Last Updated on March 17, 2023 by Mike Robinson

Knowing the environment in which the patient’s family members reside is frequently necessary in the social and health sciences in order to determine the cause of the problem. Different intra- and inter-relational dynamics that cause issues for the family’s members can be motivated by both their interactions with other family members and their interactions with the sociocultural environment in which they live. The tools we will learn about below, called a family eco-map, are a good way to understand how a family interacts with its environment.

What is a family eco-map?
Among the multiple instruments for evaluating individuals, families, and communities in the health and social branches applied to the family environment is the ecomap. The family eco-map is a tool that allows us to appreciate the structure of a family and what connections there are between its members, as well as what the extra-family support is if it exists or is absent.

These tools are a graphic representation to quickly identify the interrelationships of the family with the environment and its sociocultural context. Ecomaps are prepared when a family is evaluated with the intention of knowing that there is a mutual influence between it as a social unit and the other systems with which it is related , be it the extended family, health systems, educational centers, the neighbors, the neighborhood, or the friends of the family.

Based on its definition, we can understand that it has a certain resemblance to the family tree or genogram, except that instead of focusing solely and exclusively on the family, it also shows its external relationships, which is the main characteristic that differentiates it from genograms. However, like family trees, family ecomaps are easy tools to develop. Added to this, they have wide applicability and serve to plan, evaluate, and intervene with families, seeing how they relate to other social nuclei.

An example of a family eco-map

Utilities and functions of the family ecomap
The family eco-map presents certain facilities to the family therapist when it comes to treating a family nucleus and understanding what possible problems are occurring within it. Among the utilities of the main family ecosystems, we have:

Identify extra family resources that act as a protection factor.

• Detect shortcomings in the family.
• Work on the aspects that are weak or absent in the family relationship.
• Detect problems in family dynamics.
• Detect cases of family isolation due to migration and other problems in their community.
• How to carry out an ecomap
• To create an eco-map, we need at least a piece of paper and a pencil or pen, in addition to the information provided by the family and what we have observed both in its internal relational dynamics and in the systems external to it.

To carry out the ecomap, we can follow the following steps:

Step 1: Prepare the family tree

We draw a circle in the center of the family. Within this circle, we will prepare a small family—that is, the members that make up the reference family unit. Although it is possible that grandparents, uncles, cousins, or other second- and third degree relatives acquire an important weight in the studied family unit, as a general rule we will focus on the most central family, that is, the couple and their respective children.

When making this small family tree, it is necessary to know that men are the squares and women with circles. Two vertical lines and a horizontal line represent a marriage, and from there, the couple’s children trace back to their own respective vertical lines. Also Read: Causes and Consequences of Stress from Parenting

The sons are squares, and the daughters are circles. In the case of a pregnant woman, the unborn child is a triangle. If there are abortions, they are a black dot (spontaneous) or with an X (provoked).

The twins are two lines that emerge from the horizontal line at the same point. If it is a marriage, the line is continuous; if it is a premarital union, the line is broken; and if the couple is separated or divorced, the horizontal line is “cut” with one or two diagonal lines. If a parent has custody of one of the children, the diagonals are drawn near the parent who does not. In case the custody is shared, the diagonals are drawn in half.

Step 2: Add personal information

In case we have more information and enough space, we can write the names, dates of birth, dates of marriage, separation and/or divorce, deaths, and any other important family event . Information about particular individuals can go within or together with their symbols, while details of relationships between family members will be on the line connecting them.

Step 3. Draw the external systems

Now that the family tree is ready, we now proceed to consider what external systems influence the family or its members. These systems can be of all kinds, and those that are significant for the family nucleus and that significantly influence it should always be a point of discussion.

Work, school, church, friends, the neighborhood, and the health system are some examples of external systems. They can be of great importance for the evaluated family. Each of these external systems will have its own circle around the main circle.

Step 4: Represent external influences.

Once we have decided which external systems are the most important, you can relate them to the main family. For this, we are going to connect them with the central circle. Either as a set or as specific individuals. Just in case they are especially significant for specific members of the family.

You represent these connections differently depending on the type of influence they exert. For example, a solid line represents a strong connection. Two or three solid lines represent a strong connection. A dashed or dotted line represents a rather modest connection. And a wavy or broken line represents a conflicting connection.