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How to Make a Genogram for Social Work
A social work genogram covers the same structure as any genogram; at least three generations, standard symbols, relationship lines, but what you collect, what you annotate, and what you're looking for is specific to the context. This guide walks through the full process.
Before You Start
If you're new to genograms, read How to Make a Genogram first before continuing here.
This guide uses the EasyGenogram tool to build an example family genogram for social work.
If you’d rather draw by hand, draw in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or make one in Canva instead, read the appropriate guides on how to do so.
How to Make a Genogram for Social Work: Step by Step
These are seven steps on making a genogram for social work.
Step 1: Gather the Information
A social work genogram starts with an interview or a form to gather the needed information about the subject. Collect this:
- Basic structure: who is in the immediate household, who the parents and grandparents are, any previous partners and children from those relationships.
- Social history: custody arrangements, Child Protective Services (CPS) or child protection involvement, placement history, and legal history.
- Health and behavioral patterns: mental health diagnoses, substance use, significant medical conditions across all generations.
- Relationship quality: who the primary person is close to, who they're in conflict with, who has cut contact, etc.
Leave gaps where information is unknown. An incomplete genogram is still useful, and genograms are meant to be updated over time.
For this walkthrough, we’ll use Claire's family, here’s information on them:
- Claire, 34, is the primary person.
- She lives with her two children, Noah (8) and Mia (5), and her current partner, Derek, 28 (unmarried, cohabiting).
- She’s divorced from Pete, 41, the biological father of Noah and Mia.
- Claire's parents, Janet (55) and Ray (70), divorced when she was a teenager.
- Ray remarried Keisha, 60; they have a son, Jonas, 24.
- Janet did not remarry.
- Claire's maternal grandparents, Richard (85) and Alicia (82), are both alive and still married.
- Claire's paternal grandfather, Joseph (88), is deceased; his wife Sarah (88) is still alive.
Step 2: Start with the Primary Person and their Immediate Household
Go to EasyGenogram.
Tap Claire's shape on the canvas and toggle Primary Person on. This marks her as the subject the genogram is built around.
Add Derek as Claire's partner using the Add kids/partner button.
Move Derek so he sits on Claire's left; in any couple pair, males sit on the left, females on the right. Set the relationship line to Cohabitation.
Add Pete as a previous partner with two kids, Noah and Mia. The kids connect vertically to Claire and Pete's line.
Move Pete further out to the left of Derek; the most recent partner stays closest. Set the relationship line to Divorce.
Draw a household line around Claire, Derek, Noah, and Mia to show they live together.
Genogram Showing Primary Person's Household
Even at this early stage, the household picture raises questions worth noting.
Claire's children live with a non-biological parent figure, Derek, while their biological father Pete is outside the household.
That separation, and what it means for Noah and Mia's stability, is already visible before a single annotation is added.
Step 3: Add the Parents’ Generation
Using the Multi Generations template, add Claire's parents on the level above.
Janet goes to the right, Ray to her left.
Claire connects to their marriage line. Set their relationship line to Divorce.
Ray remarried, so add Keisha on the same level, connected by a Marriage line.
Their son Jonas connects to their marriage line and sits on the same horizontal level as Claire.
Move Janet further to the right of Ray.
Genogram Showing Three Generations
At this level, the genogram shows that Claire grew up with divorced parents.
Her father built a new family, so she has a half-sibling, Jonas, who is 10 years younger. Janet remained alone.
The genogram now shows Claire navigating at least three family units simultaneously: her own household, her mother’s, and her father's second family.
This kind of structural complexity often carries with it emotional weight that the next steps will make visible.
Step 4: Add the Grandparents' Generation
Place the grandparents at the top level.
Richard and Alicia, Claire's maternal grandparents, are both alive; add them, and connect them by a Marriage line.
Joseph, Claire’s paternal grandfather, is deceased; tick Passed Away on his shape. Sarah, his wife, is still alive.
Genogram Showing Four Generations
Four generations are now in place.
Both of Claire’s maternal grandparents are alive and still married, which matters for the assessment, as they represent a potentially stable older generation on one side of the family.
This full structure makes patterns visible in the steps ahead.
Step 5: Add Emotional Relationship Lines
Tap any person on the canvas.
A red dot appears on their shape, drag it onto another person to draw a relationship line, then select the type from the panel.
For Claire's family:
- Claire and Janet: conflict.
- Claire and Ray: distant.
- Claire and her maternal grandmother: very close.
- Noah and Derek: close.
Draw these after the structure is complete so the lines route cleanly around existing connections.
Genogram Showing Four Generations with Emotional Relationships
The emotional layer changes what you see.
Claire is in conflict with her mother and emotionally distant from her father; both primary attachment figures from childhood are either adversarial or absent.
Her closest bond is with her maternal grandmother, Alicia, two generations up.
Noah, meanwhile, has formed a close bond with Derek, a non-biological parent. That bond may be a protective factor worth noting in the assessment.
Step 6: Add Health Conditions and Relevant Annotations
Tap any shape to open the details panel.
Use the Add Health Condition field for diagnoses and the Notes field for everything else.
For Claire's family:
- Janet: anxiety (health condition).
- Ray: alcohol misuse (health condition).
- Claire: depression (health condition); note: open CPS case, 2024.
- Noah: behavioral concerns flagged at school (note).
- Claire's maternal grandmother: type 2 diabetes (health condition).
4-Generation Genogram with Emotional Relationships, Health Conditions and Relevant Annotations
This is where the intergenerational pattern becomes hard to ignore.
Ray's alcohol misuse and Janet's anxiety sit in the generation above Claire.
Claire herself is managing depression and an open CPS case.
Noah, one generation down, is already showing behavioral signs at school.
What looked like Claire's individual situation now reads as a pattern that has been building across at least two generations, and is showing early signs of continuing into a third.
Step 7: Review and Export
Before exporting, run through this checklist to avoid the common mistakes in making a genogram:
- Household composition is accurate and household lines are drawn.
- All relationship lines reflect the correct type.
- Emotional lines are drawn for the relationships that matter to the assessment.
- Health conditions and relevant history are annotated on the right people.
- The primary person is marked.
- All relevant generations are present.
- A legend is visible.
On what to include:
- A child welfare assessment needs custody, placement, and child protection history in full.
- A mental health assessment focuses on diagnoses, substance use, and emotional relationships.
- An elderly care assessment centers on caregiver availability and medical history.
Add only the details that are relevant to the assessment question. Cut what isn't; it clutters the diagram without adding value.
To export: tap PDF or PNG in the top bar.
4-Generation Genogram with Emotional Relationships, Health Conditions and Relevant Annotations
Explore this genogram and adapt it to your needs.
FAQ
What is a genogram in social work?
A genogram in social work is a visual map of a family across at least three generations. It shows family structure, relationship quality, and patterns across mental health history, substance use, conflict, and custody arrangements in a single diagram.
How is a social work genogram different from a regular genogram?
The structure is the same: at least three generations, standard symbols, and relationship lines. What's different is what you include. A social work genogram adds household lines, child protection history, placement history, legal history, and behavioral annotations alongside the standard medical and emotional data. It's built around the primary person; the subject of the assessment.
How many generations should a social work genogram include?
Three is the standard. A fourth is worth adding when there are clear intergenerational patterns such as addiction, abuse, or mental health history that visibly started earlier. Beyond four, the diagram usually becomes too crowded to read clearly. Only add that much where necessary.
Can I use online genogram tools to make a social work genogram?
Yes. EasyGenogram lets you build a social work genogram with all standard symbols, household lines, emotional relationship lines, and health condition markers included. You can export as PDF or PNG for case files or reports.
Does a social work genogram need to be kept confidential?
Yes. A social work genogram contains sensitive information like diagnoses, legal history and family conflict. It is subject to the same confidentiality obligations as any clinical record. If you're using a digital tool, confirm it stores data securely before entering information. Don't share, print, or export a genogram without following standard data protection policy.
Sources
- Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed.)
- NASW Code of Ethics
- Focused Genograms: Intergenerational Assessment of Individuals, Couples, and Families (2nd ed.)