I went home this weekend and brought my genogram with me. My mom helped me fill in dates and names. We came to my second cousins (who really feel like my first cousins because my dad is an only child) when something interesting came up. My great aunt and uncle were married in 1961. Less than 9 months later, my second cousin was born. For 22 years, no one has breathed a word of this to me. I was also really surprised to find out that my mom had three miscarriages, two between my sister and me and another between my sister and my brother. She even gave a name to the last child who was miscarried.
As a professional, I think it's important to know your family background and how it affects the way you practice. For some professionals, having an alcoholic parent might make it hard for them to work with families as they work through recovery with an alcoholic family member.
Knowing that my great aunt and uncle had my cousin after they were married makes me more open to working with families in similiar situations. Talking to my mom about her miscarriages and seeing the sadness she still carries with her makes me want to be a support for other women who lose a baby through miscarriage.
1 comment:
It's really neat that you are able to open up and share such personal details about your family background. It's crazy to think that without having to do this assignment, you most likely would not know some of these valid and important details included in your family history!
I agree with you that it is very important know and understand your family background and where you are coming from. I believe that your family is what makes you who you are and it is because of them, that you are the person you are today.
It makes me think about the types of people there are in the world today and how they came to be who they are. What about all those people who grew up without a strong and support family system? What about those who had a rough childhood and were left without knowing how wonderful life can be...do these people ALL grow up with a slim chance of success in life? If not, then how do they break apart to give themselves a greater life?
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