A family map or history 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 can be used to identify mental and physical illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, cancer and other genetic diseases.First, you need to interview family members.You can use standard symbols to create a diagram that documents your family's history.
Step 1: Do you have 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.It's likely to help you decide who to share the diagram with, sometimes the information might be too sensitive for some family members, so you'll need to judge that based on the context.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 mental or medical proclivities can be provided to health care workers.
Step 2: Understand what you're 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.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 how many generations you need to represent.
This will give you a clear idea of who you will need to approach in order 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 by using email, Skype, and other communication devices.The process will be easier and quicker if you 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.You can 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 the 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 you have formed and see how many you can answer on your own.
Step 6: Talk to people in your family.
It is time to talk to family members once you have exceeded your own knowledge.Questions about family relationships and significant events can be asked.Good notes should be taken.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 when you listen to stories from your family members.These discussions may be difficult for some family members.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: Search through books and 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 your family has taught you.If you decide to use it, you should be sure that the information is accurate.
Step 8: You should look at your own history.
A baseline can be helped by the information within your own personal history.You should gather 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: Understand the family relationships.
You need to know how everyone in your family is connected to make a genogram.Research the unions between family members.Take a look at who is married, divorced, and living together outside of marriage.Is anyone still alive?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 was 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?It is possible that some of your family can't stand each other.Patterns of abuse or neglect can be found as you dig deeper.It is possible to differentiate between physical and emotional components.
Step 11: Take a look at your genogram.
Genogram templates are available online or you can start from scratch.You can buy software programs that are specifically designed for genograms.
Step 12: Genogram symbols can be 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 is below.There are other symbols you can use to describe family events.There is a symbol for pets.
Step 13: If you want to represent the oldest generation at the top, organize the chart 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.There are symbols that help keep the flow clear 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 are 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 issue, it's just one thing.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 psychological help.Don't approach your family members in a way that makes them feel bad, talk to your personal counselor before you make 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 may help to uncover others who were not officially recognized.