Genogram
A family map that shows not just who is related to whom, but how they relate, and what keeps repeating across generations.
Key takeaways
- A genogram maps at least three generations of a family, including relationships, major events and recurring patterns.
- Monica McGoldrick, Randy Gerson and Sueli Petry's book Genograms is the standard clinical reference for genogram symbols and interpretation.
- Basic symbols use squares for males and circles for females, with lines showing marriages, separations, closeness, conflict and cutoff.
- Genograms grew out of family systems thinking, especially Bowen's interest in patterns passed between generations.
- Genograms are a widely used assessment and conversation tool, but research on their effectiveness as a standalone intervention is limited.
What a genogram is, and what it is not
A family tree tells you who was born, who married whom and who died. A genogram tells you that and then keeps going: who stopped speaking to whom, which marriages were stormy, where drinking or depression showed up, who was the peacemaker, who moved three states away at eighteen. It is a diagram of a family’s emotional life drawn across at least three generations.
Genograms grew out of family systems thinking. Murray Bowen argued that patterns of relating are passed down through what the Bowen Center calls the multigenerational transmission process. Family therapists Monica McGoldrick, Randy Gerson and Sueli Petry later standardized the symbols and interpretation in their book Genograms, which remains the field’s core reference.
The basic symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Square | Male |
| Circle | Female |
| X inside a shape | Person has died |
| Solid horizontal line | Marriage or committed partnership |
| Line with one or two slashes | Separation or divorce |
| Vertical lines down from a couple | Children, oldest on the left |
| Double or triple lines between people | Very close or fused relationship |
| Zigzag line | Conflict |
| Broken line | Distance or cutoff |
Clinicians and software vary in the details, and many people now add symbols for gender identity, adoption, foster care and same-sex couples. What matters most is that you and anyone reading the map agree on the key.
How to draw your own genogram
- Start with yourself and any partner or children in the middle of the page.
- Add your parents and siblings above, then your grandparents above them.
- Write birth years, deaths, marriages, divorces and moves next to each person.
- Draw relationship lines: close, conflicted, distant, cut off.
- Note themes: illness, addiction, migration, military service, job losses, early deaths, secrets.
- Step back and ask what repeats.
An illustrative example
Imagine a man in Flint sketching his genogram for the first time. His grandfather left the farm for a GM line job and rarely spoke about his own father. His dad, also a shop-floor man, went quiet whenever money got tight. Looking at the page, he sees three generations of men who handled worry by going silent, and he recognizes the same reflex in himself when his wife asks about the bills. Nothing on the page is a verdict. It is a pattern he can now choose to work with.
What a genogram can reveal
Therapists look for repeating relationship patterns like enmeshment or cutoff, anniversary reactions around losses, sibling positions, and stressors that cluster in certain years. A genogram can also bring strengths into view: the aunt who held everyone together, the family’s history of surviving hard moves. When people wonder whether they are carrying generational trauma, a genogram is often a gentle first step in sorting what was passed down from what is new.
What the research says
Genograms are one of the most common tools in systemic practice, used for engagement, gathering information and forming hypotheses. Research on them as a standalone intervention is limited, and qualitative work with family therapists suggests they are used mainly to build understanding rather than to change behavior directly. Treat a genogram as a lens and a conversation starter, not a diagnosis.
Using a genogram in therapy
Building a genogram is a common early step in family therapy. Drawing it with someone who knows family systems theory can help you notice what you have always taken for granted, and decide which patterns you want to keep and which you would like to end with you.
Common questions
What is the difference between a genogram and a family tree?
A family tree records ancestry: names, dates, births, marriages and deaths. A genogram adds the emotional story, using lines and notes to show closeness, conflict, cutoffs, illness, addiction, migration and other patterns across at least three generations. Family therapists use genograms to understand how a family relates, not just who belongs to it.
What symbols are used in a genogram?
Standard genograms use squares for males and circles for females, an X for a person who has died, horizontal lines for marriages, slashes for separation or divorce, and vertical lines for children. Relationship lines show closeness, conflict or cutoff. Details vary, so include a key explaining your symbols.
How many generations should a genogram include?
Most clinicians recommend at least three generations, usually you, your parents and your grandparents, plus siblings and children. Three generations are often enough to see patterns repeat. If you know family history further back, adding it can help, especially around migration, major losses or long-running conflicts.
Why do therapists use genograms?
Therapists use genograms to gather family history efficiently, notice patterns across generations, and help clients see their struggles in context instead of as personal failings. Drawing one together can also build rapport. Research on genograms as a standalone treatment is limited, so they are best understood as an assessment and conversation tool.
Sources
- McGoldrick M, Gerson R, Petry S. Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (W. W. Norton)
- Multigenerational Transmission Process (The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family)
- Introduction to the Eight Concepts (The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family)
- Burley CJ. Therapists' Experience of Using the Genogram in Systemic Family and Couples Therapy (University of Exeter)