P Postmodern Approaches in the Use of Genograms Jacob Mosgaard 1 and Monica Sesma-Vazquez 2 1 Private Practice, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark 2 University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada Introduction In the field of couples and family therapy, genograms are widely known and used as graphic tools for gathering general or detailed information about family structure and interpersonal relation- ships, including relevant data regarding family demographics and key aspects of the past and present. Systemic family therapist Monica McGoldrick is not only a pioneer in developing, popularizing, and describing how to depict differ- ent family structures, and establishing codes and symbols, but she also proposes diverse modalities to utilize genograms as therapeutic instruments for assessments and interventions (McGoldrick et al. 2008). A genogram is designed to help understand family composition, dynamics, and patterns across generations. Genograms in a sense are ver- sions of family trees. Some people define them as graphic representations for mapping psychologi- cal factors and transgenerational relationship punctuations that influence individuals’ behav- iors, emotions, and performances. Traditional genograms include symbols to por- tray the so-called index person (also called “iden- tified patient”), gender, age, marital status, and deaths, among other factors (see Fig. 1 for exem- plification). The classic genogram is used by ther- apists to elaborate hypotheses, formulate the clinical case, and include other potential explana- tions concerning causes or factors that preserve couple and family problems. These explanations are attempts at understanding the role of “symp- toms” within the family. Traditional genograms moreover have the goal of determining the most affected member in the family, inform therapeutic goals, orient therapists’ decisions, and assist in designing therapeutic interventions. Traditionally, genograms have specific guidelines on how to create and intervene on them. Different fields of practice (such as sociology, psychiatry, social work, etc.) and therapeutic schools (psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, among others) have adopted the use of genograms. Though emerging in the 1970s, unlike many other systemic tools genograms are still widely used. They are still seen as practical devices for gathering information as well as com- plex gateways to connecting with family mem- bers. Besides being tools for information and intervention, they can help generate rich conver- sations, whether approached traditionally or from a postmodern perspective. # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J.L. Lebow et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy , DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_829-1