Why Generic Diagram Tools
Fail at Genograms
Creately and Lucidchart are great for flowcharts. But genograms need medical quadrants, emotional relationship lines, and clinical symbols that generic tools simply don't have.
- No medical quadrants
- No emotional line types
- Manual symbol creation
- 4 medical quadrants
- 25 emotional line types
- All symbols built-in
What Generic Tools Are Missing
These aren't nice-to-haves. They're the core features that make a genogram a genogram.
No Medical Quadrants
Generic tools can't divide shapes into quadrants to indicate conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and mental illness. You'd have to manually draw and color quarter-circles - and they won't look professional.
With GenogramAI: In GenogramAI, one click adds a red quadrant for heart disease. Try that in Creately.
No Emotional Relationship Lines
Creately and Lucidchart have basic connectors. They don't have the 25+ standardized emotional relationship types that therapists need: close (double line), fused (triple line), conflict (zigzag), cutoff (broken with marks).
With GenogramAI: A fused-hostile relationship requires 3 parallel lines + zigzag overlay. Good luck drawing that manually.
No Clinical Symbols
Where's the miscarriage symbol? The stillbirth triangle? The adoption bracket? The pregnancy triangle? Generic diagram tools simply don't have these standardized clinical symbols built in.
With GenogramAI: Therapists shouldn't have to design symbols. They should just click 'miscarriage' and get the right notation.
No AI Intelligence
Generic tools require you to manually drag every shape, draw every line, enter every detail. There's no AI to understand family descriptions and generate complete genograms automatically.
With GenogramAI: Describe three generations with alcoholism patterns - GenogramAI builds it. Creately makes you drag 15 shapes.
Full Feature Comparison
Purpose-built vs. generic approach
You're a Therapist, Not a Graphic Designer
Generic diagram tools expect you to manually create symbols, draw complex line patterns, and figure out medical notation on your own. GenogramAI gives you the right tools so you can focus on the family, not the software.
One-Click Conditions
Add heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or mental illness with a single click.
Standard Notation
McGoldrick-standard symbols that colleagues and supervisors recognize.
AI Assistance
Describe the family system and let AI handle the diagram.
Use the Right Tool for the Job
Stop fighting with generic diagram tools. GenogramAI was built specifically for family systems mapping.