FAMILIOGRAM: SYMBOLOGY, HOW TO DO IT AND EXAMPLE - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

A familiogram is a graphical representation similar to a genealogical tree, but that includes information about the relationships between the different members of a family. It is used in different disciplines related to health and social study to understand family dynamics.

Familiograms allow us to identify factors such as behavior patterns, emotions or diseases that may have a hereditary component. On the other hand, this tool is very flexible, so it can be used in almost any discipline that requires the study of family data.

The familiogram was developed for the first time in 1985 by researchers Randy Gerson and Monica McGoldrick, through a book that also served to popularize the tool. Today, familiograms are used in fields as diverse as psychology, medicine, genealogy, and social work.

Symbology

The familiogram is a graphic representation of a family tree that represents the different interactions between members of a family.

For this reason, one of the most important factors of a good familiogram is the use of the appropriate symbols to represent the different elements that comprise it.

These symbols allow not only to identify the different members of the family, but also factors such as the emotional relationships between them, the hereditary factors that may be present or the nature of the ties that unite them. Next we will see which are the most important symbols.

Basic symbols

In a familiogram, men are represented with a square, and women with a circle. These are the most basic symbols of all.

However, over the years two more have been added to reflect the realities of modern families: the diamond for pets and the question mark for people of unknown gender.

A separate case is that of the main person (the patient whose familiogram is being performed): his symbol will be a circle or a square depending on his gender, but marked with a double line.

Apart from this, we can sometimes find a triangle within the graphical representation of a familiogram. This symbolizes abortions or loss of children in pregnancy; These situations are represented because they can have a great psychological impact on all members of the family.

Finally, a smaller circle or square crossed out with a cross represents a child who died at birth. These situations are represented by reasons similar to abortions and interrupted pregnancies.

Relationship between family members

In general, all members of the family will be united by a solid line, in the style of a traditional family tree. However, in some familiograms it is possible to find some exceptions.

For example, in the case of adopted children, the line that connects them to their adoptive parents will not be continuous, but will be a broken line. In the case of foster children, they will be joined by their new relatives with a dotted line within the familiogram.

Finally, in the case of multiple births, such as twins or twins, they are usually represented with a line for each one but starting from the same point, thus creating a kind of triangle.

Advanced symbols

Depending on the intended use of the familiogram, representing family relationships with basic symbols may not be enough.

For this reason, there is a series of advanced symbols that serve to represent other elements of the relationship between the different members of the family. We will describe some of these below.

Symbols to represent emotions

In fields such as psychology, the emotional factor of family relationships is extremely important in understanding the patient's history.

Thus, in familiograms, emotions such as love, aggressiveness or fear can be represented by a system of colors and lines of different types.

For example, hatred is represented within a familiogram as three dashed red lines that unite the two people who maintain this relationship.

On the contrary, love is embodied by a green line that joins the two people, with two circles linked in the middle.

Complex family relationships

The solid line serves to capture traditional relationships in the familiogram, such as that of parents and children or that of a stable couple; But what about couples who are separated, or those who live together but are not married? In some familiograms there are symbols to represent these new realities.

Thus, for example, a separated couple is represented by a red line with another perpendicular that cuts it; and less serious love relationships can be depicted by dashed blue lines.

Mental and physical illnesses

Finally, a familiogram can also be used to study the family history of diseases in fields such as medicine or psychiatry. Therefore, it has been necessary to develop a series of symbols to represent all kinds of physical and mental illnesses.

For example, a person with cancer would be represented by a small purple box inside the larger symbol, and a drug addict would be represented by an orange circle or square, depending on their gender.

How to make a familiogram?

To create a familiogram from scratch, it is necessary to follow three steps: draw the family structure, capture information about the family, and record the nature of family relationships.

Draw the family structure

The most important part of the familiogram is the set of relationships of the subject's family, going back at least 3 generations. This structure is represented by the set of basic symbols and lines described above.

In this part of the process, it is necessary to indicate who each of the family members are, the relationships that exist between them (if they are children, siblings, partners, ex-partners, etc.), and if they are still alive or have died.

Capture information about the family

In this second part, other types of information related to the occupations of each of the members of your family, their ages, their physical or emotional problems, and the critical events they have suffered, are added to the basic structure of the familiogram.

The advanced symbols described above are used for this. For example, at this level the symbols used to describe mental or physical illnesses, addictions or emotional problems would come into play.

Record the nature of family relationships

Finally, in the cases that require it, the type of relationship between the family members will be reflected in the familiogram: if they get along or not, who is in charge in a family nucleus, if there are personal conflicts of any kind or other situations.

Some of the types of relationships that can be represented at this last level are love, hostility, mistrust, dependency, and affection.

In more complex cases, symbols can also be used to depict sexual, physical or emotional abuse, as well as jealousy or excessive control.

Familiogram in social work

Social work is a discipline that studies a person's environment to try to help them solve all kinds of problems, although they are usually related to mental or emotional disorders, as well as addiction to all kinds of substances.

Because this discipline considers it essential to change not only the individual but also their environment, familiograms are extremely useful to social workers. Thanks to these structures they can study the entire family system and its operation quickly and effectively.

Once the familiogram with the patient has been performed, the social worker has to be able to detect where the core of the problem is, and work with both the patient and his family to solve the difficulties that have made him decide to to look for help.

In this way, the familiogram helps the social work professional to formulate hypotheses about the origin of the problems, to propose possible solutions and to intervene quickly and effectively. Therefore, it is one of the most used tools in this field.

Example

Below is an example of a familiogram based on the Skywalker family from the famous Star Wars saga, with many of the symbols described above represented in it.

The example has been taken from the Genopro page, one of the most important resources for the development of this type of tool.

As can be seen, within this familiogram many of the elements described above are represented: the relationship between all the members of the family, the emotional links between them and some mental and emotional problems of the characters (in the form of the small squares blue within the symbols of each).

You can also see the small crosses that indicate the deaths of some of the characters, as well as the different types of lines that represent natural children, adoptions or love relationships.

References

1. "Introduction to the Genogram" in: GenoPro. Retrieved on: May 06, 2018 from GenoPro: genopro.com.
2. "Genogram Symbols" in: GenoPro. Retrieved on: May 06, 2018 from GenoPro: genopro.com.
3. "Genogram" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: May 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Family Diagram" at: The Bow Center. Retrieved on: May 06, 2018 from The Bow Center: thebowcenter.org.
5. "How to make a structural familiogram?" in: Family doctors. Retrieved on: May 06, 2018 from Family Physicians: medicosfamiliares.com.