Genogram Sample ​

A genogram sample is a completed diagram you can study before building your own. This sample shows a self-of-therapist genogram: a trainee counselor's own family mapped for supervision, with health history, estrangement, and relationship lines already in place.

The Sample: Grace Ellis ​

Grace Ellis is a 28-year-old second-year counseling trainee. Her program requires a completed self-of-therapist genogram reviewed in supervision before she begins her first placement.

Grace Ellis' Family Genogram

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The family:

• Grace Ellis, 28, is the primary person.
• Grace's parents: Howard Ellis, 58 (alcohol dependency, now sober 12 years) and Judith Ellis (née Crane), 55 (anxiety, managed with therapy). Married 31 years.
• Grace has two siblings: Sean Ellis, 32, and Meg Ellis, 25.
• Paternal grandparents: Colin Ellis (deceased, 2020, heart disease, age 74) and Barbara Ellis, 72. Howard and Colin had a conflict line; long-standing and pre-dating Grace's birth. Close line between Grace and Barbara.
• Maternal grandparents: Ray Crane, 77 (type 2 diabetes) and Bette Crane, 75. Distant line between Judith and Bette; also pre-existing. Close line between Bette and Meg.
• Other relationship lines: close between Howard and Judith; close between Grace and Meg; cutoff between Howard and Sean (2019); distant between Grace and Sean (since 2019); close between Howard and Meg.

What You Can Now See ​

• Howard's alcohol dependency sits in his symbol with a sobriety note. Colin's conflict line with Howard sits one row above it. Howard grew up in a conflictual relationship with his own father and developed a dependency that lasted into his adult years. Both facts are on the diagram.
• Sean's cutoff sits in the middle of the diagram. Howard and Sean have a cutoff line; Grace and Sean have a distant line. Meg has no relationship line to Sean at all. These are three siblings with three different responses to the same estrangement.
• Judith's distant line to Bette is another relationship line in the diagram. Bette has a close line to Meg, Grace's younger sister, a skipped-generation bond that runs alongside Judith's distance. Grace grew up watching her sister have access to a grandmother she could not reach in the same way.
• Grace is drawn to work with clients experiencing family estrangement and intergenerational tension. Her supervisor can see, in one diagram, that her family carries an unresolved cutoff, a historical conflict between father and grandfather, and a pattern of maternal and paternal-side distance.
• Also, Howard and Meg have a close line, while Howard and Sean have a cutoff. Both are in the same generation, children of the same two parents. The diagram shows that Howard's relationships with his children are not uniform.

What a Complete Genogram Sample Includes ​

A self-of-therapist genogram is considered complete when:

• Three generations are mapped; grandparents, parents, and the trainee's generation.
• All significant family members are present, including those who are deceased or estranged.
• Health conditions and causes of death are noted beside relevant members.
• Relationship lines are drawn for every significant connection.
• Life events with dates are included where they matter: deaths, marriages, divorces, estrangements, significant diagnoses, etc.
• The diagram can be read by a supervisor who has never met the family.

For a full reference of what each symbol and line type means, see the genogram symbols guide.

When to Use This Type of Genogram ​

• Clinical training programs: MFT, counseling, social work, and psychology programs commonly require a self-of-therapist genogram before or during fieldwork placement.
• Personal reflection: mapping your own family to understand the patterns you carry before they surface in a professional or personal relationship.
• Supervision preparation: building a diagram to bring to a supervision session focused on countertransference or personal history.

For genograms built around a client's family rather than the trainee's own, see the genogram for social work assessment or the family genogram example.

How to Build a Genogram Sample ​

Open the Ellis family genogram in EasyGenogram and replace the details with your own, or start from scratch. For a full walkthrough, see how to make a genogram.

1. Place yourself as the primary person: mark your symbol with a double border. Everything else is built around your position in the family.
2. Add parents and siblings: place parents in the row above connected by a marriage line. Add siblings beside yourself on the same row, oldest on the left.
3. Add grandparents: go up one more level, both sides.
4. Add health notes and life events: note conditions, diagnoses, causes of death, and significant dates beside the relevant person.
5. Add relationship lines: this is where the self-of-therapist genogram does its work. Map every significant relationship, including the difficult ones. Missing lines are also information.
6. Export: download as PDF or PNG when done.

Related ​

• Simple Genogram Example
• Family Genogram Example
• Genogram for Social Work Assessment
• Basic Genogram Example
• Example of Genogram
• How to Make a Genogram