In this video series I will demonstrate how to construct a genogram inside Visio. I have used a fictitious family as an example. I tried to make it complicated in order to demonstrate the use of several possible elements of a genogram. This is part 1 of the series and covers some helpful shortcuts and getting Visio set up.

Genograms are an Important visual for communicating information about a family. They
Convey a lot of information about family structure
Promote engagement with families
Encourages health care providers to think family
Facilitates assessment

Visio was chosen because it is user-friendly and integrates well with Microsoft word. Of the programs I tried it was the easiest to learn. I taught myself in under a week without instructions, but having instructions would have made it much easier.
Be sure to check out the links in the description below this video for helpful websites and files to get you started.

Google Drive Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...

Visio keyboard shortcuts: http://www.x-visual.com/en/p-id-softw...

Genograms in Visio Part 2: Shapes that represent people and colour coding of illnesses.    • Genograms in Visio Part 2: Shapes tha...  

Genograms in Visio Part 3: Connections, Relationships, Children and Households.    • Genograms in Visio Part 3: Connection...  

Guidelines
Typically 3 generations
Include significant data about each individual
Simple and easy to understand / use
Start with the immediate household
Construct the genogram around one parent than the other (instead of going back and forth)
Use clinical judgement to decide how much detail about extended family is needed
It may be necessary to use multiple genograms for complex situations
Children from multiple marriages should be shown in the correct birth order when possible

How to construct the legend
Each time you add a symbol to your genogram copy/paste it into your legend with the appropriate label

Before you begin draw a rough sketch of your genogram so you know approximately how much space elements will take. This planning will help you decide if you want your drawing to be in portrait or landscape as well as give you a rough idea where to put your shapes.

To start, open Visio and select the basic diagram option. Select whichever units you wish to use and click on create.

You will see basic shapes on the left. Drag a circle and square on to the workspace. The default size is too large since you need to fit approximately 3 generations on the page. Resize them by clicking and dragging on the corner. Make both the same size using the green dynamic grid that automatically shows up. It is easy to resize everything later so don’t worry if you are not sure how large to make them.

Pick the colour scheme you want to use under the design tab. I recommend something plain as colours will be used later for relevant assessment information. If you are using the black and white theme like I am it will make it a bit easier to construct some of the advanced shapes. I recommend changing the size of the lines to 2 points. A thicker line will look better if you need to resize the image inside word.

Right click on one of your shapes and select “format shape.” Doing so will open a helpful menu on the right that you can use at anytime to adjust the look of shapes and lines.
Format your shapes the way you want them to look. From now on I recommend using control c and control v to copy and paste a new shape based on these ones each time you want to add a shape to your genogram. This approach will save a lot of time.

I also recommend going to the view tab, in the show section, and enabling the grid view. This grid will help you know where to place your shapes and will not show in the final genogram.

In part 2 learn how to construct the shapes to represent different kinds of people.

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