Genogram Family Analysis

Family Genogram Analysis
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Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
June 17, 2022
Understanding the importance of family genograms in clinical practice is essential for any clinician. It allows him to better appreciate both the internal and external circumstances that affect the patient and utilize these circumstances in the treatment. In this article, I will discuss the pertinent learnings from his family genogram. This includes the reasons for choosing certain data, its relevance to possible practice, and its implications for his generational analysis. All in all, I believe that an in-depth understanding of family genograms could help make better clinical decisions for any healthcare professional.
Genogram and the Concept of Family
In its general sense, a genogram is an analysis of family relationships as visualized through the use of standard symbols. However, despite such requirements, the scope and application of relevant information and parties may differ based on their relevance to the patient’s case. In the genogram that I created (where I am the index person), I chose three generations to include in my analysis. Notably, these generations span from my own to my grandparents.
The Concept of Family
In its general sense, the concept of ‘family’ is one of the broadest concepts that could be defined. Recent definitions of a family may include blood relatives, peers, and other friends who are intimately close to oneself. However, for the purpose of a family genogram, I realized that the concept should be given a more specific meaning. Mainly, I believe that the term should mean either blood relatives or foster (or adopted) members who exhibit a certain degree of familiarity, close enough to (1) properly exhibit the patient’s genetic history and (2) influence his psychosocial status. In most cases, I believe that this should cover three generations to be able to become a sufficient indicator (or map) of one’s hereditary composition and be significant enough to affect (socially, psychologically, or emotionally) the individual.
On the one hand, the use of these three generations seems to be a personal choice based on the concept of family and my familiarity with each one’s personal lives. In one study by Yoon and La Ferle (2018), the authors found that Hispanics are highly characterized by family-orientedness and collectivism. These characteristics are evidenced by extended support, more significant emotional attachments, and even increased familial connections between generations of Hispanic families. In my case, I was raised in a highly ‘family-oriented’ household where each generation is close to one another. I was even born and raised in an extended household until the time when we had to migrate to another place here in the United States. We usually visit our immediate relatives and visit them during festivals, celebrations, and holidays, to name a few. I believe this psychosocial and emotional relationship between immediate family members should be one of the primary considerations in any family genogram.
Going back to the family genogram, this “close relationship and familiarity” is one of the main reasons I chose three generati...