In fact, the genogram becomes pivotal in understanding and mapping out the moves to help the family resolve their issues and move on. It draws also on the multi-session demonstration of working with a remarried family Legacies of Unresolved Loss: A Family Systems Approach, another example of using a genogram in clinical work with a family that has come to therapy not seeking to understand their genogram but rather to resolve the issues of their teenage daughter. This book is also a companion to several videotapes, including Harnessing the Power of Genograms (available at which demonstrates a first session with a client who comes to therapy not seeing his genogram as relevant to his presenting problem of distancing from his wife. Here we explore the use of genograms for engaging and working with clients in therapy.

The Genogram Casebook assumes the reader is already familiar with the graphics of genograms and the various patterns they show, through Genograms: Assessment and Intervention, and with the possibilities of reconnecting with your family through the exploration of your own genogram, as laid out in The Genogram Journey: Reconnecting with your Family. This book is a companion to Genograms and The Genogram Journey, but it focuses specifically on clinical issues of everyday practice: engagement, mastering resistance, de-triangling, dealing with conflicts, and helping clients repair cutoffs.

Genogram social work examples