A family map is a history that uses special symbols to describe relationships, major events, and the dynamics of a family over multiple generations.Think of it as a detailed family tree.Genetics are often used to identify mental and physical illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, cancer and other genetic diseases.The first thing you need to do is interview family members.You can use standard symbols to create a diagram for your family's history.
Step 1: There is a reason for creating a genogram.
The purpose of the Genogram is to help you focus on the type of family information you want to collect.Depending on the context, it's likely to help you decide who you will share the diagram with, but sometimes the information might be too sensitive for some family members.Substance abuse, mental illness, and physical violence, as well as many physical illnesses, can be focused on by genograms.A visual document that tracks the history of your current mental or medical proclivities can be provided to health care workers.
Step 2: Understand what you are looking for.
Knowing what you want to learn can help you organize how you go about getting to know you and your family.They are like family trees.You also look at the leaves on the branches.Everyone in your family is connected through physical and emotional relationships.A genogram can tell you who is married, divorced, widowed, or both.It will tell you how many kids each union has, what each child is like, and what the individual relationships are between members on more than just a physical level.Think about what kind of information you want to learn.Do you want to know if your family has a history of depression, addictions, or cancer?If you want to know more about why your mother and her mother never get along, you should look for clues that serve your goals.
Step 3: Determine the number of generations you need to represent.
This will give you a clear idea of who you will need to approach for information to complete your diagram, and whether this will be possible given people's ages and geographical location.It is possible to get in touch with family members that you may not be able to meet in person with the use of email, Skype, and other communication devices.It will be easier and quicker to know how far back you need to go.Are you going to start with your grandparents?Maybe you would like to go back to your great grandparents.It's a good idea to decide how far back you want to go.
Step 4: Ask yourself and your relatives a few questions.
To get the most information as quickly as possible, you should use what you learn from your Genogram to come up with some questions to ask.What was your grandmother's name, who was she married to, and when she died?How many children did your mother's parents have? Did your family member abuse drugs or alcohol?What were they?
Step 5: Write what you know down.
If you are close with one or more of your family members, chances are you already know a lot about their family history.Take a look at the questions and see how many you can answer on your own.
Step 6: Talk to your family.
It is time to talk to family members after you have exceeded your own knowledge.Questions about family relationships and significant events can be asked.Take good notes.While the questions you have written down will help you with the outline of what you are trying to learn, you may also get useful information you didn't think about when you listen to stories from your family members.These discussions may be difficult for some family members.You should be prepared to listen to a lot of stories.Stories are some of the best means by which we remember and transfer information and encourage these as they arise by listening attentively and asking open-ended questions that motivate the person to share more information.
Step 7: You can find family books and documents on the internet.
Sometimes your family won't be able to remember everything you need to know, or they may not want to share it with you.You can use web searches or family books to check out what you have learned from your family.If you decide to use this information, you should be sure that it is accurate.
Step 8: Look at your past.
A baseline can be helped by the information within your own personal history.You can get information from your medical records.You can use this information to find out if any of your family members take the same medication for a condition if you take into account what medications you may be using.
Step 9: Family relationships can be learned.
It is important to know how everyone in your family is connected.Research the unions between family members.Take note of who is married and divorced, who may be living together outside of marriage.Is anyone widowed?What about separation or forced separation?Depending on what you want to learn from making a Genogram, you may have to ask some uncomfortable questions.If anyone in your family had one-night or very short term relationships, you may have to know.If anyone had ever been in a forced relationship.This could be uncomfortable for some and you should be aware of who you are talking to.
Step 10: The emotional relationships can be learned.
It is time to learn what kind of emotional relationships your family members had.If you want to determine any psychological factors in your family, you need to know the answers to the emotional questions.Do members of a union love each other?Do members get along?Some of your family can't stand each other.Patterns of abuse or neglect can be found as you dig deeper.You can differentiate between physical and emotional components.
Step 11: You can design your genogram.
If you want to start from scratch, you can use a Genogram template online.You can buy software programs that are specifically designed for genograms.
Step 12: Genogram symbols are used to represent family members and relationships.
The symbols show the information you gathered in your interviews.You can draw the symbols using the "draw" or "shapes" options in a word processing program.The men are indicated by a square.The male symbol should be placed to the left when indicating a marriage.The women are shown by a circle.The female symbol should be positioned to the right.There are two separation lines and a single horizontal line.The oldest child is to the left of the family, while the youngest should be below.You can use other symbols to describe family events.A diamond symbol is used to represent pets.
Step 13: You want to represent the oldest generation in the chart, so organize it based on family interactions.
It's possible to start your Genogram with your grandparents or great grandparents.It is possible to show the diversity in family relationships with a genograms.There are symbols in a genogram to indicate family interactions.The symbols that help keep the flow clear are found in emotional relationships.Sexual and physical abuse is one of the disorders that are marked by symbols.
Step 14: Look for patterns.
If you look carefully, you can see what patterns can be identified.There may be certain psychological tendencies that are very noticeable when grouped together.It's a good idea to be careful about making assumptions.Don't use the data to confirm that your family has a mental or disease issue.Discuss any potential hereditary problems with a medical professional.The genogram can be used to make assumptions about the motives of family members, but don't use it to confront them.It's not a good idea to use the Genogram to prove your point that a family member needs a mental health professional.Don't approach your family members in a way that makes them feel bad, talk to your personal counselor before making a decision about a self-generated genogram.If you're writing up the family history, patterns established in a Genogram can be very helpful as a way of explaining why ancestral family members left one geographical area for another, what sorts of relationship issues members had and whether or not they were officially recognized.