The main goal of this assignment is to increase self-awareness of one’s own background through visual and written depictions. The completed cultural genogram is a creative representation of the historical interactions related to identity and diversity. It may also help reveal sources of biases, values, attitudes, and recurring themes or traditions that have been transmitted over generations.
Hardy, K. V., & Laszloffy, T. A. (1995). The cultural genogram: Key to training culturally competent family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 21, 227-237.
Part one of the assignment requires constructing a cultural genogram displaying the names and genders of all family members for at least two or three generations, with their approximate age or birthdate.
· The culture-of-origin should be identified, and ethnic, religious, language, affiliation, disability, etc., of individuals in the genealogy should be filled in.
· Inter-ethnic relationships should be noted, and any multicultural interpersonal relationships relative to the family’s cultural identity identified.
· Notations should be made regarding socioeconomic status, including occupations, educational levels, demographics of residential areas, and any significant changes in life course throughout each generation that created changes in beliefs about diversity or persons.
Cultural genograms can be used to represent various aspects of a family’s culture of origin.
· Different colors and symbols can be used to depict the different groups that make up a family’s culture.
· Symbols can be created to represent relationships between family members, as well as relationships between family members and people from other cultures. For example, symbols can be created to represent close, distant, conflictual, or estranged relationships between family members or between family and individuals from diverse cultures.
· Symbols can also be used to identify teachings, thoughts, rules, vivid experiences, feelings, stories, or perceptions of diversity that have been passed down through the generations about any group that was considered “different” vis-à-vis your family.
The paper may be written in two sections.
· In the first section, a description of the cultural genogram should be provided using a narrative style. This should include any attitudes, behaviors, themes, or issues related to diversity that have been transmitted from one generation to the next. Additionally, the values, customs, and traditions of the cultural group(s) that best identify the individual and their family-of-origin should be explained. Any ethnic/racial perceptions/stereotypes the chosen group(s) may have about other groups should also be included.
· The second section should answer questions listed in Table 2 (p. 234; Hardy & Laszloffy, 1995) included here:
1. What are your family’s beliefs and feelings about the group(s) that comprise your culture of origin? What parts of the group(s) do they embrace or reject? How has this influenced your feelings about your cultural identity? (See Table 2, p. 234).
2. What aspects of your culture of origin do you have the most comfort owning? Most difficulty owning? What are the most salient and least salient aspects of identity? (p.234)
3. What groups will be easiest for you to work with? Most difficult? (p.234)
4. What did you learn about yourself and your cultural identity? How might this influence your interactions with those from other cultural groups? Describe any potential areas for growth or limitations when working with diverse populations.
5. How did constructing the cultural genogram impact you? Was this exercise valuable, worthwhile? Why or why not?
While writing this paper, students will consider which aspects of their identity (e.g., race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, (dis)ability, immigration status, etc.) are most salient. They will reflect upon critical incidents that have shaped their development and the reasons why these aspects of their identity are most salient.
Students will also consider which group memberships are least salient for them and reflect upon why these dimensions are least salient. They will explore how this shapes their experience and reflect upon examples of privilege and/or oppression they experience as a member of these social groups. They will consider the strengths they have developed as a member of these social groups and reflect upon the values and biases related to these dimensions of their identity.
The intersection of these identities shapes individuals’ experiences, their sense of self, their interactions with others, and their work as a counselor/psychotherapist. Individuals will reflect upon how they (consciously or unconsciously) affirm or reject each of these identities.
In summary, cultural genograms are a useful tool for representing various aspects of a family’s culture of origin. They can be used to depict relationships between family members and individuals from diverse cultures, as well as teachings, thoughts, rules, vivid experiences, feelings, stories, or perceptions of diversity that have been passed down through the generations. The paper should provide a description of the cultural genogram and answer questions related to beliefs and feelings about the culture of origin, aspects of the culture of origin that individuals are most and least comfortable owning, which groups will be easiest and most difficult to work with, what they have learned about themselves and their cultural identity, and how constructing the cultural genogram has impacted them. While writing this paper, individuals should reflect upon how their various identities shape their experiences, their sense of self, their interactions with others, and their work as a counselor/psychotherapist different from that of the family.
