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Dr Karen Treisman MBE is an award-winning clinical psychologist. In September, she will lead an online Live Classroom on using genograms – visual representations of relationships and families – and how they can go beyond the basic, to be meaningful and enriching tools for direct work.
I’m a clinical psychologist, trainer and author with a longstanding passion for creative and playful ways to gather information and get to know the person and family in a more engaging, textured, and enriched way; and in a way that isn’t threatening or too clinical. A genogram is one of those ways.
Genograms are expected as part of an ‘assessment’ and are sometimes done in a quick and tick box way. They can include the more traditional forms, for example using square for male, circle for female, with lines denoting marriage, separation, birth, and so on.
But what if these static diagrams fall short in capturing the rich tapestry of experience? And how do we hold in mind so many more nuances around layers and types of relationships and cultures?
Genograms can be much more than ‘family trees’. They can be an invitation into meaning-making and into navigating complexity.
They allow us to have a visual representation; something that can be shaped and explored, as well as a tool which we can scaffold from.
In my Live Classroom on 25 September, we will talk about ways to use them as a springboard into other activities and conversations. This Live Classroom will shine a light on the many versatile and expanding ways we can use genograms within our assessments, interventions, training, and supervision.
At its simplest, a genogram is a visual map of a person’s family and relationships. But when used creatively and intentionally, it can become so much more.
It becomes a window into belonging, feelings, hopes, legacy, patterns, dynamics, powerful themes, identity, experiences, and beyond. It offers a way to hold both what was and what might be through colour, texture, symbol, and story.
Genograms also offer us opportunities to look at our own experiences and meaning making; as well as some of the family, collective, community, and cultural aspects, including intergenerational patterns.
In my Live Classroom, I’ll be sharing a treasure trove of creative and practical ways to use genograms, moving beyond lines and boxes into something far more alive, layered, and relational. We will also be exploring ways to use miniatures, nature, household items and beyond in genograms.
This session is a comma not a full stop, as there are so many possibilities; but I hope to leave you with some golden nuggets and some ideas to launch off from. It will likely be of interest for anyone working in therapy, social care, education, or reflective supervision who wants to enrich their genogram toolkit.
Karen’s online Live Classroom on making genograms more enriching, creative, meaningful and relational takes place on Thursday 25 September. Find out more and book a place here>>
Dr Karen Treisman, MBE, is an award-winning clinical psychologist, author (of 14 books and five sets of cards), trainer, and speaker specialising in trauma, attachment, and organisational cultural change. She is known for making complex concepts accessible through creativity, compassion, and practical tools. She is also the director and founder of Safe Hands and Thinking Minds.
