Ecomaps

What is an ecomap?

An ecomap puts a subject at the center and draws the external systems around it. Each system is a circle, and a connection line shows how strong or stressful that relationship is. The result is a single picture of where a person draws support and where they meet strain.

For the full background on ecomaps and where they come from, see What is an ecomap?

Ecomap vs genogram

A genogram maps the family itself: who is related to whom across generations, with medical history and emotional bonds. An ecomap maps outward instead, from one subject to the institutions and people around it at a single point in time. You often build both for the same family.

Create an ecomap

From the dashboard, open the Ecomaps tab and choose New ecomap. Name it and pick what sits at the center:

• Person - a single individual as the subject
• Household - a family or group living together as the subject

To try the editor without an account, use the free ecomap maker. It runs in your browser and exports to PNG or PDF, but does not save between visits.

Standalone vs linked

A standalone ecomap owns its own document. Its center subject lives only inside the ecomap, which is what the free maker creates.

On a paid account, an ecomap can also be linked to a genogram so a family's genogram and its ecomaps live in one file. The Diagrams panel lists the genogram and every ecomap in the document, and switches between them. A linked ecomap centers on a person or household drawn from the genogram.

The ecomap canvas

The ecomap canvas works like the genogram canvas: drag to move nodes, scroll to zoom, and drag on empty space to marquee-select. From here you add system nodes and draw connections between them and the subject.