Genogram Spiel

Hey friends!

Remember when I was going to post weekly with therapy updates? HA. Obviously, that didn’t happen.  I have still been going weekly to therapy and the change from every other week to once a week has been a freaking game changer.  Even just the more frequent consistency alone helps—I am so much less likely to cancel when I am in this routine (which is good because I essentially promised M I won’t ever cancel again).

I talked briefly on my insta about using a genogram in therapy and the mass amount of benefits.  I first learned about genograms when I took a family counseling course during my masters program.  A genogram is a visual representation of a family tree that displays relationships amongst individuals.  It also takes a closer detailed look into hereditary patterns and psychological factors.  We actually had to make our own genograms in very specific detail and then proceed to identify trends and such.  That assignment actually led one of my instructors to recommend I start therapy.  And the thing is, I come from a pretty fantastic family.  But, when you look at 3-4 generations in a genogram trends can be easy to spot, particularly when mapping out relationships amongst family members.

Genogram usage has been incredibly beneficial to my therapy for a number of reasons and if you feel like you are in a therapy rut, can’t find or determine the extended source of your current issues, or even if your therapist just can’t seem to keep all of your family members straight—I highly recommend it!  The act of making the genogram itself has been therapeutic for me as well.  A fly on the wall of M’s office would see M and I sitting on the floor with a poster between us and a marker in hand.

If you have experience with genograms or questions, ask!!