The CritG is a visual tool that maps family relations and larger social forces. It is used to (a) explore identities within sociopolitical and historical contexts, and (b) identify how systems of oppression shape our lives and experiences.
Unlike the traditional genogram, the CritG facilitates examination of power relations surrounding social locations.
The purpose of the CritG is to raise critical consciousness. Critical consciousness is defined as an ability to recognize and understand systems of oppression and privilege and to take action to resist oppression. The development of critical consciousness is important in family therapy training because it contributes to therapist competence in clinical assessment, treatment, and ethics. That is, in the process of developing critical consciousness, therapists are challenged to explore power dynamics involved in defining and maintaining particular social locations, be it their own or their clients’. This enables therapists to incorporate into case conceptualizations an understanding of how sociopolitical and economic systems create and maintain human experiences. In turn, conceptualizations informed by such understanding increase therapists’ ability to validate human experiences and establish therapeutic alliance.
The traditional genogram format forms a basis for the CritG. It should be noted, however, that other social mapping tools, such as the African American genogram, may serve as a basis for the CritG, as well.
We found the use of transparencies to be helpful in depicting each layer of oppression and/or privilege. A family map (e.g., the traditional genogram) is drawn on a piece of paper and systems of privilege and oppression are drawn on transparencies. Positioned on top of each other, transparencies create a visual of intersections of various forms of oppression/privilege.
Geometric shapes such as squares, circles, and arrows may be used to depict relationships among different social forces that operate within particular families. For example, rectangles may be used to denote each of the larger social structures (i.e., communities, social groups, and nations) that play an important role in family members’ social identities, whereas symbols for closeness and conflict and arrows may be used to depict relational dynamics among these countries. Symbols for closeness and conflict, which are traditionally used to represent relationships among individual human beings, may also be used to represent relationships among communities, social groups, or nations or relationships between individuals and larger social entities.
Similarly, arrows may be used to represent access to resources and power larger social entities, as well as among individuals; thicker arrows may be used to indicate more power and/or greater access to resources, whereas thinner arrows may be used to indicate less power.
Published article:
Kosutic, I., Garcia, M., et al. (2009). The Critical Genogram: A Tool for Promoting Critical Consciousness. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 21 (3), 151-176.
