A genogram is essentially a living family tree. Families are complicated systems that interact with other communities and kin groups of which they are a part, and they cannot be completely comprehended without a comprehensive understanding of the larger environment in which they exist. Because they enable you to show not only how individuals of a family tree link to each other, but also how they are a product of their period, through their actions, friendships, and many other things, genograms contain a plethora of information about the families depicted.