Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started is easy:

1. Go to the Web App
2. Click anywhere on the canvas to add your first person
3. Fill in their details (name, gender, birth date, etc.)
4. Add more people by clicking on empty areas
5. Select two people, right-click, and choose a relationship type

New users will see an interactive tutorial that guides you through building your first family diagram.

No! You can use all free features without an account. Your work is saved locally in your browser.

Creating a free account lets you:

• Upgrade to Professional for cloud sync and exports
• Apply for the free Student Professional program
• Start a 7-day free trial of Professional

Note: Cloud sync requires a Professional subscription.

WebGeno supports standard keyboard shortcuts:

For canvas navigation:

• Pan: Middle mouse button drag
• Zoom: Scroll wheel or zoom toolbar
• Multi-select: Ctrl + click

The Free tier includes everything you need for professional genograms:

• 42 predefined health conditions with visual quadrants
• All relationship types (couple, parent-child, emotional)
• Parent-child types: biological, adopted, foster, guardian
• Dynamic legend that updates automatically
• Local file save/load (.wgeno format)
• Unlimited undo/redo
• Clinical annotations on people and relationships
• Person photographs
• Visual groups

Yes! You can attach private annotations to any person, relationship, or the genogram as a whole. Features include:

• Categories: Tag notes as observations, hypotheses, interventions, or follow-ups
• Session dates: Link annotations to specific therapy sessions
• Search and filter: Find notes by text, category, or entity type
• Click to locate: Click an annotation group to select that person or relationship on the canvas
• PDF export: Export with numbered badges and a full notes appendix
• Privacy: Annotations are never shown to clients in shared views, never sent to AI, and are encrypted in cloud storage

Add annotations via right-click context menu or the Annotations panel in the toolbar.

Professional ($4.99/month or $47.88/year) adds:

• Cloud Sync: Access genograms from any device
• Folder Organization: Organize cases into folders
• PDF/PNG/SVG Export: Publication-ready output
• Custom Health Conditions: Create your own conditions
• AI Genogram Builder (Beta): Generate from text descriptions
• GenoPro Import: Import existing .gno files

The AI Genogram Builder (Professional feature, Beta) lets you describe a family in natural language, and AI creates the genogram for you.

Example input:

"My grandparents John (deceased, heart disease) and Mary (82). My father Tom (55) and uncle Mike (52) are their sons. I'm Sarah (28), an only child. Uncle Mike has two kids: Emma (25) and Jake (22)."

The AI extracts people, relationships, health conditions, and automatically positions them in generations.

🔒 Privacy-First: Names are automatically anonymized before AI processing. When you type "João Silva", our system sends "Person_1" to the AI, then restores the original names in your genogram. No identifiable patient names ever reach third-party AI services.

Yes! Professional users can import .gno files from GenoPro (Beta feature).

The importer converts:

• All people with their details
• Couple relationships
• Parent-child relationships
• Embedded photographs

Note: Some advanced GenoPro features may not transfer perfectly. Review your imported genogram and adjust as needed.

WebGeno supports four parent-child relationship types using standard genogram notation:

• Biological: Solid line (default)
• Adopted: Dashed line
• Foster: Dotted line with "F" label
• Guardian: Dotted line with "G" label

To change the type, right-click on any parent-child connection line and select the appropriate type from the "Child Type" menu. The legend automatically updates to show which types are used in your genogram.

WebGeno supports standard genogram notation for pregnancy outcomes. When editing a person, use the "Life Status" dropdown to select:

• Living: Normal appearance (default)
• Deceased: Shape with X overlay
• Pregnancy: Shape with ? symbol (current pregnancy)
• Miscarriage: Small shape (spontaneous loss)
• Stillbirth: Small shape with X and "SB" label
• Abortion: Small shape with X (induced termination)

Pregnancy outcomes (miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion) appear as smaller symbols. You can also select "Unknown" gender, which displays as a diamond shape - useful when the gender wasn't determined.

WebGeno supports seven couple relationship types, divided into formal and informal categories:

Formal relationships (displayed with thicker lines):

• Marriage: Solid line (supports separation, divorce, widowed modifiers)
• Engagement: Dashed line
• Union in Fact: Dotted line (cohabitation/common law)

Informal relationships (displayed with thinner lines):

• Dating: Thin solid line (supports separation modifier)
• Casual: Thin dotted line
• One-Night Stand: Thin short-dashed line
• Love Affair: Thin dashed line

This visual hierarchy helps distinguish formal committed relationships from informal ones at a glance. To create a couple relationship, select two people, right-click, and choose from the Couple submenu.

Yes! You get a 7-day free trial of Professional when you subscribe to the monthly plan. No charge until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime.

Plus, all core features are free forever - no trial needed for basic genogram creation.

Yes! Students in mental health programs get free Professional access for 1 year.

How to apply:

1. Create a free account
2. Go to Settings > Student Discount
3. Verify with your .edu email, or upload your Student ID

We support ~500 universities worldwide with automatic verification.

Note: AI Genogram Builder is not included in Student Professional due to API costs.

Absolutely. Cancel anytime from your account settings. You'll keep Professional access until the end of your billing period.

Your genograms remain accessible - you just won't be able to use Professional features like cloud sync or exports after your subscription ends.

Same features, different pricing:

• Monthly: $4.99/month (includes 7-day free trial)
• Annual: $47.88/year ($3.99/month - save 20%)

Annual is best value for long-term use. Monthly is great if you want flexibility or just need it for a specific project.

WebGeno works best on modern desktop browsers:

• Google Chrome (recommended)
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari

Mobile: We have basic mobile support (still in development). Touch gestures work for panning, zooming, and basic editing. For the best experience, we recommend using a desktop browser. If you encounter issues on mobile, please use the Feedback form in the File menu to report them.

Without an account: Your genograms are saved locally in your browser's storage. They stay on your device and are never sent to our servers.

With a Professional account: You have the choice to save locally (like free users) or use cloud storage. Cloud-saved genograms are protected with end-to-end encryption - your data is encrypted on your device before being sent to our servers. Only you can decrypt your genograms; not even WebGeno administrators can access your data.

You can always export your genograms as .wgeno files for local backup, regardless of your account type.

Yes — we use Privacy-First AI. Before any text is sent to our AI provider (Anthropic), we automatically anonymize all personal names:

• What you type: "João Silva (45) is married to Maria Santos (42)"
• What the AI sees: "Person_1 (45) is married to Person_2 (42)"
• What you get: A complete genogram with "João Silva" and "Maria Santos"

This happens automatically — no extra steps required. No identifiable patient names ever reach third-party AI services.

Additionally, Anthropic (our AI provider) does not train models on API data. Combined with our end-to-end encryption for cloud storage, WebGeno provides clinical-grade privacy protection.

Read more in our Privacy Policy.

Yes. Professional users can create secure, time-limited share links from the File menu > Share with Client.

• Read-only viewer: Clients see the genogram in a clean, read-only view. No account required.
• Annotations removed: Any clinical annotations you've added to people or relationships are automatically stripped from the shared copy.
• Encrypted feedback: If you choose "View & comment" permission, clients can submit feedback that is encrypted in their browser before being sent to our servers. Only you can decrypt and read it.
• Expiring links: Links expire after 1 to 30 days (your choice) and can be revoked at any time.
• Notifications: You'll receive an email and an in-app notification when a client submits feedback.

WebGeno requires an internet connection to load. However, once loaded, you can work without a connection for basic editing.

Cloud sync, exports, and AI features require an active connection.

Save/Load (Free):

• .wgeno - WebGeno native format (JSON-based)

Export (Professional):

• .pdf - For printing and sharing
• .png - Image format for presentations
• .svg - Vector format for publications

Import (Professional):

• .gno - GenoPro files (Beta)

A genogram is a visual representation of a family tree that includes additional information about relationships and medical history. Think of it as a "family tree plus."

Developed by Murray Bowen in the 1970s and standardized by McGoldrick, Gerson & Petry (1985, 2008), genograms are widely used across family therapy, social work, nursing, and medical genetics. They use approximately 100 standardized symbols (Piasecka et al., 2018): squares for males, circles for females, and various line types to show relationship quality.

Unlike basic family trees, genograms show:

• Emotional relationships (close, conflictual, distant, etc.)
• Health conditions across generations
• Relationship statuses (married, divorced, separated)
• Patterns that repeat across generations

Learn more: History of Genograms | Glossary of Terms

Genograms are widely used across mental health and medical professions for assessment, treatment planning, and identifying multigenerational patterns.

Professionals who commonly use genograms include:

• Family Therapists: To understand family dynamics and patterns
• Social Workers: For case assessment and documentation
• Counselors: To explore client backgrounds
• Medical Professionals: To track hereditary health conditions
• Researchers: For family systems studies
• Students: Learning family therapy techniques

Genograms use standardized symbols established by Bowen (1978) and McGoldrick et al. (2008):

• Square: Male
• Circle: Female
• Diamond: Unknown/Other gender
• X through shape: Deceased
• Filled sections: Health conditions (quadrants)
• Line types: Relationship quality (solid, dashed, zigzag)

See our resources: Symbol Reference Chart | Full Symbol Guide

Research by McGoldrick et al. (2008) recommends including at least 3 generations to identify multigenerational patterns:

1. Grandparents
2. Parents (and aunts/uncles)
3. The identified patient/client (and siblings/cousins)

However, you can include more or fewer generations depending on your clinical needs. Some patterns - such as intergenerational trauma or family triangulation - only become visible across 4+ generations.

Genograms are grounded in Bowen Family Systems Theory, one of the foundational approaches in family therapy. However, a 2023 literature review (Joseph et al.) noted that while genograms are widely used, there are "minimal studies on their effectiveness as a therapeutic tool."

What the research does show:

• Genograms are a standard assessment tool in family therapy, nursing, social work, and medical genetics
• A systematic review identified approximately 100 standardized symbols across clinical practice (Piasecka et al., 2018)
• Genograms help identify transgenerational trauma patterns and family resilience factors (Goodman, 2013; Jordan, 2006)
• They are included in COAMFTE-accredited MFT training programs as part of family systems coursework

The primary reference text, Genograms: Assessment and Intervention by McGoldrick, Gerson, & Petry (2008), is now in its 3rd edition and remains the standard for clinical training.