GenoPro: A practical solution
for Psychologists
GenoPro offers a solution for gathering family and psychosocial
information from your clients in an accessible format. As a result of
using GenoPro, you will have a better understanding of the background
and the issues present in a family unit, and you will be better prepared
to help people find ways of dealing with their mental health problems.
GenoPro allows you to create psychosocial genograms that illustrate the
emotional and social relationships in which your client is involved.
Psychosocial genograms help psychologists acquire the objective and
consistent information needed to view the client’s issues in the larger
context of their marital relationship, family relationships and culture
of origin. They allow them to incorporate family dynamics and
psychosocial issues in client therapy. Genograms are central to the
family history of each client and can serve many purposes in marital,
family or individual therapy.
Family
Genograms created with GenoPro provide a visual display of the family
and the complexities of family relationships. They provide a quick
visual reference of various categories of family information that can
influence the physical and emotional health of a client: family
structure, pattern repetition in families,
family relationships, and family balance and imbalance. For
example, a genogram may demonstrate that a couple in marital counseling
recently dealt with a stillbirth. Intervention and comforting support
can make all the difference to the survival a marriage in this type of
grief, but the risk factors are great. The parents may be dealing with
feelings of guilt, and the dependent nature of the relationship disposes
these parents to a variety of marital problems as they seek to cope with
this great loss. Inquiring about family relationships communicates
strongly to the client that you believe family factors influence mental
health, that you are open to discussions on family matters.
Emotional relationships
Emotional matters play a key role in psychology. GenoPro allows you to
visualize emotional bonds between individuals composing a family or
social unit. Each type of
emotional relationship is uniquely designed and color-coded for easy
assessment of the level of cohesiveness within a family or a group. For
example, a 13-year-old slightly overweight female who suffers from an
eating disorder may have a conflictual relationship with her mother, a
fitness instructor. The genogram may also show that her parents have a
distant relationship. It has been demonstrated that eating disorders are
pathologies with multiple causalities, and that in the families of many
eating disorder patients, there are variable levels of communication
difficulties among the members, and serious worrying about weight and
body image by some members of the family (besides the patient). As a
psychologist, the information provided by the genogram may prove to be
invaluable in helping your client recognize some of the important
factors that may have had a role to play in her disease.
Social relationships
GenoPro also allows you to include the
social relationships in which your client is involved. You can
illustrate the places they attend such as schools, churches, youth
facilities, associations or senior residences. You can also illustrate
the people and places that relate to the client’s life. For example, a
28 year old female client who suffers from inhibited sexual desire may
come for therapy because her medical evaluation and lab tests did not
reveal a physical cause for the problem. The genogram may illustrate
that she grew up in a strict religious upbringing; she attended a
Christian school and was an active member at her church. Upon
discussion, she seems to have many insecurities regarding sex and may
need some counseling and reassurance. With the use of genograms, your
ability to connect seemingly individual problems to underlying family
and social structures will allow you to have a helping practice that
moves beyond a narrow focus on individual pathology and victim blaming.
Genetics
GenoPro allows you to understand the genetic disposition of individuals
for certain diseases. The genogram graphically portrays inherited risk
for specific health problems and suggests strategies for the assessment
and care of these health problems. For example, a genogram may
demonstrate that a 30 year old male with symptoms of bipolar disorder
actually has a family history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
This type of family history creates a genetic vulnerability which can
significantly increase the likelihood of him developing the disorder.
Other factors may be involved, such as stressful events or major life
transitions, or past or present drug use, all things that may be
displayed in a genogram. Displaying family illness patterns can pave the
way for patient education about risky situations. Highlighting a family
tendency of depression, alcoholism, substance abuse, or violence may
encourage the client to be particularly aware of these issues in their
own lives and may help you lead your client to empowerment and
liberation.
Reports
Standard symbols and codes have been developed so that genograms can be
read and interpreted systematically. GenoPro also allows you generate
detailed reports with a simple click of the mouse. These reports will
allow you to incorporate family dynamics and psychosocial issues in your
counseling approach.
A practical solution
Genograms can be done during the initial session with almost every new
client. Once you have included a genogram in their personal file, it can
continue to serve as a "family scorecard" for subsequent sessions. The
psychologist who scans a client's genogram before a counseling session
can quickly review the basic family situation. Not only will you be able
to make a careful risk assessment, but clients will be able use this
tool as a lens to look at themselves in the context of their family. By
using GenoPro, you will be able to quickly evaluate the context
surrounding your client’s life and find ways, with the patient, of
coping with, eliminating, or altering certain social behaviors and
situations to promote overall mental health.
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