Family Genogram
It is important for future human service workers to know and understand their family of origin.
In this way they can become aware of any emotional ‘baggage’ they might carry when they work with individuals and families. A lack of such awareness may interfere with their ability to work effectively with clients.
This assignment is worth 30 points.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. You are to prepare a three-generation genogram on your family. To do so, you are to go back to your grandparent’s generation, depict the caregivers (parents) and siblings (if you have any) that you lived with as a child and go forward to your children (if you have any).
2. Keep in mind that you are to emphasize the strengths of the past and present generations, especially the themes that motivated family members to reach beyond themselves and overcome adversity, addictions, or issues that may have held them back.
3. In order to obtain the needed information relatives must be contacted. One relative usually functions as the family scribe or historian, keeping track of important family information.
Calling or writing the family member who functions in this role is usually the quickest means of completing this assignment.
4. Include a brief explanation of how your genogram is set up (KEY/LEGEND), including any use of pictures, photos, symbols, graphics, choice of colors,
etc.
Questions that must be included in the narrative:
1. What thoughts/feelings did you have about completing the genogram?
2. What new things did you learn about your family history?
3. What did you learn about yourself from this activity?
4. What was most meaningful for you in completing this assignment?
5. How would you use the genogram as a tool with clients?
You also must integrate a minimum of five of these questions in your 4 -5 page narrative:
How healthy were family members in your genogram?
1.
1. What were the most common health problems on each side of your family and in your family of origin?
2. What did family members do to prevent or treat such problems?
What type(s) of family structure (single parent, nuclear, extended) were repeated in your genogram?
What family themes have been carried down through the generations?
What occupations occur most frequently in your family?
What stages of the family life cycle have been easier for your family to cope with? Most difficult?
What life events have affected family functioning throughout the generations of your family?
1. What historical events affected family functioning?
2. What horizontal and vertical stressors affected family functioning?
Where are triangles present in your genogram?
1. Where are relationships close?
2. Distant?
3. Conflicted?
4. Fused?
5. Where are there emotional cutoffs?
What patterns are repeated, such as educational or work successes, religious commitment, alcohol or drug use, or other behaviors?
How large were the families in your genogram?
1. Do some families stand out as larger or smaller when looking at the genogram?
2. What stresses might have occurred due to family size or family imbalance?
Since you are a dynamic, active organism according to systems theory, what could you do to change any patterns that disturb you?
1. What would you like to pass on to your children (should you have or want children) some day go.
