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Use of the Genogram Technique in Counseling With Turkish

Families

Article  in  Journal of Family Psychotherapy · April 2012

DOI: 10.1080/08975353.2012.679903

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Use of the Genogram Technique in

Counseling With Turkish Families
a b b b
Erkan Işık , Turan Akbaş , Oğuzhan Kırdök , Raşit Avcı & İsmail
b
Çakır
a
Department of Counseling and Guidance, Mevlana University,
Konya, Turkey
b
Department of Counseling and Guidance, Çukurova University,
Adana, Turkey

Available online: 13 Jun 2012

To cite this article: Erkan Işık, Turan Akbaş, Oğuzhan Kırdök, Raşit Avcı & İsmail Çakır (2012): Use of
the Genogram Technique in Counseling With Turkish Families, Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 23:2,
131-137

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 Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 23:131–137, 2012
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0897-5353 print/1540-4080 online
DOI: 10.1080/08975353.2012.679903

FAMILY PSYCHOTHERAPY AROUND

THE WORLD

Use of the Genogram Technique in Counseling

With Turkish Families

ERKAN IŞIK
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Department of Counseling and Guidance, Mevlana University, Konya, Turkey

TURAN AKBAŞ, OĞUZHAN KIRDÖK, RAŞİT AVCI,

and İSMAİL ÇAKIR
Department of Counseling and Guidance, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey

Genograms are widely used in practice because they are efficient

tools that provide us with a profound understanding of our clients’
family patterns, repetitive behaviors related to them, the effects their
families have on their choices, and so on. However, not many
of these applications have been reported and shared with other
professionals. The aim of this study was to report experiences of
using genogram technique in counseling with Turkish families.
Case illustrations are discussed and a set of recommendations and
ideas for further studies of this useful technique is provided.

KEYWORDS family counseling, genogram technique, Turkish

families

Genograms are graphic tools, rather like family trees, on which intergenera-
tional family relationships are portrayed (McGoldrick & Gerson, 1985). They
include at least three generations (Gladding, 2000) and can be designed
in various forms in accordance with their purpose of use (Friedman &
Krakauer, 1992). Within the counseling literature, cultural genograms (Hardy

An earlier version of this study was presented at the International Congress of Counseling
in İstanbul, April 2008.
Address correspondence to Erkan Işık, Mevlana University, Department of Counseling
and Guidance, 235 Yeni İstanbul Street, 42003 Selçuklu, Konya, Turkey. E-mail: eisik@
mevlana.edu.tr

131
 132 E. Işık et al.

& Laszloffy, 1995; Keiley et al., 2002; Kelley, 1990; Thomas, 1998), solution-
oriented genograms (Kuehl, 1995, 1996; Softas-Nall, Baldo, & Tiedemann,
1999), sexual genograms (Hof & Berman, 1986; White & Tyson-Rawson,
1995), socially constructed genograms (Milewski-Hertlein, 2001), vocational
genograms (Gibson, 2005; Malott & Magnuson, 2004; Okiishi, 1987), pro-
fessional genograms (Magnuson, 2000), and spiritual genograms (Frame,
2000) are widely used as efficient tools. Specifically, in family counseling,
genograms are used to analyze existing behavior patterns, roles, and
relationships within the context of a family (Nichols & Schwartz, 1998).
Furthermore, they are used to gather data, evaluate the interaction patterns,
produce a hypothesis, and help clients to gain an insight about emotional
processes within their family of origin (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2000).
Genograms are convenient to use both for clients and counselors. One
of the major responsibilities of counselors is to help their clients figure
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out the repetitive behavior patterns they bring from their family of origin.
Some applications demonstrated that genograms are effective in enhanc-
ing the counselor’s awareness of the behavioral patterns he or she brings
from his or her family of origin (Halevy, 1998; Pistole, 1998). In a similar
study, Emerson (1995) found that preservice counselors who participated
in genogram exercises reported that the genogram exercise helped them
to continue to explore general family-of-origin issues that relate their work
and understand more fully how the intergenerational transmission of bias
influenced them on a daily basis, both as learners and as practitioners.
These intergenerational transmissions become more explicit especially
in more collectivist, interdependent, or group-oriented cultures like that
in Turkey when compared with more independent, individual-oriented
Western cultures. Because most Turkish families focus on the extended
family and value authority, obedience, hierarchy, and in-group harmony,
these characteristics let more interactional patterns pass through generations.
Therefore, a technique that enables us assess these transmissions would be
crucial in counseling with Turkish families.
Genograms are widely used in practice because they are efficient tools
that provide us a profound understanding of our clients’ family patterns,
repetitive behaviors related to them, the effects their families have on their
choices, and so on. However, not many of these applications have been
reported and shared with other professionals. In light of the research find-
ings, the aim of this study was to report experiences of the genogram
technique in counseling with Turkish families.

CASE EXAMPLE ONE

Mr. D and Mrs. Z, a middle-aged couple married for 12 years, came to

counseling for help with their child’s (M, older son of the family, age
 Use of Genograms 133

11) misbehavior, specifically hyperactivity (as they describe), night wet-

ting (nearly three times a week), and low self-esteem. Although the couple
described their marriage as “happy with little conflict,” their attitudes toward
their child were completely different. The father was authoritarian, serious,
and disciplined and, as a result, tended to control all of his son’s behaviors.
The mother was quieter, more sympathetic, and tolerant and did not agree
with her husband in many of their discussions about their son. In the sec-
ond session, the counselor suggested that they needed to talk more about
their families of origin and offered to draw a family genogram to do that.
Because they were open to the idea, the counselor started to draw their
family tree. Mr. D, the father, came from an extremely authoritative family
and when the counselor asked him what he would change about his family
of origin if he had the chance, he answered, “Nothing.” He enthusiastically
talked about his father and grandfather, describing them as “perfect.” Mr. D
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repeatedly mentioned that he really wanted to be like them. He believed that

his authority, discipline, and control were not satisfactory when compared
with his father and grandfather. While Mr. D was talking about his lack
of control, discipline, his wife was showing her anger with her eyes and
entire body. The process of drawing the genogram helped the counselor
and the family to explore the repeated behavior patterns they brought
from their families of origin to their present relationship. Mr. D’s perfec-
tionism was affecting the whole family and the child was the scapegoat. Mr.
D had numerous expectations and the child was not able to meet these
expectations because nothing was satisfactory for Mr. D. Following these
sessions, the counselor and family worked on the negative effects of this
perfectionism. The genogram exercise became a catalyst for change and the
more insight the family gained about their behavior patterns that came from
their families of origin, the fewer complaints they had about their child’s
misbehavior.

CASE EXAMPLE TWO

Mr. A and Mrs. N, a middle-aged couple married for 18 years, came to

counseling for help with the aggressive behaviors and violence within the
family. The couple has two daughters (G, age 17; B, age 9). Aggressive
behaviors were especially directed from the mother to the elder daughter,
G. At the beginning of the first and second sessions, the counselor had no
idea why the mother had this aggression toward her daughter. The counselor
thought that working on a genogram might help in understanding the source
of these aggressive patterns, so he offered to draw a genogram of their fam-
ily and explained the process. After completing the genogram, the counselor
realized a very important cue for the aggressive behaviors of the mother.
One of Mr. A’s sisters was a prostitute and Mrs. N was anxious because her
daughter resembled her aunt. Mrs. N was angry with her husband’s sister and
 134 E. Işık et al.

this anger made her aggressive toward her elder daughter. Mrs. N did not
want her daughter to even speak to boys at school. Mrs. N was extremely
strict with her daughter and if she was disobedient, she was emotionally
and physically abused. In the third session, the mother disclosed herself and
shared her anxiety with her daughter and the counselor. After her disclosure
and a discussion regarding the dysfunctional results of her anxiety, Mrs. N
obtained awareness about her hidden anger. The more Mrs. N shared her
anxiety and feelings with her daughter, the less they reported aggressive
behaviors. The genogram exercise helped the counselor to make a hypoth-
esis about the major source of the problem within the family. By obtaining
important cues about the mother’s aggressive behaviors in a systematic way
and in a very short time, the genogram exercise helped them work on a
solution-focused basis.
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CASE EXAMPLE THREE

Mrs. C, a single parent, aged 48, and her daughter E, aged 21, came to
counseling for help with their repetitive conflict and disagreements. They
lost Mr. T, the father, in 1999 and life became very difficult for them. E
was currently studying for university exams and this was making her more
anxious and sensitive. Mrs. C was very talkative but E did not like talking
as much. Mrs. C liked talking about everything except her dead husband,
and she was often tried to change the subject when he was brought up.
The counselor thought this might stem from unfinished business within the
family, possibly with the husband. Therefore, the counselor offered to draw
a genogram of their family in order to focus on Mrs. C’s relationship with her
husband. A genogram was constructed during the second session and the
family started to talk about their history. Mrs. C liked to make new friends
and she had very close relationship with her own family as well as with
her husband’s family. However, her husband did not interact even with his
own family. Mrs. C expressed her feelings of anger toward her husband. But
the point was that her husband was not alive and her daughter, E, was the
scapegoat because she resembled her father. E, like her father, did not have a
close relationship with other family members and Mrs. C directed her anger
at her husband toward her daughter. Realizing that this was not rational
because her husband and her daughter were different individuals and E
could not be blamed for resembling her father, Mrs. C was able to start
controlling her anger toward her daughter. In the following sessions they
reported less conflict and began relating to each other in a more functional
manner. The genogram exercise helped the counselor and family recognize
the underlying problem, namely, anger toward her husband, which enabled
them focus on the problem itself rather than distracting the issue away from
the problem.
 Use of Genograms 135

DISCUSSION

Our experiences and many other applications of the genogram tech-

nique prove its functionality and efficacy within the counseling process.
Genograms contribute to a trusting and tolerant counseling environment, as
a means to establish rapport. They provide a profound understanding about
our clients’ family patterns, repetitive behaviors related to them, and the
effects their families have on their choices.
In the current study, the visual nature of genograms helped counselors
and clients understand their family relations at a glance. By using genograms,
counselors and clients were able to understand the repetitive behaviors
that they brought from their families of origin and obtained better insight
into how these patterns affect their present family. The genogram exercise
became a catalyst for change.
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The experience of using genogram technique with Turkish families was

efficient for several reasons. First, families in general were very enthusi-
astic to talk about their extended families, a subject that they were very
familiar with. This enthusiasm created a more client-centered and nonthreat-
ening atmosphere of counseling. Second, family of origin issues are the
origin of many problems within the present family because marriage to a
man or a woman means marriage to his or her family, as well. Therefore,
applying the genogram process in counseling helped clients to gain an
understanding of the ways in which their family of origin issues affected
their present family functioning. Furthermore, genogram construction was
not only an assessment tool but became an integral part of the treatment
process. A third advantageous aspect of the genogram exercise with Turkish
families was that the couples had the chance to gain more information about
their partner’s family of origin issues and relationships. Finally, identifying
the covert messages from family of origin and their influence on their present
lives increased clients’ self-differentiation, which is more difficult to gain in
interdependent collectivist cultures.
Although using the genogram technique has many advantages, profes-
sionals using this technique should be aware that it has some limitations as
well. First, it may take too much time to prepare and work on genograms
(Gibson, 2005). Sometimes it may take three or four sessions, which clients
may not be able to afford. Yet, Isaacson and Brown (1997) reported that
genograms are used for different purposes and counselors can use short-
ened versions of genograms. A second limitation is the client’s reluctance
because he or she may be emotionally or geographically distant from his
or her family of origin and may provide minimal information or find the
process discomforting if he or she is from a blended family, adoptive fam-
ily, foster family, or a family with same-sex parents (Okiishi, 1987). Hence,
especially before use within groups, the counselor needs to acquire rele-
vant information about the clients and make sure that they are willing to
 136 E. Işık et al.

participate. Third, the genogram is a self-report tool that comes has certain
validity issues because clients may provide only minimal amount of infor-
mation or incorrect information about the family (Gibson). On the other
hand, Okocha (1998) stated that using qualitative techniques in counseling
allows a holistic and integrative assessment of the individual when compared
with standardized tests. Therefore, using qualitative techniques and gaining
expertise in them would allow us to reduce the validity problem. To sum up,
the genogram exercise is an efficient technique for use in family counseling.
However, counselors should prefer using this technique provided that they
have no suspicion about the points mentioned above.

Suggestions for Future Research

This study is based on the observations of counselors who have used the
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genogram technique with Turkish families. However, practitioners’ obser-

vations are limited with regard to a technique’s effectiveness. Thus, future
research designs should include experimental studies in which the genogram
technique is used to evaluate its effectiveness with pre- and postmeasures.
Follow-up studies may allow examination of the longitudinal effects of the
insight gained by the use of the genogram technique. In addition, more
applications should be reported and shared with other professionals, espe-
cially from non-Western cultures, for comparison with the observations made
in the current study.

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