Analysis: Once you have completed your genogram, you will need to interpret your family map. Analyze the genogram and who you are in the context of the family based on race/ethnicity, culture, class, gender, spiritual tradition, family life cycle, etc.
Part II (Microsoft Word document)
Written Narrative: After analyzing your genogram graphic following the guidelines above, state your interpretation of yourself in clear terms. Do this by writing a paper that describes the contributions that religion, gender, race, culture, etc., and your own unique family history have made to your personal identity. Do not forget to demonstrate your understanding of key concepts learned in this course. Apart from the quality of your written work, you will also be graded on your ability to widely, deeply, and accurately analyze and utilize theoretical concepts in describing your family’s interactional process.
Rest assured that this paper will be kept confidential. Be reminded that you are solely responsible for any information you choose to disclose in this project. Also note that you are under no obligation to reveal any information that you choose not to reveal.
The following outline must be used for your paper, using current APA format:
I. Briefly introduce your family. Discuss the sociopolitical, cultural, economic, spiritual, etc. issues in your family. Do not spend a lot of time describing demographic details that can be observed on the genogram.
· You can use first person in this narrative.
· You will not need an abstract; however, you will need a cover page. A reference page must be provided if you use citations.
II. Using the data gathered and the analyses you have made based upon your genogram and other resources, address the following questions:
A. What do you understand about yourself within the context of this multigenerational family?
B. How do the cultural, historical, and personal characteristic aspects of the information impact your understanding of the self?
C. If at all, what are the family lifecycle-related issues in the past or present that have influenced your family and/or interface with question D?
D. What intergenerational dynamics, patterns and/or themes that you have identified influence you (or others) in your current family? Jump to the last section of the present document, “Interpreting Genograms” and then draw a conclusion about your analysis.
E. What areas do you need to work on in order to become a better spouse, parent, counselor, and godly person?
Conclude this part of the assignment with personal reflections on the development of this project. Were there any issues that came to light? What did you learn?
This assignment is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 6.
How to Build a Genogram
(Many of the symbols and definitions are adopted from GenoPro.com)
Although there is general agreement on the basic genogram structure and symbols, there are some variations from one author to another and some in the GenoPro software program on how to depict certain family situations, such as cutoffs, adoptions etc. (Bowen, 1980; Kramer, 1985; McGoldrick, Gerson, & Shellenberger, 1999). The following are the common to genogram construction. The male is represented by a square and the female by a circle. You may also use a diamond for a pet and the question mark for unknown gender.
Deaths are typically represented by putting an “X” through the symbol. (If you ever do a genogram with a client, ask the client how he/she would like to represent the death since putting an “X” through the symbol without their permission could be traumatizing.)
For one to be called a parent, they would have to have at least 1 of the 3 types of children: biological/natural, foster, or adopted. On the genogram, a triangle is the standard diagrammatic representation of a pregnancy, a miscarriage, or an abortion. While an abortion is represented with a horizontal line on top of the triangle, a diagonal cross in the same position indicates the death of a baby through a miscarriage. As for a still birth, it is displayed the same as its gender, though the gender symbol is two times smaller, while the diagonal cross remains the same size.
The reason is obvious as to why the children on a genogram are placed below the family line, starting from the oldest to the youngest, and from the left hand to right. Take note that these are vitally important rules to remember down the road, as the family system becomes labyrinthine. The GenoPro software, however, does allow variations in this area.
Birth, marriage, divorce, and death dates may be indicated by the initial and year (i.e., b. 89). The ages of the individuals are put in as numbers in the markers. Alcoholism (or other relevant issues) is frequently indicated by filling in the bottom part of the individual's marker.
image1.png Genogram symbols for child links and special birth
The child links are joined together for multiple births, such as twins, triplets, etc. Identical twins (or triplets, etc.) are displayed with a horizontal line between the siblings. In the example below, the mother had two fraternal twin brothers, two identical twin sisters and triplets, one of which died at birth.