Genogram Maker

What is a genogram?

A genogram is a structured family diagram used in family therapy, medicine, nursing, and social work. Where a family tree records who is related to whom, a genogram records how the family works: marriages and divorces, adoptions, deaths, illnesses, and — on a separate visual layer — the emotional quality of key relationships. The format was standardized by Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson in the 1980s, growing out of Murray Bowen's family systems theory, and the same core symbols are still taught in counseling, MSW, and nursing programs today.

Because the notation is standardized, a genogram is readable by any trained professional: a square is a male, a circle is a female, two slashes through a couple's line means divorce, a zigzag line means conflict. If you're new to the notation, our genogram symbols reference renders and explains every symbol this tool draws.

How to make a genogram (in about 10 minutes)

1. Start with the index person. That's the client, patient, or you — marked with a double outline. The starter canvas above already has one.
2. Add each generation. Place parents above, grandparents above them, children below. Squares for males, circles for females, diamonds when sex/gender is unknown or better left unspecified. Aim for at least three generations.
3. Connect partners. Pick a partner connection (marriage, divorce, separation, cohabitation) under Connect…, then click the two people. The line style — solid, slashed, or dashed — encodes the status.
4. Attach children. Choose a child connection, click a parent, then the child. Drop lines hang from the couple's line; adopted children get dashed lines, foster children dotted, and twins share a joined drop line.
5. Add the emotional layer. Close (double line), fused (triple), distant (dashed), conflict (zigzag), and cutoff (broken) lines capture family process. Toggle the layer off when you need a clean structural view.
6. Label, arrange, export. Add names, birth and death years, and clinical notes; press Auto-arrange to tidy the generations; export a PNG or PDF with title block and legend.

Who uses genograms — and for what

Therapists and counselors use genograms in intake and throughout treatment to surface intergenerational patterns — addiction, estrangement, enmeshment, loss — and to build the therapeutic alliance while gathering history. See genograms in family therapy.

Nurses and physicians draw three-generation family health histories (closely related to a pedigree chart) to flag hereditary risk: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers with familial patterns. See genograms in nursing.

Social workers use genograms in family assessments — household composition, custody and placement history, kinship supports — often alongside an ecomap. The social work assessment template is a ready starting point, and the worked examples show complete, labeled diagrams.

Students in all three fields make genograms as coursework. If your assignment says "family tree," check genogram vs. family tree — they are graded differently for a reason.

Genogram maker FAQ