Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Widely used by both family therapists and all health careprofessionals, the genogram is a graphic way of organizing the mass ofinformation gathered during a family assessment and finding patterns inthe family system for more targeted treatment.

Now updated and expanded in its third edition, and featuring revised genograms for easier reading, reflecting the growing and widespread use of genograms for clinical intervention, this best-selling text provides a standard method for constructing a genogram, doing a genogram interview, and interpreting the results. Genograms of famous families--Sigmund Freud, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, the Kennedys, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner, Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, the Roosevelts, and Thomas Jefferson, to name a few--bring the text to life, and help to elucidate the principles of family systems theory and systemic interviewing, which form the basis of genogram work. Once these principles have been explained, the authors go on to present the important clinical applications of genograms in both family therapy and family medicine. These applications include the effective assessment of patients' risk for emotional problems such as anxiety or depression; structural patterns among families such as divorce and remarriage; relationship patterns such as enmeshment, conflicts, and cut-offs; recent and chronic life stressors such as pregnancy, acute illness, poverty, and racism; and family life cycle transitions and developmental crises, among other uses. By providing a fascinating view into the richness of family dynamics, McGoldrick and her coauthors provide an invaluable guide to clinicians for accurately charting a family's structure, making it easier to scan for potential problems and take proactive steps to utilize resources when necessary.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Chapter 1 Genograms: Mapping Family Systems (p. 1)
• What Is a Genogram? (p. 1)
• Genograms Map Who We Belong To (p. 2)
• Using a Genogram to Map Family Structure (p. 4)
• Exploring Families in Social Context (p. 6)
• Genograms Challenge Individualistic, Linear Thinking and Foster a Family Systems Perspective (p. 6)
• Genograms Let the Calendar Speak (p. 7)
• The Context for Assessing Problems: Belonging, Our Multiple Identities, and the Sense of Home (p. 8)
• Members of a Family Tend to Fit Together as a Functional Whole (p. 12)
• The History of Genograms (p. 12)
• The Importance of Agreeing on Genograms Symbols (p. 14)
• Multiple Applications of Genograms (p. 15)
• Using Genograms to Depict Larger Societal Patterns (p. 17)
• Genograms in Medicine and Nursing (p. 19)
• Tracking the Genogram of Family Therapy (p. 21)
• Using Genograms to Explore Specific Patterns and for Family Research (p. 26)
• Toward Future Developments (p. 32)
• A Caveat (p. 34)
• Chapter 2 Creating Genograms (p. 35)
• Timing of Genogram Interviewing (p. 36)
• Mapping the Family Structure on a Genogram (p. 36)
• Dealing with Complex Genograms (p. 36)
• Mapping Key Information with a Limited Number of Symbols (p. 37)
• Basic Symbols and Their Location on a Genogram (p. 39)
• Mapping Couple Relationships on Genograms (p. 40)
• Mapping Children on Genograms (p. 42)
• Symbols for Addiction and Other Physical or Psychological Disorders (p. 43)
• Patterns of Functioning (p. 44)
• Showing Relationships on Genograms (p. 45)
• Family Relationships and Roles (p. 46)
• Relationship Questioning (p. 46)
• Household, Key Information, & Position of Family Members on a Genogram (p. 48)
• Information Relevant for Each Family Member (p. 49)
• Building a Genogram (p. 50)
• Key Patterns to Note on a Genogram (p. 57)
• Creating Specific Genograms to Explore Issues or to Promote Resilience in a System (p. 61)
• Contextual Influences May Include: (p. 63)
• Institutional Affiliations
• Physical/Psychological/Spiritual Activities
• Support Systems
• Business and Governmental Institutions
• Values or Interests
• Community Connections
• Indicating Cultural Background, Education, Occupation, Socio-Economic Situation, Religion & Spirituality on Genograms (p. 63)
• Exploring Patterns of Functioning, Relationships, and Structure Over the Generations (p. 64)
• Attending to Missing or "Hidden" Information on Genograms (p. 64)
• Issues Difficult to Capture on Genograms (p. 65)
• Chapter 3 The Genogram interview (p. 71)
• Genogram Interviewing to Engage Families (p. 72)
• The Family Information Net (p. 73)
• The Presenting Problem and the Immediate Household (p. 74)
• The Current Situation (p. 75)
• The Wider Family Context (p. 76)
• Resistance in the Genogram Interview (p. 77)
• Dealing with a Family's Resistance to Doing a Genogram (p. 78)
• Family's Beliefs About the Problem and About Possible Solutions (p. 79)
• Diplomatic Inquiry About Basics of Family History and Functioning (p. 79)
• Socio-Cultural and Religious Background (p. 80)
• Questioning About Difficult Issues of Cultural and Social Location (p. 86)
• The Informal Kinship Network (p. 87)
• Tracking Family Process (p. 88)
• Difficult Questions About Individual Functioning (p. 88)
• Setting Priorities for Organizing Genogram Information (p. 91)
• Essentials of a Brief Genogram Interview (p. 93)
• Chapter 4 Tracking Family Patterns with Genograms (p. 95)
• Tracking Balance in the Family Structure, Roles, & Functioning (p. 95)
• Tracking Relational Patterns and Triangles on Genograms (p. 101)
• Tracking Families Through the Life Cycle and Critical Life Events (p. 103)
• Tracking Couples on Genograms: The Joining of Families (p. 106)
• Genogram Patterns to Track for the Early Parenting Years (p. 107)
• Tracking the Family with Young Children (p. 108)
• Genogram Patterns for The Middle Childrearing Years (p. 109)
• Families at Midlife: Adolescence, Launching, Young Adulthood, Joining as New Couples, and Moving On (p. 109)
• The Later Chapters of the Life Cycle: Growth, Resiliency, Retrospection, Caretaking, Loss, Grief, and Legacies (p. 110)
• Tracking Families in Their Ability to Live Beyond Loss (p. 111)
• Building Family Chronologies (p. 112)
• Tracking the Family of Erik Erikson: Secrets Over the Life Cycle (p. 112)
• Tracking Coincidences of Life Events (p. 122)
• The Buildup of Stressors: Queen Elizabeth's "Annus Horribilis" (p. 122)
• Tracking Traumatic Coincidental Events: The Example of the Bateson Family (p. 124)
• Tracking Critical Life Changes, Transitions, and Traumas (p. 126)
• Tracking Anniversary Reactions (p. 127)
• Tracking A Family in Historical Time: Social, Economic, and Political Events & Cohort (p. 129)
• Tracking Social Class, Finances, and Downward Mobility on a Genogram (p. 132)
• Tracking Migration (p. 135)
• Tracking Family Caretaking (p. 139)
• Tracking Specific Themes on a Genogram (p. 142)
• Tracking Missing Information and Discrepancies (p. 149)
• Chapter 5 Exploring Family Constellations with Genograms (p. 152)
• Household Composition (p. 152)
• Parent-Child Triangles (p. 156)
• Triangles in Families with Foster or Adopted Children (p. 158)
• Multigenerational Triangles (p. 159)
• Family Boundaries: Open and Closed, Insiders and Outsiders (p. 160)
• Triangles Over Time (p. 162)
• Remarried Families (p. 165)
• In Vitro Fertilization (p. 168)
• Children Raised in Multiple Households (p. 169)
• Triangles with Pets and Objects (p. 171)
• Richly Cross-Joined Families (p. 173)
• Hypotheses About Darwin's Genogram (p. 177)
• Unusual Family Configurations (p. 180)
• Children Growing Up in Multiple Families: Foster Care, Adoption, and Orphanage Experiences (p. 185)
• Adoption Experiences: Steve Jobs (p. 188)
• Chapter 5 Exploring family Constellations with Genograms (p. 194)
• Twins (p. 198)
• Different Roles for Brothers and Sisters (p. 199)
• The Influence of Loss on Sibling Patterns (p. 203)
• Oldest Sons and Daughters (p. 205)
• Middle Children (p. 207)
• Youngest Children (p. 210)
• Only Children (p. 212)
• Sibling Position and Parenting (p. 215)
• Sibling Relationships in Adult Life (p. 215)
• Factors That Influence Sibling Constellation (p. 216)
• Family Constellations Are Not Astrology (p. 222)
• Chapter 7 Exploring Couple Constellations with Genograms (p. 223)
• Sibling Position and Coupling (p. 223)
• Sibling Constellation, Coupling, and Gender (p. 229)
• Mapping Couple Relationships with Multiple Partners (p. 229)
• Exploring Couples in the Context of Culture, Time and Place (p. 234)
• Common Couple Triangles to Look For (p. 243)
• Divorced and Remarried Families Have A Whole Extra Layer of History and Potential Triangles (p. 245)
• In-Law and Grandparent Relationships in Remarried Families (p. 249)
• Putting Couples in Perspective (p. 249)
• Chapter 8 Exploring Families Through Time and Space with Genograms: The Family Life Cycle (p. 250)
• Example of Sigmund Freud and His Family (p. 251)
• The Transition to Parenthood: The Freud Family in 1856 (p. 255)
• The Early Parenthood Years (p. 256)
• The Middle Childrearing Years (p. 259)
• The Freud Family at Midlife: Adolescence, Launching, Young Adulthood, Joining as New Couples, and Moving On (p. 261)
• The Next Generation (p. 266)
• The Freud Family in Later Life (p. 272)
• The Great Mandala (Wheel) of Life (p. 275)
• Chapter 9 Clinical Uses of the Genogram (p. 276)
• Uncovering Family Secrets: The Carusos (p. 276)
• Addressing Loss and Trauma (p. 278)
• Clarifying Family Patterns (p. 279)
• Refraining and Detoxifying Family Issues 279
• Using Genograms to Draw Forth Resilience and to Design Interventions (p. 281)
• Interventions in Family Medicine (p. 285)
• Family Patterns, Significant Events, Concurrent Life Stresses, and Cultural Issues (p. 290)
• How Genogram Information Can Transform Clients' Perceptions of Themselves (p. 295)
• Genogram Value as a Therapy Tool (p. 297)
• Chapter 10 Genograms in Medical or Psychiatric Practice, M.D., M.S.P.H. (p. 298)
• Why Do Genograms as a Physician? (p. 289)
• Why Not Do Genograms as a Busy Physician? (p. 299)
• Practical Tips for Doctors Doing Genograms (p. 299)
• Starting to Do Genograms (p. 300)
• Pearls from Doing Routine Genograms Over the Years (p. 300)
• Looking at My Own Family (p. 302)
• Doing Genograms in the Electronic Medical Record Era (p. 307)
• Greg and Penny (p. 308)
• Bob and Nell (p. 311)
• Larry and Connie (p. 313)
• Linda, Patrick, and Gino (p. 315)
• Genograms of Family Medicine/Practice (p. 318)
• The Joy of Doing Genograms (p. 321)
• Chapter 11 Family Play Genograms (p. 322)
• Creating the Genogram Picture (p. 323)
• The Exercise (p. 323)
• Using Play Genograms to Invite, Engage, and Enliven The Therapeutic Encounter (p. 325)
• A Play Genogram Session with Jenny (p. 326)
• Materials Used for Family Play Genograms (p. 330)
• Additional Family Play Genogram Exercises (p. 330)
• Play Genograms for Finding Family Resources (p. 331)
• Case of Alexis: Child Sexual Abuse in Remarried Family (p. 334)
• The Nogucis: A Family of Outsiders (p. 337)
• Appendix (p. 344)
• The Genogram Map (p. 344)
• Outline for a Brief Genogram Interview (p. 345)
• Patterns to Trace on a Genogram (p. 346)

Author notes provided by Syndetics