ABSTRACT
The most concrete way to draw attention to relational histories is to construct a genogram. Capturing the “big picture” of a family across generations is an amazing resource for helping couples speak explicitly about relational influences and consciously examine how their histories have woven together. Piece together the histories of growth and losses to follow the family through expansions and contractions, all while learning about the characteristics of the members. Integrate a couple’s history and contexts into the here-and-now. Understanding history is a foundation for empathy. Coming to know someone outside of their historical contexts is like trying to peer through a lens and sharpen the focus on the foreground without a background. The art of bridging allows the counselor to move from the here-and-now to the genogram, or the genogram to the here-and-now, always bridging contexts and patterns to current behaviors.
