What is an ecomap?
An ecomap is a diagram of a person or family and the systems around them, such as work, school, health care, friends and church, each drawn as a circle. On an ecomap, the style of each line stands for how strong or stressful a tie is, and its arrows for the direction in which support or energy flows.
Updated October 2026Notation follows Hartman, "Diagrammatic assessment of family relationships" (Social Casework, 1978)
Cite this diagram
Genogram Pro. (2026, October 21). Social work intake ecomap [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/ecomap
Maria at the center
Maria is the client, and each of the seven systems in her life has its own line to her.
Community clinic
A strong line with the arrow pointing to Maria, for the care and support she receives at the clinic.
Parole officer
A stressful line with the arrow pointing away from Maria, because she gives time and energy to the weekly check-ins.
Extended family
A dashed weak line with no arrow, for relatives Maria rarely sees.
Ecomap key
Only the line types, arrows and categories used on this map are in the key, each with its count.
The parts of an ecomap
The person or household is drawn at the center of an ecomap, and each system in their life is a circle around it. Every system is joined to the center by a line drawn strong, normal, weak or stressful, and any arrows on it stand for the direction of energy. In Maria's ecomap above, the clinic and the church are her strongest ties, and her employer and her parole officer are the two stressful ones.
Ecomap symbols and lines
Strong
A strong, supportive tie.
Normal
An ordinary tie.
Weak
A weak or occasional tie.
Stressful
A stressful or conflicted tie.
In
Support the center receives, with the arrow pointing to the center.
Out
Energy the center gives, with the arrow pointing to the system.
Reciprocal
Energy flowing both ways.
None
No arrow, for a tie with no clear direction.
Family
Parents, children, partners or siblings outside the center.
Extended family
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Friends
Close friends, peers and sponsors.
Work
Jobs, employers and coworkers.
School
Schools, classes, teachers and counselors.
Health care
Doctors, clinics, nurses and therapists.
Recreation
Sports teams, clubs and hobbies.
Spiritual
A church, mosque, temple or other faith community.
Neighbors
People who live nearby.
Social services
Caseworkers, agencies, benefits, probation and parole.
Online / digital
Social media, games and contacts kept online.
Other
Any system outside these categories, such as a landlord.
Each system has one line to the center, so when a tie is both close and stressful, draw it with its main type and write the other quality as a short label on the line, such as Still close.
How to make an ecomap
Place the person or household at the center
Draw the client, or the household they live in, in the middle of the page and write the name inside it, followed by the age when the center is one person, such as Maria, 32.
Add a circle for each system in their life
Ask about family, work, school, health care, friends, spiritual life and social services, and draw a circle with a short label, such as Employer or Community clinic, for each system that matters now.
Connect each system to the center
Draw one line from the center to every circle, so each system has its own tie to the person or household.
Choose Strong, Normal, Weak or Stressful for each line
Draw a thick line for a strong tie, a plain line for a normal one, a dashed line for a weak one and a hatched line for a stressful one, and add a short label, such as Weekly check-in, when a detail matters.
Add arrows, then export with the key
Point the arrow to the center for support the person receives, away from it for energy they give, or draw arrows at both ends when energy flows both ways. When you export a PNG or PDF from the free ecomap maker, a key with every line type, arrow and category used on the map is included on the right.
Family and individual ecomaps
A family ecomap has the household at the center and the systems the whole family deals with around it, as in the Delgado family ecomap. An individual ecomap has one person at the center, such as Maria above or a child in foster care. The free ecomap maker asks whether a person or a household is at the center before you start.
Ecomap templates
There are four blank ecomap templates, an empty one with twelve unlabeled circles and one each for a family, a child or teen and an adult, each as a PDF, a Word file and a PNG.
Empty ecomap
A center circle and twelve unlabeled circles, for any person or household
Blank family ecomap
A household at the center and eight systems, including work, school and health care
Blank child ecomap
A child or teen at the center and eight systems, including school, friends and online and digital life
Blank adult ecomap
An adult at the center and eight systems, including work, neighbors and health care
Ecomap or genogram?
A genogram is a diagram of a family across generations, and an ecomap is a diagram of the systems around a person or family now. Many social workers draw both for one family, the genogram for who is related to whom and the ecomap for where support and stress come from.
Genogram
The single parent family genogram has Ava Mercer's family across three generations, from her four grandparents to Ava and her brother Caleb.
Ecomap
The ecomap of the same family has the home of Alyssa, Ava's mother, at the center, with Grandma Donna, Ava's father Ryan, Alyssa's job, the elementary school and the child support office among the systems around it. Alyssa, Ava and Caleb are drawn inside the box because this ecomap is linked to the genogram, and linking is part of the Professional plan.
For one family drawn both ways with a table of the differences, see genogram vs ecomap. The full genogram is on the single parent family genogram page, and for more on genograms, read what a genogram is.
Everything about ecomaps
The line and circle symbols are listed under ecomap symbols above, and the pages below have examples, printable templates and the free ecomap maker.
- Ecomap examplesSix ecomaps with their keys, including a family, a child in foster care and an older adult after hospital discharge.
- Ecomap templateFour blank ecomap templates as PDF, Word and PNG files, and a printable ecomap key.
- Genogram vs ecomapOne family drawn as a genogram and as an ecomap, with a table of the differences.
- Ecomap makerDraw an ecomap in your browser without an account and export it as a PNG or PDF.
- Ecomaps in the docsHow to make a standalone ecomap or one linked to a genogram in Genogram Pro.
Questions people ask
What is an ecomap used for?
Social workers, nurses and counselors use an ecomap to see a person's or family's sources of support and stress on one page, at intake and assessment, in case planning and discharge planning, and when they coordinate services with other agencies. Students draw ecomaps for social work and nursing coursework.
Why are ecomaps used in social work?
Social workers assess a person in their environment, and on an ecomap the worker and the client can draw that environment together. Ann Hartman designed the ecomap for child welfare workers in the mid-1970s, and it is still taught as a standard assessment tool.
What is the difference between an ecomap and a genogram?
A genogram is a diagram of who is related to whom in a family across three or more generations. An ecomap is a diagram of the systems around one person or household now, such as work, school and health care, with one line for each tie.
Genogram vs ecomapWhat do the different lines on an ecomap mean?
A thick line stands for a strong tie, a plain line for a normal one, a dashed line for a weak one and a hatched line, with short cross marks along it, for a stressful one. An arrow pointing to the center stands for support the person or family receives, an arrow pointing away for energy they give, and arrows at both ends for energy flowing both ways.
How do I create an ecomap?
Put the person or household at the center, add a circle for each system in their life, and join each circle to the center with a strong, normal, weak or stressful line and arrows for the direction of energy. You can draw it by hand, or draw it in the free ecomap maker without an account and export it as a PNG or PDF.
Ecomap makerCan I make an ecomap in Word?
Yes, you can draw the circles and lines with Word's shapes, but Word has no hatched line style for a stressful tie, and moving a circle later usually means redrawing its lines. The Word files on the ecomap template page have the circles drawn already, with space under each one to type a name before you print the page and draw the lines by hand.
Ecomap templatesStart your ecomap from this example
Open it in the free ecomap maker, swap in your own people and systems, and export it as a PNG or PDF.
Ecomaps in social work
Ann Hartman developed the ecomap in the mid-1970s for child welfare workers, and in her 1978 article in Social Casework she set out the notation that social workers still use. She drew the family at the center and the systems it depended on around it, so that a worker and a family could see together where their support came from and where the conflict was.
Today social workers draw ecomaps at intake and assessment, in case planning, in discharge planning and in service coordination, where every agency involved with a family can be seen on one page. Social work and nursing students draw them for coursework and field placements.