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Simple Genogram Examples

Learn genograms through five progressively detailed examples. Start with a basic family and build up to clinical-level diagrams one layer at a time.

Create Your Own More Examples

Basic Nuclear Family

Two parents and two children — the simplest starting point

What Each Symbol Means

Square (John): Represents a male family member. The father in this nuclear family.
Circle (Mary): Represents a female family member. The mother.
Horizontal line: Connects married partners. John and Mary are married.
Vertical lines: Connect parents to children. Tom (square/son) and Sarah (circle/daughter) are their biological children.
Birth order: Children are listed left to right from oldest to youngest. Tom is the firstborn.

Three-Generation Family

Add grandparents to see multigenerational structure

How Generations Stack

Top row (Generation 1): Grandparents Robert and Helen. The oldest generation always appears at the top.
Middle row (Generation 2): John (Robert and Helen's son) and his wife Mary. A vertical line connects John upward to his parents.
Bottom row (Generation 3): Grandchildren Tom and Sarah. Each row below is a younger generation.
Clinical minimum: Most therapists require at least three generations to identify meaningful multigenerational patterns.

Tip: Three generations is the standard for clinical genograms. Start here and add generations if patterns warrant deeper investigation. See our 3-generation genogram guide for more detail.

Divorced & Blended Family

Show divorce notation, remarriage, and step-children

Divorce & Remarriage Notation

Double slash (//): Through the line between John and Lisa indicates they are divorced.
Second marriage line: John has a new horizontal connection to Karen, showing remarriage.
Tom's connection: Drops from the first marriage line, showing he is John and Lisa's biological child.
Emma and Jack: Drop from the second marriage line, showing they are John and Karen's children.
Half-siblings: Tom is a half-sibling to Emma and Jack since they share one parent (John).

With Emotional Relationships

Add emotional overlays to reveal relationship quality

Reading the Emotional Overlays

Green double line (John & Mary): A close, healthy marital bond. The emotional overlay sits alongside the structural marriage line.
Red zigzag (Tom & Sarah): Conflict between the siblings. A common pattern in families with competitive or hostile sibling dynamics.
Green double curve (Mary & Sarah): A close mother-daughter bond, drawn as a curved line to avoid crossing other lines.
Dashed gray line (John & Tom): Emotional distance between father and son. They are connected but the relationship lacks warmth.

Clinical insight: Notice the pattern: the father is distant from his son while the mother is close to her daughter. This kind of cross-gender alliance is a common finding in family therapy. See our relationship lines guide for all emotional line types.

With Medical History

Add medical quadrants to reveal hereditary patterns

Reading the Medical Quadrants

Robert (grandfather): The X through his square means deceased. The red top-left quadrant shows heart disease. He died of a heart attack.
Helen (grandmother): The blue top-right section of her circle indicates diabetes.
John (father): Has both red (heart disease) and blue (diabetes) quadrants filled, inheriting both conditions from his parents.
Tom (son): The dashed red border highlights him as at-risk. With a grandfather who died of heart disease and a father with heart disease and diabetes, Tom should be monitored.

Clinical value: Medical genograms make hereditary risk visible at a glance. This example shows how heart disease tracks down the paternal line across three generations. See our medical genogram guide for a comprehensive walkthrough.

From Simple to Clinical

Each example above adds a new layer of clinical information. Here is what each layer contributes.

Layer 1: Family Structure

Who is in the family, how they are connected (Examples 1-3). This is the foundation every genogram starts with.

Layer 2: Emotional Relationships

How family members feel about each other (Example 4). Reveals alliances, conflicts, cutoffs, and enmeshment that drive family dynamics.

Layer 3: Medical History

What conditions run in the family (Example 5). Makes hereditary risk patterns visible for proactive health screening and intervention.

Advanced Layers

Cultural background, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, education, and occupation can all be added. GenogramAI supports 7 clinical view modes for these layers.

Create Your Own in 3 Steps

Describe Your Family

Type a natural language description of your family members and their relationships into GenogramAI.

AI Generates the Genogram

GenogramAI creates a properly formatted genogram with all correct symbols, lines, and connections.

Refine and Export

Add emotional overlays, medical data, and cultural layers. Export to PNG, PDF, or share a link.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the simplest genogram I can create?

The simplest genogram is a nuclear family genogram showing two parents and their children. It requires only basic person symbols (squares and circles), a marriage line between the parents, and vertical lines connecting parents to children. You can create one in under 5 minutes with GenogramAI.

How many generations should a simple genogram include?

For a truly simple genogram, start with two generations (parents and children). The standard clinical genogram includes three generations (grandparents, parents, children), which is the minimum recommended for identifying multigenerational patterns. Start simple and add layers as needed.

What symbols do I need for a basic genogram?

For a basic genogram you need: squares (male), circles (female), a horizontal line (marriage), vertical lines (parent to child connections), and optionally an X through shapes for deceased family members. These five elements are enough to map any family structure.

How do I show divorce in a simple genogram?

Draw the marriage line (horizontal) between the two partners, then place two forward slashes (//) through the line. If either person has remarried, draw a second marriage line from their symbol to the new partner. Children from each marriage connect to the respective couple line.

What is the difference between a genogram and a family tree?

A family tree shows biological lineage and names. A genogram adds much more: emotional relationship quality (close, distant, hostile), medical conditions, behavioral patterns, and structural relationships like divorce and cohabitation. Even a simple genogram captures information a family tree cannot.

Can GenogramAI create simple genograms from a description?

Yes. With GenogramAI, you can describe your family in plain language (e.g., "John and Mary are married with two children, a son named Tom and a daughter named Sarah") and the AI will generate a properly formatted genogram with all correct symbols and connections.

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Start simple and build up — just like the examples on this page

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