Free genogram template

Substance Use and Addiction Genogram Template (Free, Editable)

Map multigenerational substance use patterns, enabling dynamics, and recovery resources.

Updated October 2026 · PDF, PowerPoint, PNG and SVG · no sign-up

Quick answer

A substance use genogram template maps alcohol and drug use across three generations: who used what, for how long, who is in recovery, co-occurring mental health conditions, and the close, fused, conflicted or cut-off relationships around the use. Counselors use it to show the family pattern and plan treatment. GenogramAI offers a free printable PDF and an editable online example.

Open in GenogramAI (free) Download blank PDF

Download the substance use and addiction genogram template

Free files, no sign-up or email. Print the blank, edit the PowerPoint, or reuse the example image with a credit to genogramai.com.

When to use a substance use and addiction genogram template

Use this template in substance use assessment and treatment: an intake at an outpatient or residential program, a family session, or a counseling student's case study. The shading key separates active use, suspected use and recovery, so the chart shows both the risk passed down and the recovery already present in the family.

Shade the bottom half of a symbol for alcohol or drug misuse and write the substance and years beside it ("alcohol, 1985-2010"). Use the striped version when the family suspects use but nobody has named it. Then add the emotional lines that keep the pattern going: a fused parent-child pair, a spouse in conflict, a relative who cut off.

If the main concern is depression, anxiety or another psychiatric condition with substance use secondary, start from the Mental Health Genogram Template. If a death from overdose or alcohol is central to the referral, the Grief Counseling Genogram Template has loss notation built in.

The blank template and a filled-in example

Left: the blank printable. Right: the same template filled in for a fictional family in GenogramAI.

Blank substance use and addiction genogram template: A three-generation structure (grandparent couples, parents with sibling slots, three children with the index person in a double outline), a Client / Counselor / Date header, a key with substance shading (bottom half = misuse, striped = suspected, quarter with a line = in recovery) and emotional lines (close, fused, conflict, distant, cutoff), and lines for notes. — Blank: A three-generation structure (grandparent couples, parents with sibling slots, three children with the index person in a double outline), a Client / Counselor / Date header, a key with substance shading (bottom half = misuse, striped = suspected, quarter with a line = in recovery) and emotional lines (close, fused, conflict, distant, cutoff), and lines for notes.

Substance Use and Addiction Genogram Template filled in: Addiction Recovery Family drawn in GenogramAI with a genogram key — Filled in: The example is a fictional three-generation family centred on Tom Garrett (b. 1968), now a substance use counselor: substance use in his father William, in Tom himself and in his sister Kathleen, anxiety and depression in the women of the family, and a repaired cutoff between Tom and his wife Linda after he entered recovery. Read the full example

Open this example in GenogramAI to start from the finished layout: it copies into your account (the Free plan holds 2 genograms) and every person, line and condition stays editable.

How to fill in a substance use and addiction genogram template

1
Map substance use across generations
For each relative with known use, shade the bottom half and note substance, years and current status: active, suspected, in recovery, or died of a substance-related cause.
2
Identify relational patterns
Add emotional lines for enabling, fusion, conflict and cutoffs. Note who is in a 12-step program or other recovery support.
3
Annotate co-occurring conditions
Shade mental health conditions in the left half and note trauma, legal involvement and employment instability alongside substance use.

Symbols this template uses

Drawn the way GenogramAI draws them. Every other symbol is in the genogram symbols guide and the genogram key.

Symbol	What it means
Bottom half shaded	Alcohol or drug misuse; write the substance and years beside the symbol.
Striped bottom half	Suspected misuse that has not been confirmed or named in the family.
Quarter shaded with a line	In recovery from substance use; add the sobriety date.
Left half shaded	A co-occurring illness, for example depression or anxiety.
Fused: three parallel lines	Over-involvement, common between a using parent and a caretaking child.
Conflict: two dashed red lines	Active tension and recurring arguments.
Cutoff / cutoff repaired	A line broken by two bars; GenogramAI's repaired version shows a reconnection in recovery.

Common mistakes to avoid

Shading everyone who drinks; record misuse, not ordinary use, and note the source of the information.
Leaving recovery off the chart, which hides the family's strengths.
Recording the substance without years, so you cannot see whether use started after a loss or other event.
Drawing only the client's side of the family when the partner's family history is part of the pattern.

Who uses this template?

Substance use counselors (CADCs, LCADCs), addiction psychiatrists, recovery coaches, and addiction counseling students.

Common uses

Identifying multigenerational patterns of substance use
Mapping enabling and codependent family dynamics
Assessing co-occurring mental health conditions in family context
Family sessions in residential and outpatient treatment programs
Clinical documentation and supervision

What the template covers

Substance shading key: misuse, suspected, in recovery
Emotional-line key: close, fused, conflict, distant, cutoff
Client / Counselor / Date header
Notes area for substances, years and recovery dates
Online version: co-occurring conditions and repaired cutoffs

What is free?

Free and paid, plainly

All five files on this page (blank PDF, PowerPoint, SVG, example PDF and PNG) are free to download and use, with no sign-up. In GenogramAI, the Free plan includes 2 genograms, 5 AI credits a month, all 64 relationship types, medical shading and PNG export, with no card. PDF, SVG and GEDCOM export, file import and photo import are on paid plans; Professional is $12/month.

Frequently asked questions

Why is a genogram useful in addiction counseling?

It shows multigenerational substance use that clients may not have connected, along with the relationships that sustain it and the relatives already in recovery. Seeing alcohol misuse in a grandfather, a father and an uncle on one page often counters minimization and gives the family a shared picture to work from.

What does a substance use genogram include?

The substances each relative used, how long, and their current status (active, suspected, in recovery, or deceased from a substance-related cause), co-occurring mental health conditions, trauma history, relationship dynamics such as enabling, fusion and cutoff, and protective factors such as relatives in recovery.

How do I show recovery on a genogram?

Use the recovery version of the substance shading (in GenogramAI a quarter shaded with a line) and write the sobriety date beside the symbol. If a relationship was cut off during active use and later restored, the "cutoff repaired" line records that reconnection.

Is a genogram used in 12-step programs?

Genograms are not part of 12-step programs themselves, but counselors and family therapists working with people in AA, NA or Al-Anon often use them as part of the clinical assessment alongside that work.