Looking for practical family genogram examples to help map your family’s structure, relationships, and health history? Whether you are charting a modern family genogram, exploring an extended family genogram, or creating a family health history genogram, this guide gives you editable templates to get started. Use these examples to uncover generational patterns and build a clearer picture of your family tree.
What Is a Family Genogram?
A family genogram is a graphical representation of a family tree that maps out the relationships, health history, behavioral patterns, and life events of family members. It provides a clear visual of how family dynamics, medical histories, and emotional connections influence each other across generations.
Comparison of Different Types of Family Genogram Templates | ||
| Genogram Type | Focus | Ideal for |
| Nuclear Family Genogram | Core family unit (parents & children) | Parenting, therapy, and basic family dynamics |
| Extended Family Genogram | Multi-generational relatives and connections (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) | Genealogy, ancestry, understanding traditions, and cultural research |
| Blended Family Genogram | Step-relations, re-marriages, co-parenting (step-parents, half-siblings, etc.) | Family law, counseling, social work and blended family dynamics |
| Modern Family Genogram | Non-traditional family setups (LGBTQ+ partnerships, co-parenting, chosen families, etc.) | Identity studies, inclusive counseling |
| Family Health History Genogram | Hereditary and genetic medical conditions (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.) | Preventive healthcare, medical history |
| Creative Family Genogram | Emotional symbols, color codes, storytelling (emotional states, trauma, symbolic roles, etc.) | Art therapy, teaching, reflective writing |
Read more: How to Make a Genogram in 7 Steps | Genogram Tutorial
1. Family Health History Genogram Example
Tracking Medical Conditions Across Generations
This family genogram example focuses on visualizing medical histories passed down through generations. A family health history genogram helps identify recurring illnesses like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, making it easier for individuals and healthcare professionals to assess genetic risk factors. By clearly mapping inherited conditions, this type of genogram supports proactive care, early diagnosis, and preventive treatment planning.
2. Family Genogram Example
Understanding Family Dynamics and Emotional Relationships
This family genogram template is ideal for mapping emotional relationships, uncovering tension, and visualizing complex dynamics within the family unit. It highlights patterns like estrangement, conflict, or strong emotional bonds between members—insights that are especially valuable in therapy, counseling, and family conflict resolution. By understanding these relational patterns, families can improve communication and heal emotional wounds.
3. Intergenerational Trauma Genogram
Analyzing Family Dynamics for Therapists
This family genogram example focuses on tracing emotional and psychological trauma passed down through generations. A genogram for intergenerational trauma helps therapists and counselors visualize recurring patterns of abuse, addiction, or mental health issues within a family system. By identifying these inherited emotional struggles, professionals can uncover root causes and guide families toward healing and long-term behavioral change.
4. Extended Family Genogram Example
Tracing Family Traditions, Culture, and Values
This extended family genogram template maps the flow of traditions, beliefs, and cultural values across multiple generations. It helps visualize how views on marriage, religion, parenting, and career choices have evolved or stayed consistent within the broader family network. Ideal for those exploring cultural identity or conducting heritage research, this genogram offers insight into the values that shape family behavior over time.
5. Roles and Power Structure Family Genogram Example
Analyzing roles and influential powers distributed within the family system
This family genogram example focuses on mapping out roles, responsibilities, and authority structures within a household or family-owned business. It reveals who holds influence, makes decisions, or maintains control in the family system. By visualizing these power dynamics, this genogram helps improve communication, resolve conflicts, and optimize operations, especially in families managing shared assets or enterprises.
6. Modern Family Genogram Example
Visualizing Marriage, Divorce, and Evolving Relationships
This modern family genogram example highlights evolving relationship structures by charting marriages, divorces, re-marriages, and co-parenting arrangements across generations. It helps uncover recurring patterns, such as frequent divorces or relational conflicts, that may signal deeper emotional or behavioral dynamics. Ideal for counseling and self-awareness, it supports more informed, intentional relationship choices.
7. Care Planning Family Genogram Example
Care Planning and Decision-Making Across Generations
This family genogram example is ideal for planning caregiving responsibilities and inheritance decisions across generations. Visualizing family structures, key caregivers, and potential beneficiaries helps families coordinate long-term care for elderly members and make equitable estate planning choices. This approach reduces conflicts and supports more organized, thoughtful decision-making.
Benefits of Creating a Family Genogram
Understanding the value of a genogram goes beyond just visualizing a family tree. Here are the key benefits of using family genogram examples.
1. Identify Health Risks Early
A family health history genogram reveals hereditary health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. This visual map helps individuals and healthcare professionals identify risk patterns passed down through generations. This early awareness aids in better preventive care and timely health interventions.
2. Improve Family Communication
By highlighting emotional connections, conflicts, and recurring behaviors, a family genogram example makes it easier to understand interpersonal dynamics. This is especially useful in family therapy or counseling sessions to encourage healthier dialogue.
3. Address Intergenerational Trauma
Tracking trauma, such as addiction, abuse, or neglect, across generations allows therapists to break harmful cycles. This makes family genograms powerful tools for healing emotional wounds and improving mental health outcomes.
4. Visualize Cultural Traditions and Values
Cultural family genograms show how family traditions, values, and beliefs evolve over generations. This is valuable for individuals exploring their cultural heritage or for researchers studying how societal changes impact family behaviors and customs.
5. Clarify Roles and Power Structures
In family businesses or households with complex relationships, a genogram clarifies each member’s role and the power dynamics at play. A blended family genogram or extended family genogram is especially useful for navigating complex relationship structures and leadership roles. This helps resolve conflicts and ensures fair distribution of responsibilities, especially in business settings.
6. Recognize Relationship Patterns
A genogram helps identify patterns in marriages, divorces, or estrangement across generations. These modern family genogram examples reveal valuable insights that may influence current relationships. This insight can guide individuals in making healthier relationship choices.
7. Plan for Family Care and Inheritance
Family genograms support decisions around caregiving and estate planning. By mapping out family roles, members can make informed decisions about care for elderly relatives or inheritance matters, helping to prevent conflicts and ensure fair distribution of responsibilities.
How Creately Helps to Create Family Genograms
Creately offers a comprehensive platform with full support for all types of genograms, whether you’re tracking family medical histories, relationships, roles, or intergenerational patterns. With an extensive range of tools and features, Creately makes it easy to create detailed, customizable genograms that fit any use case.
1. User-Friendly Interface
Creately provides an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to create family genograms without needing advanced technical skills. You can quickly add family members, relationships, and medical conditions, making it accessible to everyone with Creately’s free family genogram maker.
2. Pre-Designed Templates
Creately offers a variety of pre-designed genogram templates tailored for family genograms. These templates allow you to start quickly and customize them according to your specific needs, whether it’s for mapping health histories, family roles, or emotional dynamics.
3. Customizable and Extensive Genogram Symbol Libraries
Creately provides 100+ customizable genogram symbols to represent:
- Family Members – Individuals across multiple generations, including extended relatives
- Health Conditions – Mark hereditary diseases, mental health issues, and genetic disorders
- Relationship Dynamics – Show strong bonds, conflicts, estrangement, and emotional connections
- Life Events – Track divorces, marriages, adoptions, deaths, and significant milestones.
With drag-and-drop functionality, you can quickly build and modify your genogram without needing advanced design skills.
4. Collaboration Features
Creately enables real-time collaboration, so family members, therapists, or healthcare professionals can work together on the same genogram. This collaborative approach ensures accurate and up-to-date information, especially when multiple people are involved in creating the genogram.
5. Visualizing Complex Data
With Creately, you can represent complex family relationships and histories in a clear and structured way. The platform’s flexibility allows you to link different generations, highlight patterns of trauma, health issues, or relationship dynamics, and showcase how they interconnect.
6. Cloud-Based Access
Since Creately is cloud-based, your family genogram is easily accessible from anywhere, at any time. Whether you need to update it after a family gathering or share it with a healthcare professional, Creately ensures your genogram is always available.
7. Export and Share
Creately allows you to export your family genogram in various formats like PDF, PNG, or JPEG, making it simple to share with others. You can print it for personal use or email it to family members or healthcare providers for further consultation.
Helpful Resources
Discover everything you need to know about genograms, from what they are, how to create a genogram, to how to understand what they mean.
Explore our collection of genogram templates.
Learn how different types of genograms can help visualize important aspects of life.
Explore the essential symbols used in genograms to represent everything from basic family structures to complex emotional and medical relationships.
Conclusion
Each of these family genogram examples demonstrates how powerful visual storytelling can be when it comes to understanding your roots. Whether you’re uncovering hidden health risks with a family health history genogram, clarifying relationships in a blended family genogram, or mapping cultural traditions in an extended family genogram, these templates offer a solid starting point.
With Creately’s intuitive interface and professional-grade family genogram templates, you can quickly create, customize, and collaborate on your family history. Start building your own modern family genogram today and gain meaningful insights into the dynamics that shape your family across generations.
FAQ About Family Gengoram Examples
What are some real-world family genogram examples used in therapy?
How can I use a family genogram example to explore my cultural background?
What is the difference between a family genogram and a traditional family tree?
How do I choose the right type of family genogram to create?
Can a family genogram be used in professional settings like therapy or healthcare?
Resources:
Alexander, J.H., Callaghan, J.E.M. and Fellin, L.C. (2018). Genograms in research: participants’ reflections of the genogram process. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 19(1), pp.1–21. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1545066.
Butler, J.F. (2008). The Family Diagram and Genogram: Comparisons and Contrasts. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), pp.169–180. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180701291055.
Puhlman, D., Shigeto, A., Murillo‐Borjas, G.A., Maurya, R.K. and Vincenti, V.B. (2023). Qualitative genogram analysis: A methodology for theorizing family dynamics. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 15(2), pp.276–291. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12496.
