D O C T O R S’ C O L L E G E

CA L A M B A
r ou g h Subd ., lamba City
P ar i a n C a
Virb o

WH AT IS AN E C OM A P ?

CHN SKILLS LAB.

BSN 2
WHAT IS AN ECOMAP?
ECOMAPS ECOMAPS ARE ONE TYPE OF VISUAL TOOL,
WHICH PROVIDES USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT AN
INDIVIDUAL AND HIS OR HER CONNECTIONS TO THE
EXTERNAL WORLD. THESE VISUAL TOOLS ARE USUALLY
FILLED BY A COUNSELOR OR MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO HELP
UNDERSTAND THE INDIVIDUAL IN QUESTION BETTER.
HARTMAN DEVELOPED THIS SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
• 1975 SO THAT DEPICTING THE ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM, WHICH
ENCOMPASSES THE SOCIETY, BECOMES POSSIBLE.
• THESE VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS ARE QUITE LIKE
GENOGRAMS. HOWEVER, WHILE GENOGRAMS SHOW THE
MAKE-UP OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S FAMILY OR SURROUNDING,
ECOMAPS SHOW WHO ARE IN THE INDIVIDUAL’S NETWORK,
THE CONNECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL WITH THEM, AND SO
MANY MORE.
• AS A WHOLE, ECOMAPS ARE USEFUL FOR UNDERSTANDING
THE RELATIONSHIPS IN A FAMILY, SOCIETY, COMMUNITY,
AND OTHERS.
• WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN AN ECOMAP?
• AN ECOMAP USUALLY CENTERS THE INDIVIDUAL IN
QUESTION, WHICH CAN BE A YOUNG MEMBER OF THE
FAMILY OR ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. VARIOUS
SHAPES ARE USED IN AN ECOMAP TO CONNECT OTHER
MEMBERS OF THE ECOMAP WITH THE CENTRAL ONE.
HOWEVER, BASED ON THE TYPE, AN ECOMAP USUALLY
INCLUDES SOME COMMON CONNECTIONS. AS ECOMAPS
ARE COMMONLY USED FOR FAMILY CONNECTIONS, HERE
• ARE SOME CONNECTIONS THAT ARE COMMONLY
INCLUDED IN A FAMILY ECOMAP.
• SCHOOLING
• FRIENDS
• EXTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS
• RELIGIOUS CONNECTION, I.E., PLACE OF WORSHIP
• SOCIAL SERVICES
• MEDICAL HEALTH SERVICES
• COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
• SPORTS TEAM
• SOCIAL CLUBS
• PLACE OF WORK
• HOBBIES
• THESE ARE SOME COMMON ONES TO INCLUDE IN A FAMILY
ECOMAP.

•ECOMAP SYMBOLS
• ECOMAPS INCLUDE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SYMBOLS, MOST
OF WHICH ARE LINES, TO CONNECT THE CENTERED
INDIVIDUAL WITH THE REST. IN TERMS OF RELATIONSHIPS,
THE LINES AND THEIR MEANING ARE AS FOLLOWS.
• SOURCE: EDRAWMAX ONLINE
• THICKER LINES: 
• THESE LINES AREOFTEN DARKER IF NOT THICKER. IN AN
ECOMAP, THEY DENOTE STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN THE TWO ENDS OF THE LINE. IN SOME CASES,
TWO LINES ARE DRAWN TO DENOTE THE SAME, STRONG
AND POSITIVE, CONNECTION.
• CURVY LINES: 
• THESE LINES ARE OFTEN RED IN COLOR WHEN NOT CURVEY
• IN A FAMILY ECOMAP OR ANY TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP ECOMAPS,
THESE LINES INDICATE A STRESSFUL AND NEGATIVE
RELATIONSHIP. IN SOME CASES, SUCH LINES ARE BROKEN TO
INDICATE THE SOURCE.
• SINGLE LINES: 
• ARROWS HAVE A BLUNT END AND A POINTY END. AS
COMMONLY INTERPRETED, THE POINTY END OF THE ARROW
INDICATES THE DIRECTION TOWARDS SOMETHING. HENCE,
WHEN THE ARROW IS POINTING TO THE CLIENT, I.E., THE
CENTER, IT MEANS THE FLOW OF INFLUENCE IS DIRECTED TO
• THE INDIVIDUAL IN QUESTION. AND WHEN THE ARROW IS
POINTING TO ONE OR MORE SYSTEMS OF THE CENTER, IT
INDICATES A FLOW OF INTEREST FROM THE CENTERED
INDIVIDUAL TO THE POINTED MEMBER. IN SOME CASES, THE
ARROW IS POINTED TO BOTH PARTIES. IN THAT CASE, IT
INDICATES THE FLOW OF INFLUENCE TO BOTH DIRECTIONS.
• CURVY OR RED LINES MEAN THAT THE SYSTEM IS A
STRESSFUL RELATIONSHIP
• THICKER (DARKER) LINES MEAN STRONGER RELATIONSHIP
• COMMON USE CASES OF ECOMAP:
• ECOMAPS HAVE A NUMBER OF COMMON USES.
THE MOST COMMON USE CASE OF ECOMAP IS ASSESSING THE
• OF ECOMAP IS ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF CONNECTIONS
A YOUNG FAMILY MEMBER HAS WITH HIS OR HER OTHER
MEMBERS.
• ANOTHER COMMON USE CASE OF ECOMAP IS BY SOCIAL
WORKERS TO DETERMINE THE CONNECTION QUALITY ONE
HAS WITH OTHER MEMBERS AND ELEMENTS OF THE
SOCIETY.
• ECOMAPS ARE ALSO USED IN NURSING TO DETERMINE AN
• EFFECTIVE WAY OF INTERVENTION AND PROVIDING TREATMENT.
• WHAT IS AN ECOMAP IN NURSING?
• ONE OF THE COMMON SECTORS THAT ECOMAPS ARE USED IN IS
NURSING. IN MEDICAL SCIENCE, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE
ASSESSMENTS ARE ACCURATE OR AS CLOSE TO ACCURATE AS
POSSIBLE. THAT IS WHY NURSES CREATE ECOMAPS TO HAVE THE
PROPER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PATIENT.

•IT HELPS THEM IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS AND PLAN THE

INTERVENTIONS ACCORDINGLY.
•IT ALSO GIVES THE NURSES DIRECTION TOWARDS IDENTIFYING
THE STRENGTH OF THE EXISTING GAPS SO THAT IT GETS EASY TO
FILL THEM IN.
• WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECOMAP AND GENOGRAM?
• BOTH GENOGRAMS AND ECOMAPS ARE VISUALIZATION TOOLS.
HOWEVER, THEY HAVE THEIR DIFFERENCES.
• A GENOGRAM PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT A FAMILY TREE THAT
INCLUDES THE MEDICAL HISTORY, RELATIONAL INTIMACY, MENTAL
HEALTH HISTORY AND SO ON.
•BY STUDYING A GENOGRAM, ONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE
FAMILIAL PATTERNS, BOTH HEREDITARY AND PERVASIVE.
• ON THE OTHER HAND, ECOMAPS ARE SIMPLER THAN
GENOGRAMS, AND THEY SPEAK ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS OF
THE INDIVIDUAL IN QUESTION WITH HIS SURROUNDINGS.
• WHAT IS AN ECOMAP OF A FAMILY?
• A FAMILY ECOMAP PLACES THE FAMILY IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE ECOMAP GRAPHIC OR DRAWING AND LINKS THE
FAMILY OR INDIVIDUAL FAMILY MEMBERS TO THEIR SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT USING VARIOUS LINES. DOING SO SERVES
AS AN UNDERSTANDABLE VISUAL OF THE FAMILY'S
CONNECTION TO THEIR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND
HIGHLIGHTS AREAS THAT MAY BE LACKING.
• UNDERSTANDING YOUR OWN FAMILY ECOMAP CAN HELP YOU
FURTHER PROCESS WHERE YOUR FAMILY CAN IMPROVE
SOCIALLY IN TERMS OF SUPPORT, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AS
WELL AS SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAMS.
•  HOW DO YOU CREATE A FAMILY ECOMAP?
• ECOMAPS WILL VARY IN TERMS OF COMPLEXITY, BUT IN
GENERAL, AN ECOMAP WILL HAVE A KEY THAT OFFERS SYMBOLS,
AS WELL AS MULTIPLE CIRCLES THAT CAN BE FILLED IN TO
CREATE A SORT OF WEB OF CONNECTION BETWEEN THE FAMILY
• AND THEIR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. TO CREATE A FAMILY
ECOMAP:
• CREATE YOUR KEY- THIS WILL VARY FROM SIMPLE TO MORE
COMPLEX DEPENDING ON YOUR NEEDS
• BEGIN BY DRAWING A CIRCLE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR
PAGE AND ADDING THE FAMILY'S NAME IN THE CENTER OF
THE CIRCLE
• USE DIFFERENT LINES, BASED ON YOUR KEY, TO
DIFFERENTIATE THE TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS CONNECTED
TO THE FAMILY.
• EACH RELATIONSHIP CIRCLE SHOULD BE CONNECTED TO
THE FAMILY WITH VARIOUS LINES.