The use of family genogram in psychiatric social work practice

Genogram is a useful tool to gather information about the family and guide the clinical practitioner for intervention. This visual representation helps you to understand about the relationships and networks associated with the family. Genogram depicted through pictorial form used to illicit and display the three or more generational information tract the source of stressors and available resources. The purpose of drawing genogram is to map out the complex interpersonal relation present in the family and their biopsychosocial environment. It is a standard tool to assess the composition and structure of one's family background, roles, pattern of communication, social interactions, and interrelationship with the environment. This tool helps the mental health professional to recognise visual representation of the individual, family, and disorders running in the family through specified coding or symbols in a snap shot observation. These symbols are graphical, circle, rectangular, dotted lines, straight lines, vertical lines, etc. In the present scenario, mental health professionals often ignore or underutilise these tools in assessment, diagnostic formulation, and as an intervention tool due to lack of time, inadequate knowledge about the application of tools in different situations. The current paper attempts to highlight about the orientation of genogram, history, and its utility in psychiatric social work practice in changing social scenario.

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