Free. No sign-up. Nothing you type is stored.
Click or tap someone to edit them, or pick them from the list.
People (7)
Edit You
Add family
Emotional relationships
The person the genogram is about stays. Make someone else that person first to remove them.
Save your genogram
Made on your device. Nothing is saved here, so download or print it before you close the page.
Genogram symbols
People
- Man or boy
- Woman or girl
- Nonbinary or another gender
- Gender not known
- The person the genogram is about
- Has died
- Alcohol or drug problem
- Physical or mental health condition
Partners
- Married
- Living together, not married
- Separated
- Divorced
Children
- Child by birth
- Adopted child
- Foster child
Emotional relationships
- Close
- Conflict
- Distant
- Cut off
Symbols follow the genogram conventions of Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson. The diamond for a nonbinary person, or one whose gender is not known, is a common later addition.
An educational aid to use with a therapist, teacher or parent. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose anything.
How to use the genogram maker
- Start from the template. It opens with three generations: you, your parents and all four grandparents. Rename "You" to the client's first name, or leave it.
- Pick a person. Click or tap them on the drawing, or choose them from the list of people. Their details open beside the drawing: name, gender, age, year born, whether they have died, and a short note.
- Add family. Add a partner, parents, a brother or sister, or a child. A new person opens ready to name. Use Older and Younger to put brothers and sisters in birth order.
- Draw the relationships. Set each couple as married, living together, separated or divorced. Then add emotional lines between any two people: close, conflict, distant or cut off.
- Save it. Download a PNG picture or an SVG you can edit in a drawing program, or print it. The key to the symbols comes with it.
Made a mistake? Undo steps back one change at a time, and Start over brings back the template.
Genogram symbols
The genogram maker uses the symbols most therapists learned in training. They were set out by Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson in Genograms: Assessment and Intervention, building on Murray Bowen's family systems theory.
| On the genogram | What it means |
|---|---|
| Square | A man or boy |
| Circle | A woman or girl |
| Diamond | A nonbinary person, or with a question mark, gender not known |
| Double outline | The person the genogram is about |
| X through the symbol | The person has died |
| Solid line below two people | Married |
| Dashed line below two people | Living together, not married |
| One slash or two slashes | Separated, or divorced |
| Lines down to a row of children | Their children, oldest on the left |
| Two lines, zigzag, dots, a broken line | Close, conflict, distant, cut off |
Shading marks health patterns: the lower half for an alcohol or drug problem, the left half for a physical or mental health condition. Use it only with the client's agreement, and keep the note short.
Using a genogram in therapy
- Build it together in an early session. Let the client lead and ask the questions below as you go. Most people say more about their family while drawing it than when asked directly.
- Look for patterns across generations: the same kind of loss, illness, conflict or cutoff showing up more than once, or the same role passed down, like the oldest daughter who looks after everyone.
- Ask about strengths as well as problems. Who held the family together? What helped them through hard times?
- Come back to it. Add what you learn in later sessions, and download a new copy for the record.
- It can stir up grief or anger. Go at the client's pace, and it is fine to leave parts blank for now.
Making a genogram over telehealth
- Open the genogram maker before the session.
- Share your screen and press Present mode, so the drawing fills the screen.
- Ask the questions and fill in the genogram as the client answers, so they can see it grow and correct it.
- At the end, download the PNG for your records, or print it. Nothing is stored on our side.
A client can also make one at home as homework: send them the link and ask them to bring the PNG or the printout to the next session.
Genograms with teens and families
Teens often find a genogram easier than talking about family face to face. Let them hold the mouse, choose the emotional lines, and decide what goes in the notes. With a whole family in the room, have each person add the relationships they see. The differences between their versions are often the most useful part of the session.
Questions to ask while you draw
Who is in the family
- Who are your parents, brothers and sisters? Who is the oldest?
- Who raised you? Was anyone else like a parent to you?
- Who has died, and how old were they? How did the family cope?
- Was anyone adopted, fostered or raised by relatives?
Relationships
- Who are you closest to? Who do you find hardest to be around?
- Who in the family does not speak to each other? Since when?
- Who do people go to when something goes wrong?
- Which couples are together, separated or divorced?
Patterns across generations
- Do any health problems, worries or moods run in the family?
- Has drinking or drug use affected anyone?
- What did your family teach you about anger, money or asking for help?
- What strengths has the family passed down?
Big events
- Did the family move, migrate or lose a home?
- Were there losses, illnesses or other hard times close together?
- What changed in the family around the time things got hard for you?
Printable genogram template (PDF)
The free PDF has three pages: a blank three-generation genogram template with spaces for names and ages, a symbol key, and the interview questions above. Print it for clients who would rather draw by hand, for classes, or for a family session around a table. It is free to print and share.
For work with the whole family, see our family therapy games, or learn about family therapy at Crown Counseling.
