Hagedorn
Genograms: Assessing the
Generational Impact
Genogram Basic Components
• Male is noted as a ____________
• Female is noted as a ____________
• “X” is used to denote a dead family
member
• Death dates and birth dates are often
recorded in the upper left and upper right
Genorgram Basics Continued
• Male is placed to the left of the female in
the father/mother dyad
• Marriage is shown by a _______________
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Hagedorn
Extended Family Genogram
•
•
•
•
Oldest children to left; youngest to right
Solid lines in inverted “V” shows twins
Hashed lines can show foster children
Combined hashed and solid lines =
adopted child
• Hashed lines can demonstrate
relationships vis-à-vis solid line
Clue One: Dates
• Important historical, familial, and relationship
dates
• Dates provide information regarding events
• Dates indicate what else ______________
__________________________________
– Sequences, concurrently occurring events
Clue Two: Gender
• Gender _______________________ may
thread through families in powerful and subtle
ways, creating difficulties when a member
marries someone with different gender beliefs.
• For example, if you discover that a family has
sent clear messages that ______________
________________________, you may come
to understand why a certain younger generation
husband and wife are in such a struggle.
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Hagedorn
Clue Three: Secrets
• Secrets, still unrevealed or unknown to
some, provide information about the ______
__________________________________ in
certain families.
Clue Four: Losses
• A key genogram factor is the issue of losses.
• Numerous factors fit in this category - critical
illness, death, disabilities, economic reversals,
job losses, miscarriages, divorces, and others.
• The experience of such losses and the
_______________________ varies widely.
• A key question is "To what extent was this
event perceived as a loss?"
Clue Five: Themes
• Themes speak to the questions
– “____________________________?”
– “____________________________?"
• They make evident a family's belief structure
and guide the family in future behavior.
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