The purpose of your genogram will help you to focus on the type of family information you want to collect. It's also likely to help you decide with whom you will share the completed diagram––sometimes the information might be considered upsetting or too sensitive for some family members, so you'll need to judge that depending on the context.  Genograms can focus on a number of hereditary patterns and issues including substance abuse, mental illness, and physical violence, as well as many physical illnesses. Genograms can provide health care workers with a visual document that tracks the history of your current mental or medical proclivities through your family bloodline. Once you know why you're making a genogram, whether it’s for a healthcare provider, school project, or just to get to know you and your family more, knowing what it is you want to learn can help you to organize how you go about populating your genogram.  Genograms are like family trees. Only in addition to looking at the branches, you also look at the leaves on each branch. You'll not only learn who is in your family, but how everyone is connected through physical and emotional relationships. For example, a genogram can tell you who is married, divorced, widowed, etc. It will also tell you how many kids each union (typically between two individuals) has, what each child is like, and what the individual relationships are between members on more than just a physical level. Think about what kind of information you want to learn from making your genogram. Do you want to know who in your family has depression, addictions, or a history of cancer? Perhaps you want to know more about why your mother and her mother never get along, by looking for the right clues you’ll be able to make a genogram that serves your goals. This will give you a clear idea of who you will need to approach for information to complete your diagram and whether this will be possible given people's ages and geographical location.  Luckily, you can always use email, Skype, and other communication devices to get in touch with family members that you may not be able to meet in person. Knowing how far back you need to go will also make the process easier and quicker. Do you want to start with your grandparents? Maybe you want to go further back to your great grandparents. Deciding how far to go back will give you an idea of who you need to contact. Use what you wish to learn from your genogram to come up with some questions to ask so that you can get the most information as quickly as possible. Here are some examples:  ”Beginning with your grandmother, what was her name, who was she married to, and when/how did she pass away? What was her ethnicity?” ”How many children did your mother’s parents have?” ”Did [name of family member] abuse drugs or alcohol?” ”Did [name of family member] have any mental or physical illnesses? What were/are they?”
حدد ما تريد معرفته من الرسم العرقي للعائلة. افهم ما تبحث عنه. قرر عدد الأجيال الذي تريد أن يعبر عنه الرسم العرقي لعائلتك. ضع مجموعة أسئلة لتسألها لنفسك ولأقاربك.