Genogram software helps to keep things neat, tidy and organized so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn from them. This results in messy and confused genograms that don’t yield much useful information. However, patients that are emotionally caught-up in problems or arguments aren’t often good at sketching-out things clearly. It’s also a common tool to help diffuse family feuds to show where problems stem from.

Therapists often use genograms to help open dialog with those who struggle to talk about an issue such as abuse, mistreatment or personal problems. So why use any of these apps when you could just draw everything on pen and paper? There are a few good reasons.įor a genogram to be effective, it has to be clear and well put together. Why Use Genogram Software vs Pen & Paper? The templates are almost always family tree templates which do not allow you to add genogram symbols and other details required to make a genuine kinship diagram. This is also true of sites that claim to offer “genogram templates” for programs like Microsoft PowerPoint and Word. Some genealogy apps claim that they can create genograms on Mac but in reality, are more for creating family trees as they don’t provide the specific symbols you need for genograms. It’s important to be aware that genograms are a highly specific type of diagram requiring specific tools. To draw genograms that are effective and detailed enough, you need specific software but there are fewer options on Mac than there are on PC. The number of genogram apps on Mac are definitely less than for Windows PCs but there are a still some really great options like our top rated genogram drawing tool SmartDraw. They are an incredibly effective way to help diagnose emotional and psychological issues in patients.

Genograms are often used by social workers, genetic researchers and in clinical psychology to help diagnose patients and reveal insights into family behavior.

Genealogy and Family Tree software on the other hand mainly focus simply on family structures and hereditary lines. Why Use Genogram Software vs Pen & Paper?Ī genogram – also known as a McGoldrick–Gerson study, Lapidus schematic, pedigree chart or family relationship diagram – differs from traditional genealogy software as it allows you to visualize patterns such as medical and psychological factors that affect family relationships.

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