This article was recently published on the FamilySearch blog website.

For centuries, family trees and pedigree charts have been used to chronicle and preserve family histories. While excellent at showing basic family structures and demographic information, traditional family trees can be limited when it comes to capturing the essence of family relationships and behaviors across time.

A genogram is a special type of annotated family tree that uses symbols, demographic information, and other family details to depict family relationships and reveal family patterns across multiple generations. By placing family history in context, genograms offer insight into behavior, relationships, and experiences that shape past and present family life. 

What Is a Genogram?

A genogram is a family diagram that combines symbols, relevant demographic information, and other family details to chart family relationships and display important family information across multiple generations.

A key difference between standard family trees and genograms is that genograms use symbols to illustrate relationships between people. For example, a genogram might show a jagged line between two individuals, indicating a strained or hostile relationship, or it might include a dotted line between two people, which represents emotional or physical distance. 

Genograms are usually tailored to a specific person or topic and may intentionally leave out information that is irrelevant to the themes being explored. For example, a genogram designed to show how a family responds to loss might include specific information about how family members died and notes about how family members grieved, but it may leave out other information, such as marriage dates and occupation information. 

Genograms often incorporate information beyond what is found in a traditional pedigree chart, providing more details about specific family events or notes about the relationship between people. For example, a genogram might show dates of separation and divorce in addition to marriage dates, or a genogram might include information about family pets or close family friends who played significant roles in family life.

How Are Genograms Used?

Genograms were originally designed for therapeutic or clinical settings. Social workers and therapists would use genograms to help map multigenerational family dynamics and experiences that could affect their clients. Doctors and other medical professionals might use genograms to document illnesses such as heart disease and other hereditary features in the family to help diagnose or prevent illness and discover effective treatments for a patient. 

In both cases, genograms are used to clarify the complex family dynamics and experiences that might have shaped or affected a client’s well-being. 

Today, genograms are still used in clinical and professional settings. Because of their personal nature, they’re typically not available for public use. However, by applying elements of the technique to family history, you can use them as tools to help visualize or uncover any type of family story you want to explore.

In general, genograms are used to help people better understand their family story. One of the most remarkable uses of a genogram is to uncover the hidden patterns of your family. 

“Whatever has happened in your family shapes you,” writes Monica McGoldrick, author of The Genogram Journey: Reconnecting with Your Family. “Events that occurred long before your birth, never mentioned in your family during your lifetime, may influence you in powerful hidden ways.”

Genograms can provide clues or insights into the lore of your family, encouraging people to go deeper into their family history by addressing the why and how just as much as the who and when of a family tree. 

Genogram Symbols

As of today, there’s no official list of genogram symbols, but dozens of symbols are generally agreed upon and used by professionals. Keep in mind that genograms were originally designed for therapeutic or clinical settings, so many standardized or common genogram symbols deal with heavy topics such as abuse or loss. You can create your own set of unique symbols to use on your genogram—just don’t forget to include a legend!

Genogram Examples

One of the best ways to start understanding genograms is to view a few examples. 

Keep in mind that genograms can still be fairly confusing to people who are unfamiliar with the family history being portrayed.

This genogram is a real example of how genograms can be used to trace medical history through a family. By visually mapping your ancestors’ causes of death, you can identify hereditary health risks and see how illnesses affected family members over time.

How to Create a Genogram

Creating a genogram can be as simple as deciding on the symbols and family information you want to include and then plotting your family diagram on a piece of paper or software.

However, without a plan in place, it’s easy for genograms to become overcrowded and overwhelming, at which point they change from a helpful tool to a daunting mess. For these and other reasons, it’s helpful to approach your first genogram with a plan. It’s useful to choose one thing you want to analyze, so things don’t get too messy, and then add more details later if needed.

Creating a genogram for some types of family information can also be emotionally taxing, especially if your family has a history of trauma, sudden loss, or strained relationships. During the process of creating a genogram, you might stumble upon secrets or troubling information about your family; you might also trigger some painful memories and emotions in yourself or the people you interview.  As you create your first genogram, don’t be afraid to take breaks or step away if you or others begin to feel overwhelmed. If creating a genogram creates distress, consider focusing on lighter family themes or working with a trained mental health professional.

1. Set an intention

Before you create your genogram, ask yourself, “What do I want to learn about my family?” Genograms can become unwieldy and confusing if too much information is included, so it can be helpful to narrow your focus to a specific topic or question you have about your family.

For example, let’s say you want to learn more about the hobbies and interests your family has had through the generations. Start by listing questions you have about the topic, such as “What hobbies brought my family closer?” or “What hobbies were a source of contention?” or “How did hobbies impact holidays or family traditions?”

You can also make a list of the types of family information that can help you answer these questions. In this case, you might make a note to look into family holiday traditions or ask family members to share how various hobbies impacted their daily routines. 

2. Assess what you already know

Once you’ve picked a theme or have a specific question in mind, start sketching what you already know. It doesn’t need to be a detailed sketch—just a basic outline that helps you recognize any gaps in your knowledge. If it’s easier, create a list of what you know or a time line of events instead of trying to chart the information in a genogram.

For example, you can write down the names of family members and list hobbies you know of beneath their names. You might also create another list of any significant events from your family that might be related to these hobbies or interests. 

As you take stock of what you do and don’t know, create a bulleted list of questions or specific areas where you have a gap in knowledge. For example, let’s say you already know that your grandfather and father both loved playing football, but you don’t know how this shared interest affected their relationship. You might write down a few questions to better understand this relationship, such as “Did my grandfather and father regularly spend time together participating in or watching football?” or “How did my grandfather treat the children who didn’t play or show an interest in football?”

3. Fill in the gaps with research and interviews At this point in your genogram journey, you’ve assessed what you already know and compiled a list of questions that target what you don’t know. 

Basic information such as names, birthdays, death dates, occupations, birthplaces, and so on can be gleaned from genealogical records. More nuanced information, such as who got along in the family and who didn’t, requires a bit more digging. More often than not, you will need to interview a living relative to get answers.

Discover Your Family Story

Whether you’re ready to document your family history to help you create some genograms, or you want to learn the basics of building a family tree, FamilySearch has free resources and tools for you to use.

FamilySearch provides access to thousands of online records, as well as resources (including FamilySearch centers) for discovering information about your family. FamilySearch also provides a free family tree builder, as well as a service where you can upload and share family memories and records.

This article was authored by Jessica Grimaud and published on The FamilySearch Blog site.