No quiz is ever going to contain the be-all-end-all answer to who you are and show you all of what you may need to know as you move through the world.
But, recognizing this, one of the most powerful “puzzle pieces” I’ve come across for myself and my clients can sometimes be found in the tool of making a family genogram.
Now, a family genogram isn’t as simple as answering a checklist of questions. A family genogram requires more effort and self-reflection (if not historical digging) on your part. But once you complete your family genogram, it can often contain very valuable data that can better help you understand where you come from, why dynamics are the way they are now, and what you may need to be mindful of in terms of your own personal work if you would like to create intergenerational change (with your own kids, your own spouse).
So, if you, too, enjoy tools that help illuminate puzzle pieces of your personality and history, and if you’d like to explore one of my favorite psychological tools, keep reading.
What is a family genogram?
Remember those family trees most of us had to make in elementary school?
A genogram goes far beyond simply listing individuals, names, and dates of birth and death. It uses a set of symbols to capture deeper and more nuanced information. This includes the kinds of relationships that exist—or once existed—across the family tree, and what those individuals may have dealt with in their lives.
The goal of the family genogram is to offer us a graphical, rich, detailed look at the unique and possibly complex medical and psychological factors that play out across the generations of your family.
Think of it as a family tree for grownups or as an ancestral, psychological map-making.
Why is a family genogram important?
I’m a big believer that knowledge is power (hence my love of those personality-inventorying quizzes!).
When we create a family genogram, we can make explicit the intergenerational patterns that have played out across the generations of our ancestors. Patterns that may still be playing out today.
When we can see the patterns (for better or for worse) of interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics that have come before us, influenced us, and may still be influencing us, we’re armed with increased self-awareness.
