as well as strength-oriented relationships
occur in all families.
Sexual abuse is shown by a large jagged line with an
arrow from the abuser to the abused.
Physical abuse is shown by a small jagged line and an
arrow from the abuser to the abused.
A relationship where one member is focused
unhealthily on another member is depicted by a straight
line with an arrow from the focused member to the
member being focused upon.
A relationship that is cutoff, where the two family
members do not have contact, is shown with two short
perpendicular lines that break up the relationship line.
Triangles
Another pattern in family relationships is the triangle. In a family
system, a triangle represents the coalition of two family
members against another family member and can be
represented on a Genogram. Triangles are often seen among two
parents and one child, where one of the parents creates an
alliance with the child against the other parent. Another classic
triangle involves a son, his wife and his mother. Such a triangle
may play out in a variety of ways. For example, the wife may
blame her mother-in-law for her frustrations with her husband,
while the mother-in-law blames the wife for taking her son away.
 Information gathering
Start with the presenting problem and the immediate household
◦ Who lives with you
◦ How are people related
◦ Where do other family members live
◦ Who knows about the problem
◦ What are their responses to the problem
◦ Does anyone else have a similar problem
◦ When did the problem begin
◦ What other problems existed at the time and since
◦ Is it getting better or worse?
The current situation
Any recent changes in the family
What has been happening in the family recently
Focus especially on exits and entrances of members
 ◦
The family context
Inquire about each side of the family separately
Sibling order of parents
◦ Birth and death
◦ Education, occupation
◦ Relationships (spouses, love, etc)
◦ Other children
◦ Health, mental and substance abuse
◦ Emotional and physical relationships with others
Religious and cultural history
Religions and cultures of both parents
Traditions
Beliefs
Class
Socioeconomic levels
Migration history
Informal kinship
Friends, godparents, neighbors, clergy, doctors, etc
Who do you go to for help
What role to outsiders play in your family
Has anyone else ever lived with your family
 Questions about functioning
Psychological problems
Suicide, homocide
Unemployment, job changes
Financial problems
Substance abuse
Legal troubles
Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional)
Who has power, who makes decisions
Relationship questions
Are there family members who are very close? Don’t speak?
Was there a time when some were close or didn’t speak? Why?
What marital difficulties do you experience? Your parents? Your
siblings?
How do you get along with your children?
Labels and nicknames of people?
Some novel warm-up
questions
What do you remember about the family with whom you grew up?
Where did you live?
Did you have any pets?
What was your relationship like with your parents and/or siblings?
What did your father and mother do together that made an impact on
you?
Some more novel questions
What was uncle “Joe” like?
Do you know anything about your great grandparents?
Did your parents or grandparents ever talk about their parents to you?
What were you like as a little girl/boy?
Who did/do you most resemble physically and in personality?
Basics of information
gathering
First and foremost, attempt to get as much factual data
about the family graphic constellation as possible.
Then ask questions about relationships, transmission of
ideas, and world-views that can be gathered. This is
not an inquisition but simply a dialog. If your elder
says they do not want to talk about a subject, say,
“That’s OK, but can help me understand if it is a painful
memory or why you are uncomfortable?” If they
continue to resist, respect their boundary and move
on.
 Tracking patterns through
time
In addition
track
to genogram and family timeline of chronological events helps

Of importance is the onset of problems, symptoms or illnesses

We can then see patterns such as similar stresses in previous generations at
the same point or age
Shows the interconnectedness of events
Note critical events
Pay attention to losses
Traumas
Transitions
Look at the number of critical events and when they occur
Anniversary dates are important
Locate the family in historical
time
What are the social, economic and political events of the time in which
the family lived and experienced critical events
Look at migration events and timelines
Planning ahead for
genograms
Start by getting an overview so you know how to spatially prepare your
drawing
How many parental marriages and siblings is a good indicator
Sometime you need more than one genograms
Missing information is
important
It can help client’s reach out to family members
It can help reveal secrets
Note discrepencies and missing information
Different kinds of genograms
Medical/health
Sexual
Career
Cultural
Education
Hobbies
resilience
Conducting the genogram
interview
The information net
◦ Presenting problem=larger context
◦ Immediate household=extended family and social ontext
◦ Present family=historical family events
◦ Easy questions=more anxiety provoking ones
◦ Obvious facts=hypotheses about patterns
1. Presenting problem and
immediate household
Who lives with you
How are you related
Where do other family members live
Who knows about the problem
How do others view the problem
Have other family members had similar problems
When did it begin
2. Current situation
Any recent changes or transitions in the family
What is going on right now in the family
Are there any anticipated changes or transitions
3. Broader family context
Usually start with mother’s family
Then father’s

What are some questions you can think of?

Make sure you cover cultural and ethnic backgrounds, immigration
4. Specific behavioral
concerns
Once everyone is identified, ask about serious medical or psychological
issues
Suicide
Trouble with the law
Substance abuse
Sexual or physical abuse
Power and control issues
Financial issues
Constructing timelines
Best to have client do this outside of therapy
When reviewing focus on critical events
◦ Births
◦ Deaths
◦ Traumas
◦ Changes in relationships
◦ moves
Interpreting timelines
Look for coincidences
Transitions
Traumas
Changes
Anniversary reactions
References
McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., &  Shellenberger, S. (1999).
Genograms: Assessment and Intervention (2nd ed.). New York, NY,
US: W. W. Norton & Co, Inc.
Bateson, G. (2000). Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in
Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology. Chicago, USA:
University of Chicago Press.