Genograms

As many people have already touched on the subject, it is evident that no two families are alike. Yes, some families may share some similar characteristics, but it is impossible that any two families are a spitting image of one another.  This makes me wonder how the differences in family dynamics are created.  I believe family history, family members interactions with one another, the socio-economic status and the family's environment in which they interact, all play a part in in differentiating one family from another.  These aspects, along with many more, are valid assumptions that they are the cause of creating such diversity among families all over the world.  Take two families who have lived in the same town, parents who went to the same schools, with children who are the same gender and same age, they live in the same neighborhood, have the same social life and may seem exactly identical to one another.  Yet, because of one difference, such as family history, these two families could actually end up being complete opposites, despite their outlaying similarities.  All in all, I just find it very interesting to think about all the different families in the world.  Whenever I am in a public setting and I have some down time, I sometimes find myself looking at someone and wondering what their life is like... 

Genogram

Well since everyone else is talking about their genograms I might as well discuss mine a little bit. I've known since he announced in class that we would have to do a genogram that mine was going to be somewhat difficult. Ever since my parents divorce 9 years ago I have not talked to my dad. I might have had 2 or 3 conversations with him, but they weren't anything that was pleasant. I feel that doing his side of the family is going to be difficult for me. Up until a couple a years ago my siblings still talked to my dad a little bit, but now none of us really talked to him. None of us have seen any of his side of the family since the divorce either. They pretty much chose not to talk with us anymore. Hopefully my mom has enough knowledge about that side of the family to help me complete this project.

Genogram

Well the highlight of this blog seems to be about the genograms. As I sat in class i realized that i have a really boring family. I guess i have a lot of cousins but no one cheated on anyone and mental problems are not big in the family either. But its good to do one of these in your life time so you know how big your family is and how you came about and even though mine wont be exciting im glad I still have a family and that we all care for each other!

Family Diversity

My family genogram will, like many others, also be pretty screwed up and intense. But like someone just said below, it does not matter what your genogram looks like. What really matters is how your family communicates and interacts with each other. Every family will have hardships but the way they get through those hardships is what makes you family strong. I personally think that every family will have strong points and weak points. I also believe that every family has many places they can improve and get better. Because of this it shows how much diversity families around the world have. Even in your same neighborhood or extended family. That is one of the first things I learned while taking this class. It is not that I necessarily did not know that before, it just never really occured to me that families can be so different. I think this genogram will be good for everyone in this class to really try and figure out how your family works. That may help improve some areas that we are failing as members of our families.

Family Genogram

During class today, I found it interesting to listen to the different kinds of family structures that exist.  My mom was adopted and I also have foster siblings, so my genogram will be a little more difficult to complete than some.  I am also excited to find out things I never knew about my family's history.  Even though genogram's trace back to the family's roots, it definitely does not define a family.  By looking at a family's genogram, you can tell a lot about the family, but what you can't see is that particular family's dedication, love, and hard times that they have been able to overcome.  

Family Genogram

As we were talking about the project in class today, I started thinking about what my family's genogram. At first, I was thinking, "Mine is going to be so simple. There might be a lot of us, but we aren't complicated at all." After I started to sketch it out in my notebook, it wasn't as easy as I thought. There were dashed lines, stepchildren, boxes with Xs, shaded boxes.

It made me realize that part of the reason I thought it was going to be so easy is because for the most part, we get along well and are have enough of the qualities that strong families have like we talked about the other day. That reminded me that when working with families, the important part isn't really how neat or "simple" there family structure appears, but how they are able to communicate and work together despite whatever issues arise. Being a strong family is much more important than having a clean genogram.

Family Dysfunction

During our class discussion today about genograms I couldn’t help but think about just how complicated the term family can be. While I always thought of my family as being somewhat “normal” I found as I began to think about how I would construct my own genogram that my family has a lot of complicated relationships. My family has a history of alcohol abuse on both sides as well as issues dealing with an uncle who came out of the closet. I feel that what helps some families grow stronger are the conflicts and “weird circumstances” that come up in our relationships with each other. Sometimes what makes our family so complicated is also what makes it so interesting. The divorces, the substance abuse, the affairs, the fights are what make us not only strong individuals, but strong families as well. In terms of professional development how we are able to cope and deal with these issues are how we are going to learn lessons for the future. So I guess having a “normal” family may not be all that it is cracked up to be, sometimes we need a little dysfunction.