What to do with what you learn: life after seeing your family patterns
What to do with what you have learned about your family: the first days, small experiments, the trap of intellectualising, and when to speak about it with your family.
ReadGenograms
A family tree that records relationships as well as kinship. Posts on what a genogram reveals, how to draw one, and which patterns run through the generations.
A Look into the Past as an entry into therapy, or as a standalone experience
A genogram session can be an entry into regular therapy or a complete one-off experience. Criteria for choosing, and an honest look at what a single session can do.
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"Now I understand why I do this": the aha moments of looking into the past
"So I am not mad, this has a history." What insight is, why it brings such relief, which aha moments are the most common, and why insight alone is not enough.
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What to bring with you to a genogram session
What you really need for a genogram session and what you do not: no research, no documents, just one question and an empty evening afterwards.
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One session, three generations: why a family story needs the longer format
Why a family story needs an hour and a half and three generations: a pattern only shows across a span, and the whole picture only in one unbroken session.
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A Look into the Past: what happens in a 90-minute genogram session
What actually happens in a 90-minute genogram session? Phase by phase: the agreement, drawing three generations, the pauses, the first connections and the close.
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Breaking the cycle: how a pattern stops with you
The close of the series: five steps by which a family pattern stops with you, from awareness to acceptance. And why that is not a betrayal of your family.
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How to draw your own genogram: symbols, three generations and the right questions
A practical guide: symbols, relationship lines, three generations and the right questions for relatives, so you can draw your own genogram step by step.
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Family secrets and unfinished stories: where a genogram finds them
Secrets are passed on not by telling but by silence. How they affect those who don't know them, where a genogram gives them away, and when to bring them into the open.
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What a genogram reveals: patterns that repeat in a family across generations
A genogram is read in layers: dates that line up, threads of occupations and illnesses, triangles and outcasts. See what three generations on one sheet can reveal.
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