About Genogram

Like a family tree — but it also shows relationships, emotional bonds, and patterns across generations.

What is a genogram?

It's a map of people. Not a family tree — a family tree is about lineage. A genogram is about relationships. Who's close, who's in conflict, who's been cut off, who was lost. You draw one and you can see someone's whole context in a few minutes. That's the thing about them.

Where this came from

I learned about genograms from Dr. Beverley Keith, Clinical psychologist, and founder the Rosendale Family Therapy Center. A primary focus of her work was family systems and genograms are a core clinical tool in quickly capturing familial relationships. As a scientist and engineer, I abstracted it for use in my daily life to be understand the people around me. I built this tool to make genograms more accessible to everyone. I hope it helps you understand your own family, the characters in a book, or the dynamics of your friend group.

What this is built on

Genogram is built on the same core technology as our other mapping tools — a custom graph database with end-to-end encryption, a React-based editor, and a serverless API layer. It was designed from the ground up to handle the unique requirements of genograms — complex relationships, emotional connections, and clinical use cases.

Who it's for

Clinicians and therapists doing family systems work — map multi-generational patterns without expensive desktop software.
School coordinators — track family structures, guardianship, and who's authorized for pickup in one shareable diagram instead of a stack of paper forms.
Senior care and outreach volunteers — map family support networks, caregivers, and contact hierarchies for the people you serve.
Genealogy researchers who need a structural view that captures more than ancestry — including estrangements, adoptions, and blended families.
Individuals mapping their own family history, health patterns, or relationship structures.

Privacy & encryption

Genogram uses zero-knowledge encryption (ZKE). Your diagram data is encrypted in the browser using AES-256-GCM before it leaves your device. The encryption key is derived from your password using PBKDF2 — we never see your key or your plaintext data. A database breach on our end exposes only ciphertext that cannot be decrypted without your password.

Diagram titles are stored unencrypted (they appear in your list view). The structural and relationship data — persons, connections, health notations — is fully encrypted. This architecture is appropriate for clinical use where client data must remain confidential.

What this isn't

Not an EHR. Genogram is not integrated with electronic health records. It does not replace clinical documentation — it is a mapping and visualization tool. Export your diagrams as PNG and attach them to your records as needed.

Not a genealogy database. Genogram stores the diagrams you draw — it is not connected to ancestry databases, DNA registries, or vital records.

What we keep

We store encrypted diagram data, titles, and account email. We do not sell this data and do not serve ads. See Privacy for the full breakdown.

Who's behind this

Part of the PlanChart suite of mapping and investigation tools.

Contact

Questions, feedback, or takedown requests: hello@planchart.ai