Scenario: “Mapping Kin Beyond Blood” — A Genogram Challenge for Social Work Students (Microsoft Copilot, 27/2/26)
Background
You are a social work student on placement at a community health service in regional Victoria. You are asked to conduct an intake assessment with Jaylen, a 23-year-old client who has been referred for support around housing instability, cultural identity, and mental health.
As part of your assessment, you attempt to create a standard genogram—but quickly discover that Jaylen’s understanding of family, kinship, and connectedness does not fit neatly into the conventional symbols or biological categories the genogram usually requires.
Client Profile
Client:
Jaylen (23, they/them)
Identifies as:
- Aboriginal (Palawa) and Samoan
- Non-binary
- Living with ADHD and generalised anxiety
- Works casually but currently couch surfing
Jaylen expresses patience but clear discomfort with the standard genogram form.
Kinship Network Details
1. Kinship beyond biology — Aboriginal kinship
Jaylen’s Aboriginal family connections include:
- Two Aunties (not biologically related) who are considered primary caregivers.
- A “brother-cousin” (same age cousin raised as a sibling).
- A Skin group, which shapes kin roles and obligations.
- A Community Elder, who Jaylen calls “Nan,” though they share no legal or biological ties.
These relationships carry greater emotional significance than some biological relatives.
2. Culturally structured family — Samoan side
On the Samoan side, Jaylen describes:
- A matai (chief) who acts as a decision-maker for extended family matters.
- Church-based kin, including a youth pastor Jaylen refers to as “uncle.”
- A large extended household structure where caregiving responsibilities are shared.
3. Chosen family & queer community
Jaylen has:
- A queer community they consider their safest and closest support system.
- A “drag mother” who provides emotional mentoring.
- A former partner who remains a key support, considered “family.”
4. Complicated biological ties
Biologically:
- Jaylen’s biological mother is intermittently in their life.
- Their biological father was deported to Samoa when Jaylen was young.
- They have half-siblings they’ve never met, but Jaylen feels these connections are “paper relationships” with limited meaning.
5. Non-human relationships and belonging
Jaylen asks whether their support dog (registered for emotional support, but not a service animal) can be included, saying:
“She’s honestly the most stable relationship I’ve got.”
The Challenge for Students
Students must create a representation of Jaylen’s kinship system that:
- Respects both Aboriginal and Samoan cultural frameworks.
- Accounts for chosen family, queer family structures, and non-biological kin.
- Acknowledges that emotional significance does not align with biological lineage.
- Finds ways to visualise relationships traditional genograms don’t capture, such as:
- Elders with cultural authority
- Skin group systems
- Drag families
- Community-based kin
- Avoids imposing Western assumptions about what “family” means.
The scenario encourages students to consider whether:
- A genogram should be supplemented with an ecomap, kinship grid, or a narrative-based diagram.
- Symbols need to be modified—or if new visual symbols are needed.
- Genograms, in their traditional form, may reinforce colonial or exclusionary concepts of family.
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