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Ecomap Guide
An ecomap is a systems diagram that shows how a person or family connects to the outside world: schools, employers, health services, extended family, community groups, and sources of stress or support.
Where a genogram maps the internal family system across generations, an ecomap maps the environment around that system right now.
That makes the two tools complementary:
- Use a genogram when you need to understand family structure, patterns, and intergenerational dynamics.
- Use an ecomap when you need to understand support networks, institutional pressure, access to services, or isolation.
- Use both together in social work assessment when the case depends on both family history and current systems.
If you are deciding between the two, start with Genogram vs Family Tree for the structural distinction, then move into Genogram for Social Work Assessment to see how system mapping supports real case work.