This exercise has two goals: (1) to help you explore how we develop and grow in community; and (2) to use imagery as positive resources to help us identify strengths. These images can be used at other points in therapy.

These goals are particularly important as a community genogram can help us see ourselves (or our clients) in a greater context as well as to assist us (and our clients) in recognizing that they do have positive resources in the community. Many times we are tempted to focus first on the problems we (and our clients) face.

First, develop a visual representation of your community:

• Choose a piece of paper to represent your community or culture. This may be any community in the past or present.

• Place yourself in this community, representing yourself in any way you want.

• Draw your family/ies, representing them in any way you want. Add any other groups in your community that are important or influential to you -- neighbors, work, school, CYS, your advisor, etc.

• Connect lines between these groups or individuals. You may choose to use different kinds of lines to describe different kinds of relationships. For example:

  positive and supportive relationships:

  distant relationships:

  problematic/conflictual relationships:

• If your relationship is primarily unidirectional, add arrows indicating the direction of influence.

• Add significant influencing events or ideas on your life (i.e., your sister's illness, being the only Latina in your community, influential ideas from childhood).

Now, talk about what you find. You might think about the following questions: Do you have enough support? Is the support positive and in useful places? How does it leave you feeling about yourself? How has it changed across time and, if it has, how does this leave you feeling about yourself? Do the places that you are not supported tell you about what you want or don't want from your life?

How does your support and the impact of major life events and ideas support you as well as challenge you? What positive assets you can walk away with from this? (Modified from Rigazio-DiGilio, Ivey, & Kunkler-Peck, 2005)

Page by jms
URL= http://psy1.clarion.edu/jms/cptcommgeno.html

Last updated May 27, 2005