Thefield offamily counseling has recognized the importance of context on individuals' lives. However, few tools for assessing the influence of culture exist. This article describes the multicultural genogram, which assesses both the culture and worldview offamily members. The multicultural genogram can be used to assess cultural factors as well as to establish rapport with diverse families. Cultural variables explored in the genogram include race, ethnicity, gender, immigration, social class, and spirituality. Clinical examples are provided.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, J. D.
(1991). Group work with families: A multicultural perspective. Social Work With Groups, 13(4), 85-101.
2.
Arnold, M. S.
(1993). Ethnicity and training in marital and family therapists. Counselor Education and Supervision, 33, 139-147.
3.
Boyd-Franklin, N.
(1989). Black families in therapy A multi-system approach. New York: Guilford.
4.
Boyd-Franklin, N.
(1993). Race, class, and poverty. In F Walsh (Ed.), Normalfamily processes (pp. 361-376). New York: Guilford.
5.
Breunlin, D. C.
, Schwartz, R. C., & Kune-Karrer, B. M. (1992). Metaframeworks: Transcending the models offamily therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
6.
Canino, I. A.
, & Spurlock, J. (1994). Culturally diverse children and adolescents: Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. New York: Guildford.
7.
Comas-Diaz, L.
(1994). An integrative approach. In L. Comas-Diaz & B. Green (Eds.), Women of color: Integrating ethnic and gender identities in psychotherapy (pp. 287-318). New York: Guilford.
8.
Cross, W. E., Jr.
(1995). The psychology of nigrescence: Revising the Cross model. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.) Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 93-122). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
9.
David, A. B.
, & Erickson, C. A. (1990). Ethnicity and the therapist's use of self. Family Therapy, 27(3), 211-216.
10.
Falicov, C. J.
(1995) Training to think culturally: A multidimensional comparative framework. Family Process, 34, 373-388.
11.
Falicov, C. J.
, & Brudner-White, L. (1983). Shifting the family triangle: The issue of cultural and contextual relativity. In J. C. Hansen & C. J. Falicov, (Eds.), Cultural perspectives in family therapy: The family therapy collections (pp. 51-67). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
12.
Greene, B. A.
(1992). Racial socialization as a tool in psychotherapy with African American children. In L. A. Vargas & J. D. Koss-Chioino (Eds.), Working with culture: Psychotherapeutic strategies with ethnic minority children and adolescents (pp. 63-81). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
13.
Gushue, G. V.
(1993). Cultural-identity development and family assessment: An interaction model. The Counseling Psychologist, 21, 487-513.
14.
Hardy, K. V.
(1997). Steps toward becoming culturally competent. Family Therapy News, 28(2), 13-13, 19-19.
15.
Hardy, K. V.
, & Laszloffy, T. A. (1992). Training racially sensitive family therapists: Context, content, and contact. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 73(6), 364-370.
16.
Hardy, K. V.
, & Laszloffy, T. A. (1995). The cultural genogram: Key to training culturally competent family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 21, 227-237.
17.
Helms, J. E.
(1990). Black and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Greenwood.
18.
Helms, J. E.
(1995). An update of Helm's White and people of color racial identity models. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 181-198). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
Hightower, N. A.
, Rodriguez, S., & Adams, J. (1983). Ethnically mixed co-therapy with families. Family Therapy, 10(2), 105-110.
20.
Hines, P.
, Garcia-Preto, N., McGoldrick, M., Almeida, R., & Weltman, S. (1992). Intergenerational relationships across cultures. Families in Society, 73(6), 323-338.
21.
Ho, M. K.
(1987). Family therapy with ethnic minorities. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
22.
Ibrahim, F
(1985). Effective cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy: A framework. The Counseling Psychologist, 13, 625-638.
23.
Johnson, A. C.
(1995). Resiliency mechanisms in culturally diverse families. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 3, 316-324.
24.
Landau, J.
(1982). Therapy with families in cultural transition. In M. McGoldrick, J. K. Pearce, & J. Giordano (Eds.), Ethnicity in family therapy (pp. 552-572). New York: Guilford.
25.
Lappin, J.
(1983). On becoming a culturally conscious family therapist. In J. C. Hansen & C. J. Falicov (Eds.), Culturalperspectives infamily therapy: The family therapy collections (pp. 122-135). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
26.
McGill, D. W.
(1983). Cultural concepts for family therapy. In J. C. Hansen & C. J. Falicov (Eds.), Cultural perspectives in family therapy: The family therapy collections (pp. 108-121). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
27.
McGill, D. W.
(1992). The cultural story in multicultural family therapy. Families in Society, 73(6), 339-349.
28.
McGoldrick, M.
(1993). Ethnicity, cultural diversity, and normality. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normalfamily process (2nd ed., pp. 331-360). New York: Guilford.
29.
McGoldrick, M.
, & Gerson, R. (1985). Genograms in family assessment. New York: W. W. Norton.
30.
McGoldrick, M.
, & Giordano, J. (1996). Overview: Ethnicity and family therapy. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & J. K. Pearce (Eds.), Ethnicity andfamily therapy (2nd ed., pp. 1-27). New York: Guilford.
31.
McGoldrick, M.
, Giordano, J., & Pearce, J. K. (Eds.). (1996). Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
32.
McGoldrick, M.
, Pearce, J., & Giordano, J. K. (Eds.). (1982). Ethnicity and family therapy. New York: Guilford.
33.
Montalvo, B.
, & Gutierrez, M. J. (1983). A perspective for the use of the cultural dimension in family therapy. In J. C. Hansen & C. J. Falicov (Eds.), Cultural perspectives in family therapy: The family therapy collections (pp. 15-32). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
34.
Montalvo, B.
, & Gutierrez, M. J. (1989). Nine assumptions for working with ethnic minority families. In G. W. Saba, B. M. Karrer, & K. V. Hardy (Eds.), Minorities andfamily therapy. New York: Haworth Press.
35.
Paniagua, F. A.
(1996). Cross-cultural guidelines in family therapy. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 4(2), 127-138.
36.
Phinney, J. S.
(1996). When we talk about American ethnic groups, what do we mean?American Psychologist, 51, 918-927.
37.
Pinderhughes, E.
(1995). Empowering diverse populations: Family practice in the 21st century. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 76, 131-140.
38.
Preli, R.
, & Bernard, J. M. (1993). Making multiculturalism relevant for majority culture graduate students. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 19(1), 5-16.
39.
Ross, J. L.
, & Phipps, E. J. (1986). Understanding the family in multiple cultural contexts: Avoiding therapeutic traps. Contemporary Family Therapy, 8, 255-263.
40.
Saba, G. W.
, Karrer, B. M., & Hardy, K. V. (1989). Minorities andfamily therapy. New York: Haworth.
41.
Saba, G. W.
, & Rodgers, D. V. (1989). Discrimination in urban family practice: Lessons from minority poor families. In G. W. Saba, B. M. Karrer, & K. V. Hardy (Eds.), Minorities and family therapy. New York: Haworth.
42.
Schwartzman, J.
(1983). Family ethnography: A tool for clinicians. In J. C. Hansen & C. J. Falicov (Eds.), Cultural perspectives in family therapy: The family therapy collections (pp. 122-135). Rockville, MD: Aspen.
43.
Speight, S. L.
, Myers, L. J., Cox, C. I., & Highlen, P. S. (1991). A redefinition of multicultural counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 29-36.
44.
Spiegel, J.
(1982). An ecological model of ethnic families. In M. McGoldrick, J. K. Pearce, & J. Giordano (Eds.), Ethnicity in family therapy (pp. 31-51). New York: Guilford.
45.
Stevenson, H. C.
(1994). Validation of the Scale of Racial Socialization for African American adolescents: Steps toward multidimensionality. Journal of Black Psychology, 20, 445-468.
46.
Sue, D. W.
, & Sue, D. (1990). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley.
47.
Szapocznik, J.
, & Kurtines, N. M. (1993). Family psychology and cultural diversity. American Psychologist, 48(4), 400-407.
