Narrative Therapy Genogram
Map the stories families tell about themselves across generations. Discover dominant narratives, find alternative storylines, and re-author identity using the power of family stories.
What Is a Narrative Therapy Genogram?
A narrative therapy genogram combines the structural mapping of traditional genograms with the philosophical commitments of narrative therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston in the late 1980s. Where a standard genogram asks "What happened in this family?", a narrative genogram asks "What stories does this family tell about what happened, and how do those stories shape who family members can become?"
Narrative therapy holds that people are not the problem; the problem is the problem. Applied to genogram work, this means we are not mapping a "dysfunctional family" but rather exploring how particular stories about the family became dominant, whose voices were marginalized, and where unique outcomes (exceptions to the problem story) offer seeds for preferred identity.
Theoretical Foundation
White and Epston drew on Michel Foucault's ideas about how knowledge and power shape identity, and Jerome Bruner's narrative psychology. Applied to genograms, this means examining not just the facts of family history but the interpretation of those facts: who decided the story, whose perspective was centered, and what alternative readings are possible. The narrative genogram is inherently a de-centering, anti-pathologizing tool.
When to Use a Narrative Genogram
Clinical scenarios where story-based exploration opens new possibilities
Identity Exploration
When clients feel trapped by family labels ("the black sheep," "the responsible one"), narrative genograms help externalize these identities and find alternative storylines.
Cultural Identity Work
Mapping how cultural narratives (about gender, class, race, immigration) intersect with family stories to shape individual identity and possibilities.
Grief and Loss
When the dominant story about a family loss is problem-saturated ("We were destroyed by it"), narrative genograms help find stories of resilience, love, and continuity alongside the pain.
Intergenerational Shame
When families carry stories of shame (about mental illness, poverty, immigration status, or family secrets), narrative genograms help re-author these from shame to strength.
Adolescent Therapy
Teenagers forming their identity benefit from seeing which family stories they want to carry forward and which they want to challenge, creating agency in their identity formation.
Couples Understanding Origins
Helping each partner understand the family stories that shaped their expectations about relationships, roles, and what constitutes a "good" partnership.
Key Elements to Map
Narrative-specific information to record across generations
Dominant Narratives per Generation
The prevailing stories each generation told about the family: "We're survivors," "We don't talk about feelings," "Education is everything." Track how these evolved or calcified.
Family Myths
Shared beliefs the family holds as truth that organize behavior: "Grandpa built this family from nothing," "The women in this family are strong," "We're cursed with bad luck."
Exceptions to Problem Stories
Unique outcomes where family members contradicted the dominant narrative: the "weak" family member who showed extraordinary courage, the "unemotional" family member who cried at a wedding.
Re-Authored Identities
Family members who successfully re-storied their identity: the person labeled "crazy" who was actually the most emotionally honest, the "failure" who chose a different measure of success.
Cultural Narratives
Broader cultural stories (about gender, race, class, religion) that intersect with family narratives: patriarchal narratives about men's roles, immigrant narratives about proving worth.
Naming Ceremonies and Rituals
How the family marked transitions and created meaning: naming traditions, coming-of-age rituals, funeral practices, and other ceremonies that carried narrative significance.
Silenced Stories
Stories that were suppressed or forbidden: the family member who was never discussed, the event that was rewritten, the perspective that was marginalized within the family.
Audience and Witnesses
Who in the family or community served as audience for preferred stories? Who validated alternative identities? These people are allies in the re-authoring process.
Clinical Example: The Chen Family
Fictional composite case for educational purposes
Presenting concern: Wei, a 22-year-old graduate student, sought therapy for anxiety and a sense of being "not good enough." He described feeling crushed by his family's expectation that he become a doctor or engineer.
Dominant family narrative: The Chen family story, spanning three generations, was organized around academic excellence and professional prestige. Wei's grandparents had survived poverty in rural China and immigrated to the U.S. The family narrative was: "We sacrificed everything so the next generation could succeed. Success means professional achievement. Anything less dishonors the sacrifice."
Narrative genogram exploration: Through mapping, Wei discovered several unique outcomes that contradicted the dominant narrative. His grandfather had actually been a talented calligrapher who mourned the loss of artistic expression after immigration. His aunt had quietly left her accounting career to become a social worker, and while the family initially disapproved, they later spoke of her with quiet admiration.
The genogram also revealed a silenced story: Wei's grandmother had been the true strategist behind the family's immigration, but the narrative centered his grandfather. Her resourcefulness, creativity, and risk-taking were marginalized in favor of a narrative emphasizing his grandfather's hard work.
Re-authoring process: The narrative genogram helped Wei move from "I'm failing my family" to "I'm carrying forward my grandmother's creativity and my aunt's courage." The alternative story did not reject his family's values but expanded them: sacrifice can also mean daring to follow a different path. Wei chose to pursue his interest in public health, honoring both the family's value of service and his own authentic direction.
How to Create a Narrative Genogram with GenogramAI
Build the Family Story Map
Start by describing your family to GenogramAI. As you build the structural genogram, add notes for each person capturing not just facts but the stories told about them. What was each person known for? What labels did the family assign to them?
Identify Dominant and Alternative Narratives
For each generation, note the dominant family narrative and any exceptions. Use GenogramAI's annotation features to highlight unique outcomes in a different color. Mark silenced stories and marginalized perspectives that deserve to be heard.
Map the Re-Authoring Possibilities
Connect the unique outcomes across generations to weave an alternative family storyline. Who in the family tree supports the preferred story? What evidence exists for a richer, more nuanced family identity? Use the genogram as a visual anchor for the re-authoring conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a narrative therapy genogram?
A narrative therapy genogram integrates narrative therapy principles with traditional genogram mapping. Instead of focusing solely on facts and pathology, it maps the stories families tell about themselves: dominant narratives ("We're a family of worriers"), alternative stories that contradict the dominant narrative, unique outcomes where family members resisted problematic patterns, and the cultural discourses that shape family identity.
How is a narrative genogram different from a standard genogram?
Standard genograms emphasize structural facts: who married whom, diagnoses, relationship patterns. Narrative genograms emphasize meaning: what stories does the family tell about these facts? A death in the family might be recorded the same way on both genograms, but the narrative genogram also captures whether the family story is "we never recover from loss" or "we survive everything together."
What are dominant narratives on a genogram?
Dominant narratives are the primary stories a family tells about itself that organize members' identities and expectations. Examples include "Men in this family are providers, not nurturers," "We don't trust outsiders," or "Success means academic achievement." These narratives are mapped across generations to show how they were constructed and maintained.
What is a unique outcome in narrative therapy genogram work?
A unique outcome is an event or action that contradicts the dominant problem-saturated narrative. On a narrative genogram, these are moments when a family member acted against the prevailing story: the "family of worriers" where one aunt pursued adventure travel, or the "academic family" where one cousin thrived as an artist. These exceptions become seeds for re-authoring.
Can narrative genograms be used in group therapy?
Yes. Narrative genograms work well in group settings, especially multicultural groups where members can explore how cultural narratives intersect with family stories. Group members can witness each other's re-authoring process and serve as an audience for preferred identity stories, which is central to narrative therapy practice.
How do I use a narrative genogram with GenogramAI?
Build your family structure with GenogramAI, then add detailed notes for each family member capturing the stories told about them, family myths, and exceptions to problem narratives. Use the relationship and emotional view features to mark alliances around shared narratives. The AI can help you organize and visualize narrative themes across generations.
Map Your Family's Story
Use GenogramAI to explore the narratives that shaped your family and discover alternative stories waiting to be told.
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