Expertise, history and practice around genogram work
12 articlesCounselling no longer takes place only in a shared physical space. What happens to genogram work when a screen stands between practitioner and client — and where do its limits lie?
Three structured first-session formats that have proven their worth in systemic counselling practice — a growth arc, a step-plan and an anchor question. Insights from more than 20 years of family work.
Circular questions from 20+ years of practice: five classics that work in almost every family conversation — and why they do.
What you technically need, what is well received, what should be avoided — a practice report from outreach family work and mobile counselling.
Information gaps in a genogram are themselves information. Practical strategies: pseudonyms, speculation markers, and the later-addition principle.
Violence, addiction, abuse, separation: six bridging techniques from systemic practice that open up even delicate family topics without injury.
A pragmatic integration of two methods: when it makes sense to combine them in one session — and when it does not. With a mini case example.
Once the genogram is on paper — what next? Testing hypotheses, activating resources, prompting movement. Practice insights into the underestimated second session.
Clients sometimes bring their own materials — photo albums, hand-drawn family trees, family papers. What does that mean? How do you handle it professionally?
The triadic setting with language and integration mediators: building trust, adapting method, and the invisible third person in the room.
When clients reject the drawn genogram — "That's not who we are": four strategies from systemic practice. Re-reading, polyphony, iteration and holding silence.
Some clients refuse to answer, fall silent, relativize, or withdraw inwardly from the room. What lies behind this — and how can one work with it productively?