Family Genogram Project 2
Family Genogram Analysis
My family is a blend of different cultural backgrounds with varying sociopolitical,
economic, cultural, and spiritual influences. My immediate family is my husband, my 11-year
old son, 8-year old daughter and a pet dog that we all love. Our union itself is a reflection of
cultural diversity as we bring together a rich background of traditions, values, beliefs, and lived
experiences. Our family tree is a symbol of unity, cherished living experiences, shared values,
different traditions, varying ethnic roots, languages, belief systems, and spiritual understanding.
Our generation has been shaped by different worldviews, histories, and migration patterns.
We are a mixed white and black family but generally a Christian family with great faith
and culture that stems back to our fore fathers. My parents are divorced though during our
younger years they were so much in love and cherished us instilling strong faith and values in us.
After they were divorced, we were raised by our grandparents who took on the roles of parenting
as the divorce left my mum depressed and could hardly manage to be with us at the time being.
She had to go for therapy sessions to help her cope with the divorce and identify patterns that
could hinder her from falling in love again. That meant my grandparents had extra mouths to
feed and care for which was not easy on their part. Of course, life was not smooth as
economically my grandparents were not quite stable handling all my mom’s bills while my dad
kept his distance as though we never existed in the first place.
Every family is different as some have found their stability while others have had to push
through tough economic times, unemployment’s, homelessness, limited opportunities and
relocations. We may have come from the same lineage but such moments create tensions
especially when expectations collide with reality. Despite the harshness of reality, Keskin (2017)
advises that it is important we embrace our cultural heritage through food, language, music,
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dance, story-telling, and family rituals that are passed down from one generation to the other.
Spiritually, most people in the families have deep faith in God, others are atheists, and a few
others are skeptics. However, despite our differences in our expressions of faith, we still hold
each other in high regard and our higher purpose unites us more than it divides us.
What do you understand about yourself within the context of this multigenerational family?
What I understand about myself within the context of this multi-generational family is
that I have a higher calling of uniting everyone in the family. I am the bridge they so much
needed as I am that one person that carries the weight of legacy while shaping new directions as
well. I am able to understand everyone at a deeper level than anyone has ever done. Partly
because I have inherited values of resilience, empathy, personal integrity, social justice,
compassion, and family unity from my grandparents, uncles and aunts who modelled strength
through adversity and spiritual nourishing.
Knowing that I am a product of change also contributes to the weight I carry as the bridge
of this family. My generation is different from that of my great grandparents and grandparents
and it demands integrating modern technology and tools to solving some dilemmas. It is also a
different world that calls for empathy across cultures, adaptability, or the sociopolitical realities
that still affects us (Joronen & Rantanen, 2021). Being part of this diverse family has made me to
be more open-minded and reflective of the choices and decisions I make. It has taught me to
appreciate people’s differences, question generational traumas and speak-up when tradition
needs transformation. Each generation has shaped the person I am today from the values passed
down, stories told, or through the silent strength that I saw within the family and how they
handled life’s challenges.
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Coming from a family of mixed faiths, cultures, and races has helped me learn to
approach differences with openness and respect. It has changed my worldview and enabled me to
be more compassionate towards others. I learn to appreciate the beauty of diversity and carries
that understanding of how special everyone is in every part of my life. I also get to understand
how past struggles such as economic hardships, immigration, family separation, and differences
in spirituality have created both pressure and purpose for me. I feel the responsibility to rewrite
parts of our story that were shaped by pain and resilience as well as to honor what those before
me built.
How do the cultural, historical, and personal characteristic aspects of the information impact
your understanding of the self?
The cultural, historical and personal characteristics aspects of my family impacts my
understanding of self in various ways. It has culturally impacted my ways of thinking, respecting
differences, adapting, and finding balance. It has made me to be more open-minded and mindful
towards others even when we do not share the same background. It has impacted me historically
by enabling me see how the past influences our present. Stories shared and proof provided by
grandparents on poverty, slavery, racism, limited opportunities, segregation and how they
responded all plays a role in how I see life and appreciate their struggle for independence and
freedom that we have today (Keskin, 2017). Such stories make me not only more aware but
grateful and determined not to take things like freedom for granted. Personally, it has shaped my
character and my role in the family as a daughter, mother, spouse and as a woman teaching me
strength and responsibility. Being part of this family has taught me to reflect on my purpose,
identity and goals and to think of the legacy that I want to leave behind.
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If at all, what are the family lifecycle-related issues in the past or present that have influenced
your family and/or interface with question D?
Some family lifecycle-related issues in the past or present that have influenced my family
are several multigenerational issues such as relationship dysfunctions, some common disruptions
and other functioning patterns. Looking at my family, I recognize that our journey has not
always been smooth or follows a particular traditional pattern. Instead, there has been some
interruptions such as early parenting, co-parenting, and long periods of singleness. Such
transitions have shaped how roles are played out within the family or how the responsibilities are
handled (McGoldrick, Gerson, & Petry, 2008). Some noticeable patterns that disrupted the
normal lifecycle changes include migration, unexpected losses and economic instability that have
caused people to take on roles that they were not ready for such as growing up too fast or
skipping some developmental stages. Others such as the stress of daily living and coping with
chronic condition have disrupted the normal lifecycle. However, my family has been known to
be one resilient in learning new skills, self-examination, education and going through counseling
and therapy to improve the quality of life at any stage.
What intergenerational dynamics, patterns and/or themes that you have identified influence you
(or others) in your current family?
Some intergenerational dynamics, patterns or themes that influence me or others in my
current family is the emotional self-protection. Most of the people in my family have learned to
be strong and cope quietly without bothering others. They have learnt to process their painful
experiences which appears admirable but can be devastating if it goes on for too long. This
could as well create emotional distance especially where individuals keep quiet and have to deal
with too much at the same time (Joronen & Rantanen, 2021). While some also fall deeply into
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depression, alcoholism, gambling addiction others turn to faith and religion rather than seeking
for solutions or having the uncomfortable conversations about pain, trauma, or mental health.
Interpreting genograms for our family tree section contains triangles, cut offs and over
functioning roles in the family. While some relationships are close and understanding towards
each other, experience emotional stability, others are distant due to a lack of communication or
unresolved conflicts. It is important for me to recognize these patterns and themes for me to
better understand where I come from and how I can respond differently from intergenerational
trauma. Knowing that I play a crucial role, breaking such cycles while continuing the legacy,
strength, spirituality, and love that is part of my family is part of my personal reflections and
contributions to my family.
Working on this genogram project has made me reflect on many patterns that are
personal and eye-opening. It has made me look beyond what I see on the surface level and really
connect with family members on a deeper level. It has made me reflect as well on the patterns,
histories and dynamics that shapes me. However, getting accurate information from family
members was quite a struggle especially on sensitive topics as they were not ready to share their
struggles, mental health issues, and losses. I have learned that every family is unique and faced
with different challenges and depending with how they cope with their issues they can easily
resolve conflicts or make them harder.
Family Genogram Project 7
References
GenoPro Software. www.genopro.com [permission to use symbols and other materials from
GenoPro has been granted to the creator of the document]
Joronen,GK., & Rantanen,GA. (2021). Family life cycle stages. Encyclopedia of Quality of Life
and Well-Being Research, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_1004-2
Keskin,GY. (2017). The relational ethics Genogram: An integration of Genogram and relational
ethics. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 28(1), 92-98.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08975353.2017.1279881
McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and intervention (3rd
ed.). W.W. Norton and Company.
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