Free genogram template

Family Therapy Genogram Template (Free, Editable)

Map multigenerational patterns, triangles, and emotional cutoffs for therapeutic use.

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

Quick answer

A family therapy genogram template is a three-generation family diagram laid out in standard notation, with structural lines for marriages, divorces and children plus emotional lines for closeness, conflict, cutoffs and fusion. Therapists use it in early sessions to map multigenerational patterns and triangles and to plan treatment. GenogramAI offers it as a free printable PDF and as an editable online example.

Open in GenogramAI (free) Download blank PDF

Download the family therapy 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 family therapy genogram template

Use this template when the emotional process in a family matters as much as its structure: early assessment sessions in Bowen, structural or integrative family therapy, case conceptualization for supervision, or any session where you expect to talk about who is close to whom, who has cut off, and which triangles keep the anxiety moving. The structure is a standard three-generation family; the difference from a plain blank is the emotional-line key printed on the page, so you can draw relationship quality as the client talks instead of looking it up afterwards.

Draw the structure first and add emotional lines in a second pass. Emotional lines are an interpretation, and clients often revise them ("we were close until the divorce"), so pencil them in lightly or add a year beside the line. Keep the session notes area for hypotheses, not facts: patterns you suspect, questions for the next session, and the triangles you want to test.

If the work centres on one couple and their two families of origin, the Couples Therapy Genogram Template gives each partner's family its own side of the page. If the referral is about a diagnosis that runs in the family, the Mental Health Genogram Template adds condition shading; for drinking or drug use, use the Substance Use and Addiction Genogram Template.

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 family therapy genogram template: A three-generation structure (paternal and maternal grandparent couples, father and mother with dashed "add siblings" slots, three children with the index person in a double outline), a Client / Clinician / Date header, a symbol key with the six core emotional lines (close, fused, conflict, hostile, distant, cutoff), and lines for session notes. — Blank: A three-generation structure (paternal and maternal grandparent couples, father and mother with dashed "add siblings" slots, three children with the index person in a double outline), a Client / Clinician / Date header, a symbol key with the six core emotional lines (close, fused, conflict, hostile, distant, cutoff), and lines for session notes.

Family Therapy Genogram Template filled in: Bowen Family Systems Theory Example drawn in GenogramAI with a genogram key — Filled in: The example is a fictional teaching family built around Bowen's concepts: Rachel Pierce (b. 1990) is the index person, with a fused line running from her grandmother Margaret to her mother Ellen and on to Rachel, a distant father, two cutoffs, and anxiety and depression shaded across all three generations. 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 family therapy genogram template

1
Map three generations
Begin with the presenting family (parents and children), then add each set of grandparents. Use squares for males, circles for females, and a double outline for the index person.
2
Add relationship lines
Draw marriage, cohabitation, separation and divorce lines between partners. Then layer the emotional lines from the key: close, fused, conflict, hostile, distant and cutoff.
3
Annotate patterns
Note ages, dates, occupations, health conditions and recurring themes. Circle triangles and label coalitions with the years they were active. Use this as the foundation for your treatment plan.

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
Square / circle	Male / female family member; a double outline marks the index person (in GenogramAI a highlighted outline).
Close: two blue lines	A warm, supportive bond with workable boundaries.
Fused: three parallel lines	Over-involvement; the two people react as one and boundaries are blurred.
Conflict: two dashed red lines	Active tension and recurring arguments.
Hostile: red zigzag	Open antagonism between the two people.
Distant: dashed line	Emotional disconnection with some contact remaining.
Cutoff: line broken by two bars	Contact deliberately broken off; GenogramAI also has a "cutoff repaired" line for later reconciliation.

Common mistakes to avoid

Drawing emotional lines before the structure is complete, so they cross half-finished sibships and have to be redrawn.
Labelling a relationship "hostile" from one person's account without checking how other family members describe it.
Leaving out the grandparent generation, which is where most multigenerational patterns first appear.
Marking a triangle without noting the years it was active; triangles shift as children leave home or parents separate.

Who uses this template?

Licensed family therapists (LMFTs), marriage and family therapists in training, and MFT graduate students.

Common uses

Mapping multigenerational transmission of anxiety and emotional patterns
Identifying triangles, coalitions, and cutoffs in Bowen family systems work
Structural family therapy: subsystems, boundaries, and hierarchies
Narrative therapy: externalizing family story patterns
First-session family assessment and case conceptualization

What the template covers

Three-generation layout in standard genogram notation
Structural relationship lines (marriage, divorce, cohabitation)
Emotional-line key on the printable; 39 emotional relationship types in GenogramAI
Space for clinical annotations and pattern notes
Symbol key in standard genogram notation

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

What genogram template is used in family therapy?

Family therapists usually work from a three-generation template in the standard notation described by McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry. It combines structural lines (marriage, divorce, parent-child) with emotional lines (close, fused, conflict, hostile, distant, cutoff). Bowen family systems therapy relies on it to map anxiety transmission and triangles across generations.

How do I create a genogram for a family therapy session?

Draw the presenting family in the middle of the page, then add each parent's parents and siblings above. Use squares for males and circles for females, connect partners with a horizontal line, and hang children from a sibship line in birth order, oldest on the left. Add emotional lines once the structure is complete. GenogramAI can also draw the structure from a plain-English description.

What symbols are used in a family therapy genogram?

Squares for males, circles for females, an X through the symbol for a death, horizontal lines for partnerships and vertical lines for children. Relationship quality uses line styles: in GenogramAI close is two blue lines, fused three lines, conflict two dashed red lines, hostile a red zigzag, distant a dashed line and cutoff a line broken by two bars.

Is a genogram template appropriate for all therapy modalities?

Genograms are used across modalities: Bowen family systems therapy (triangles, differentiation), structural family therapy (subsystems, boundaries), narrative therapy (story patterns), emotionally focused therapy (attachment) and integrative approaches. The template structure is the same; what you annotate differs by modality.

How do I show a triangle on a family therapy genogram?

Draw the emotional lines between all three people (for example, fused mother-daughter, distant father-daughter, conflict between the parents) and then circle or shade the three symbols together with the years it was active. In GenogramAI you can mark a triangle directly so it stays attached when the chart is rearranged.