CHAPTER 45Using Genograms to Understand Family Patterns
Guillermo Salazar
“Take a blank piece of paper and a pencil, give me 45 minutes…and I can help you discover and understand the important patterns that affect your family.”
—Guillermo Salazar
The genogram is one of the most valuable tools available for understanding a family and a family enterprise. It helps families and advisors to become acquainted with the lives of the people in the family “system,” how they interact, and what it might mean for the future.
It is like a family tree, with additional symbols representing the dynamics of the interactions among family members: It's a curious composition of circles, boxes, lines, and zigzags which tells the story of the family.
According to Family System Theory1 your family of origin is the most significant influence you experience from birth. Usually, the genogram (also known in some contexts as a “family diagram”) is drawn up at the diagnostic stage or during the chemistry meeting between a client and an advisor.
Family diagrams were initially developed over five decades ago by therapists and family doctors2 as diagnostic and analytical instruments. In the 1980s, a group of prominent experts (among them Murray Bowen, Jack Froom, and Jack Medalie) standardized the graphic elements and language and organized them in a concise, efficient manner.
Later work, such as the study by Monica McGoldrick, Randy Gerson, and Sylvia Shellenberger (1999) illustrated the histories of ...
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