A genogram uses a small set of standard symbols, so anyone who reads it (a teacher, a therapist, a doctor) understands it without explanation. The conventions below are the ones set out by Monica McGoldrick, Randy Gerson and Sueli Petry in Genograms: Assessment and Treatment, the reference used in family therapy, social work and medicine. Textbooks differ in small details, so always add a key to your genogram: the genogram maker adds one with the symbols your chart uses.
People
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Man (square). Men are usually drawn on the left of a couple. | |
| Woman (circle). | |
| Nonbinary, gender diverse or unknown (diamond), as in the 4th edition of McGoldrick's book. Some older textbooks use a diamond only for pets or unknown sex. | |
| Index person: a double outline marks the person the genogram is about (the client, patient or student). | |
| Deceased: an X inside the symbol, with the year of death above it on the right. | |
| Age goes inside the symbol; the birth year above it on the left. Name and notes go underneath. |
Couples
A line below the two partners joins a couple. The relationship's start and end years go on or under the line: m. for married, LT for living together, s. for separated and d. for divorced.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Married: a solid line. | |
| Living together or a committed relationship without marriage: a dashed line. | |
| Separated: one slash across the line. | |
| Divorced: two slashes across the line. |
When someone has several partners, the relationships are drawn side by side, usually in order from left to right, so the current partner is easy to find.
Children
Children hang from the couple's line, from oldest on the left to youngest on the right. The line that connects each child shows how they joined the family.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Biological child: a solid line. | |
| Adopted child: a dashed line. | |
| Foster child: a dotted line. | |
| Twins: two lines from the same point. | |
| Identical twins: the same, with a bar between the two lines. |
Pregnancies and losses
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy: a triangle on the children's line. | |
| Miscarriage: a small filled circle. | |
| Abortion: a small X. | |
| Stillbirth: a small symbol with an X. |
These are the symbols that vary most between textbooks; some draw a miscarriage or an abortion as a small triangle with an X. Use whichever your course or agency teaches, and put it in the key.
Health and substance use
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Physical or mental illness: the left half filled. Write the condition under the name, for example diabetes or depression. | |
| Alcohol or drug problem: the bottom half filled. | |
| Suspected alcohol or drug problem: the bottom half striped. | |
| Illness and an alcohol or drug problem: three quarters filled. |
Emotional relationships
Lines drawn directly between two people show how they get along. They are the most revealing part of a genogram: patterns of closeness, conflict and cutoffs often repeat across generations.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Close: two parallel lines. | |
| Very close or fused: three parallel lines, a relationship so close that the boundaries blur. | |
| Distant: a dashed line. | |
| Conflict: a zigzag line. | |
| Close but conflictual: two lines with a zigzag. | |
| Cutoff or estranged: a broken line with two bars. | |
| Abuse: a zigzag ending in an arrow pointing at the person abused. | |
| Focused on: an arrow toward the person who gets the attention. |
McGoldrick's genograms are black and white; colored lines, as in the genogram maker, are easier to read on screen. Either is fine as long as the key explains them.
Households
A dotted line drawn around a group of people shows who lives together, which helps in blended families and when grandparents or other relatives share the home.
Tips for a readable genogram
- Keep each generation on its own row, with the oldest generation at the top.
- Put brothers and sisters in birth order, oldest on the left.
- Write years rather than full dates, and short notes rather than sentences.
- Always include a key, and the date the genogram was made.