The spiritual genogram provides a familiar tool with which to explore this important area in clients lives and relationships. Therefore, in the same way that therapists are obligated to develop skills and sensitivity to issues such as race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and class, there is an ethical duty to develop expertise in addressing religious and spiritual concerns with their clients (Shafranske, 1996).
![family therapy 3 generation genogram family therapy 3 generation genogram](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/ab/45/ff/ab45ff8bfc3e0e6a8b9d976c6631d506--black-families-family-therapy.jpg)
Some writers even suggest that many clients can be treated successfully only if their spiritual issues are addressed (Bergin, 1991 Kelly, 1995 Shafranske, 1996 Worthington, Kurusu, McCullough, & Sanders, 1996). In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in and demand for attention to spiritual issues in therapy (Richards & Bergin, 1997 Walsh, 1999). Box, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, CO, April 2000 JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FMILY THERAPY 211ΔΆ lives is a dimension that affects the way they function. Despite some therapists discomfort in working with religious or spiritual issues, this aspect of clients Marsha Wiggins Frame, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education at the University of Colorado at Denver, and a United Methodist minister. Marriage and family therapists personal experiences with religiodspirituality and their assumptions about it also shape their approach to working with clients concerns (Frame, 1996 Stander, Piercy, MacKinnon, & Helmeke, 1994). Others mistrust religion and spirituality and view it as either unscientific or pathological (Butler, 1990 Rest & Keller, 1993). THE SPIRITUAL GENOGRAM PROCESS Rationale Despite the fact that most Americans report that they believe in God and 75% call themselves religious (Cadwallader, 1991), many marriage and family therapists feel challenged to deal with clients religious/spiritual beliefs and practices and lack training in this area (Collins, Hurst, & Jacobson, 1987 Genia, 1994 Shafranske & Malony, 1990). The purpose of this article is to describe how to construct a spiritual genogram for use with families.
![family therapy 3 generation genogram family therapy 3 generation genogram](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/12/d7/a6/12d7a6c0d79bbccb1654ccccc249d39e.jpg)
The spiritual genogram enables clients to gain a new perspective on ways in which their religious/spiritual heritage continues to affect their current beliefs and practices. Used specifically to identify spiritual and religious issues, the spiritual genogram provides clinicians with a tool for approaching an aspect of family life that is rarely addressed in therapy. The genogram has been particularly useful in helping clients learn about the transmission of family patterns across generations and to reduce emotional reactivity in therapy (Kuehl, 1995). Family members perceptions of the nature of their relationships, such as cuttofs, conflict, and alliances, are also included (Friedman, Rohrbaugh, & Krakauer, 1988). It includes family structure and composition, using symbols to depict family membership, biological, emotional, and legal relationships, and nodal events (McGoldrick et al., 1999). A genogram is a blueprint of multiple generations of a family. Although much early writing about genograms was approached from a Bowenian theoretical perspective (Carter & Orfanidis, 1976 Guerin & Pendagast, 1976 Pendagast & Sherman, 1977), currently, family therapists schooled in a variety of theories employ the genogram in their work with different populations (Carter & McGoldrick, 1998 Doherty & Baird, 1983 Garcia Reto, 1996 Hardy & Laszloffy, 1995 Kuehl, 1995, 1996 McGoldrick, Gerson, & Shellenberger, 1999 Magnuson, Norem, & Skinner, 1995 Wachtel, 1982). The genogram has long been a popular tool used by therapists to gather information about families over many generations. Used as a tool in family therapy, the spiritual genogram enables clients to make sense of their families religious/spiritual heritage and to explore the ways in which their experiences impact present couple or family issues.
![family therapy 3 generation genogram family therapy 3 generation genogram](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLl8ndp2-ZU/UCvtnXxmZuI/AAAAAAAAARY/fCbG7yo_4vs/s1600/GENOGRAM%2BVOORBEELD.jpg)
In this article, I describe a spiritual genogram that is a rnultigenerational map of family members religious and spiritual afdiations, events, and conflicts. 2, THE SPIRITUAL GENOGRAM IN FAMILY THERAPY Marsha Wiggins Frame University of Colorado at Denver Spiritual and religious issues ofen su~ace during marital and family therapy.
![family therapy 3 generation genogram family therapy 3 generation genogram](https://venngage-wordpress.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/06/10-Genogram-Examples-and-How-to-Create-Them.png)
1 Journal of Marital and Family Therapy April 2000,Vol.