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Running Head: GENOGRAM AND ECOMAP

Family Genogram and Ecomap Assignment

Lindsey Brain

College of New Caledonia

Prince George, BC, Canada

Nursing 203

Instructor: Vasiliki Douglas

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Appendices

Appendix 1 - Genogram page 7

Appendix 2 – Ecomap page 8

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Family Genogram and Ecomap Assignment

In 1945, Mark Waters Brain married Edna Herd in Wheatley Hill, England. In 1946,

Frederick Thomas Brown wed Mary Maud Stephens in the United States. Keith was the first

born in the Brain family, and he was followed by one sister. Carol was the second child born in a

set of identical twins in the Brown family, and they were followed by a brother after a

miscarriage. In 1978, Keith and Carol were married in a small church in Victoria, British

Columbia. Their first born, Kevin, came in 1981, and Lindsey (the author) followed two years

later, both born in Prince George. In the following summary, topics of discussion are our family’s

health influences and events experienced over the three generations, our family strengths, a

potential community resource that may lead to strengthening our needs for wellness and a brief

summary of my experiences during the process of completing this assignment. Lastly, a key

influence or concept will be analyzed as to how it relates to our family.

Summary of Genogram and Ecomap

Mark Waters Brain lived to be 84 years old. He was always in relatively good health, as

he walked every morning for an hour. Aside from milder health issues such as losing most of his

hearing and dealing with a sensitive stomach, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years

prior to his passing. However, this was a well-managed cancer. He died February 11 th, 2006 due

to a form of lung cancer caused by asbestos that he used when working as a shipwright

throughout his work life. Edna Brain (formerly Herd) is 82 years old and living in Victoria, B.C.

Her health history consists of stomach issues related to peptic ulcers, and most recently, she

underwent surgery for a complete hysterectomy due to ovarian cysts. Mark and Edna’s son Keith

is 60 years old and living in good health with a mild hearing impairment. His sister Patricia is 57

and suffers from anxiety.

On my mother’s side, her father Frederick Thomas Brown suffered a heart attack and
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died at the age of 66. For many years, he suffered from alcoholism and hypertension. Mary Maud

Brown (formerly Stephens) suffered from a heart arrhythmia and osteo and rheumatoid arthritis

in later life. In July, 1995, she passed away from cardiac arrest. Their identical twin daughters are

Mary Elizabeth and Carol Ann (59), and their son is John Frederick Thomas (57). In her early

twenties, Mary was diagnosed with a hole in her heart and underwent surgery to correct it. She

has also had two melanomas and basal cell skin cancer removed and has osteoarthritis. Both

Mary and my mother Carol have a heart arrhythmia like their mother. Carol has also dealt with

basal cell skin cancer like her twin sister. She suffers from hypertension brought on first by

pregnancy and later exacerbated by stress in her former profession, and has suffered with

osteoarthritis for twenty years.

As for the children in our family, Kevin (27) and Lindsey (25) are in good health,

the youngest suffering from mild anxiety and depression. Within the family, there is a history of

assorted cancers, hypertension, heart arrhythmias, anxiety, and arthritis.

Within the immediate family, Carol’s hypertension is the biggest and most important

health issue. We are all aware of its severity and do our best to support and promote good health

not only to Carol, but to each other. A second health influence is stress. We each have our own

way of dealing with stress, but we are also supportive of each other in times of high stress. An

example of this would be when Grandfather Mark and Grandmother Mary passed away. With the

loss of these two family members, we came together as a unit and helped each other through the

hardest of times emotionally. We are relatively open with our feelings, concerns and are not shy

about asking other family members health/wellness related questions. Our opinions are of high

value with each other. As a family we have many strengths. We are in relatively good health, and

any new or ongoing health and emotional issues are dealt with as they occur as a family. We all
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have a good relationship with our family doctor, which helps.

As we all live within the same community, the family is exposed to the same available

resources in Prince George. For example, there are public sessions on how to manage stress,

hypertension and the pain of arthritis. Carol uses a massage therapist regularly to help with pain

management related to her arthritis and Lindsey has sought the assistance of a local counselor to

help her cope with depression and anxiety. From that experience, Lindsey was able to help her

family gain a greater understanding of her condition and how they can help her cope.

This experience has taught me that knowing and understanding our family health history

and present conditions is very important, as it keeps us informed on what to be careful of and

what signs and symptoms are pertinent to these conditions and diseases. It has also educated me

about my family in general, and how we interact with one another as individuals and as a whole.

I have a greater understanding for the importance of a family’s cohesiveness and how to maintain

this status by keeping open lines of communication and to be as supportive to one another as

possible. Perhaps the most important lesson in this process was learning about the deaths of my

Grandparents on my mother’s side and the issues surrounding these deaths, and I was either

unborn or too young to completely understand all factors involved. If I were to do another

assignment like this, I would be interested in focusing on the personal relationships within our

family, such as how my parents interacted with their parents and siblings, etc.

Critical Analysis

The key influence pertaining to my family is chronic illness, specifically chronic pain

related to arthritis. According to the textbook Nurses and Families, commending family and

individual strengths is important in the intervention process (Wright & Leahey 2005). Offering

information and opinions, validating emotional responses, encouraging talking about illnesses,
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gathering family support and caregiving as well as developing rituals are all very important

aspects of intervening with a family member suffering from arthritis related pain (Wright &

Leahey 2005).

If I were to come across information related to my mother’s arthritic pain, I would relay

the new information back to her in hopes of it being of some use to how she copes with daily

aches and pains. Sometimes the pain is so much that my mother has an emotional response, such

as feeling somewhat helpless and down. It is my responsibility, along with my other family

members, to be supportive emotionally and to validate her feelings. I also encourage her to talk

about her thoughts and feelings whenever they arise in conversation, as does my father. I

encourage exercise and staying active as a form of physical and emotional therapy, as I believe it

is important to maintain consistent in these areas when living with arthritis.

Within these domains of family functioning (Wright & Leahey 2005), I believe such

interventions can influence positive changes and help continue to encourage my mother to

maintain good health and wellness practices and to keep appropriate balance in her life to aid her

in living with a chronic illness. As for the remaining family members, it is only natural for us to

offer our support and encouragement as often as possible.

 Appendix 1

11/06/1910 - 15/10/1976 16/07/1910 - 21/07/1995

22/09/1922 - 02/11/2006 28/12/1925
66 85
84 82
Frederick Mary
Mark Edna Thomas Maud
Waters Herd Brow n Stephens
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11/12/1947 18/07/1951 27/05/1949 25/05/1949

60 57 59 59
Brow n
Keith Patricia Mary Carol
Brain Brain Elizabeth Ann
Brow n Brow n 02/03/1951
57

16/06/1981 14/07/1983 John Frederick

Thomas Brow n
27 25

Kevin Lindsey
Nicholas Ann
Brain Brain

Genogram Symbols

?
Male Female Unknow n Pet Adopted Foster Pregnancy Miscarriage Abortion Death Tw ins Identical Tw ins
Gender Child Child
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Appendix 2
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Work
Family
Family
Art/Decor

Theatre
Community
Volunteering

Strong
Attraction

Slight
Attraction
Hunting Friends
Slight
Attraction

Very Slight
Attraction Keith Carol
60 59
Stressful
School
connection
Friends
School

Family

Lindsey Kevin
25 27
Soccer

Soccer

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References

Wright, L. M., Leahey, M. (2005). Nurses and Families: a guide to family assessment and

intervention, 4th Edition (153-176).

Geneology Software, Genopro. Retrieved Septemer 30th, 2008 from http://www.genopro.com.

Ecomap Software, Smart Draw. Retrieved Septeber 30th, 2008 from

http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/ecomap.htm