Prepare a genogram for an assignment
Check the title, the key, the names and the layout of a genogram, and then export it as a PDF that a marker can read without the editor.
This procedure assumes that the marker will read the genogram as a PDF and will not have access to the editor. The exported page must therefore be complete and legible by itself, with a clear title, a tidy layout and a key that explains every symbol.
Procedure
- 1
Click the family name at the left of the top bar, and type a clear title for the chart.
- 2
Click Arrange, select Tidy, and click the button at the foot of the dialog.
- 3
Check that the index person is marked and that each generation sits on its own row.
- 4
Make sure that the key is shown, using Key in the top bar, and rename any entry that your course words differently.
- 5
If the family is real and your course requires anonymity, switch on Clinical in the bottom strip.
- 6
Click Export, and then select PDF.
- 7
Open the downloaded file and confirm that every name and line is legible.
Exports made in Clinical mode also leave out conditions, notes, occupations and other background details. If the marker needs to see those details, give the family pseudonyms instead of using Clinical mode.
Before the work is submitted
Confirm that the genogram follows the conventions of McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry (2020). It should show at least three generations, with the oldest at the top and each set of siblings ordered from the oldest on the left to the youngest on the right. Every person should have a birth year where it is known, and every death should be marked with an X through the symbol and the year of death. The heading of the key in an exported file names the source of the notation.
Lines and highlights that are not part of the standard notation need an explanation. Custom lines are listed in the key under their own heading, and each highlight is listed as Highlight, but the key cannot say what a highlight marks in a particular family. Explain each one in the written part of the assignment.
A genogram of a real family should not allow its members to be identified unless the course permits it. Clinical replaces every name with a number, and private notes never appear in exports. Titles given to backgrounds are kept in Clinical exports, so they should not name the family. Keep the JSON project file for your own records, because it contains every real name and note.
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