The cutoff symbol on a genogram
This page shows the Hollis family, where the cutoff between Gary and his sister Linda repeats between Gary's children Ryan and Kate, and where Kate has repaired a cutoff with her brother Sam.
Updated October 2026Notation follows McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed., 2020)
Cite this diagram
Genogram Pro. (2026, October 20). The cutoff symbol on a genogram [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/guide/genogram-symbols/cutoff
Cutoff
Gary and his sister Linda, who have not spoken since their father Arnold died in 2019, have a red dashed line between them broken by two bars.
The same break one generation down
Gary's children Ryan and Kate have the same cutoff line between them.
Cutoff repaired
Kate and her brother Sam reconnected in 2024, so their broken line is green with a circle in the gap.
Tell the cutoff line from the lines it is confused with
Murray Bowen described emotional cutoff as the way people manage unresolved emotional ties to their parents and siblings, by reducing contact or stopping it altogether. The concept is explained in the guide to Bowen family systems theory, and the emotional cutoff genogram example shows one family across four generations.
Cutoff
A red dashed line broken by two bars, for two people who have stopped all contact.
Cutoff repaired
The same broken line in green with a circle in the gap, once contact returns.
Distant
A grey dashed line, for two people who see little of each other.
Never met
A grey line with a boxed X, for two people who have never met.
Indifferent
A grey dotted line, for two people when one or both are apathetic toward the other.
Draw a cutoff only where contact stopped
- Use the cutoff line for a break. It means that two people who once had a relationship have stopped all contact.
- Use distant when contact continues. A grey dashed line means little contact and little warmth, but no break.
- Use never met when there was no relationship. An adoptee and a birth parent who have never met are not cut off, because there was no contact to stop.
- Switch to cutoff repaired when contact returns. The repaired line is still broken, so the history of the cutoff is not lost, but it is green and has a circle in the gap.
- Write the year under the name. Date the break with a short property under Gary's name, such as "No contact with Linda since 2019".
The bond lines section of the genogram symbols chart shows the cutoff beside the other 38 bond lines, including the fused line.
Avoid two common cutoff mistakes
Draw a cutoff when contact has stopped
Distant means the two still see each other a little, so if you draw it, you understate a relationship in which all contact has stopped.
Keep the break when contact returns
If you replace the cutoff with a plain line, you erase the break, while the cutoff repaired line has both the break and the reconnection.
Questions people ask
See how to explain symbols in a genogram keyWhat does cutoff mean on a genogram?
A cutoff means that two people who once had a relationship have stopped all contact. It is drawn as a red dashed line broken by two bars.
What is the difference between cutoff and distant?
Distant people still have a little contact, while a cutoff means that contact has stopped. Distant is a grey dashed line, and cutoff is a red dashed line broken by two bars.
What does cutoff repaired look like?
Cutoff repaired is the same broken line drawn in green, with a circle in the gap. Use it when contact has returned after a cutoff, as between Kate and Sam on this page.
What are the standard genogram symbols?
The standard symbols are a square for a male, a circle for a female and an X through the symbol for a death, with couple lines between partners, child lines below them and colored bond lines between any two people. The genogram symbols chart shows every one with its meaning.
Can you make up your own symbols for a genogram?
Yes, as long as each one is explained in the genogram key so that someone else can read the diagram. Use a standard symbol wherever one exists, because readers already know it.
Start your genogram from this example
Open it in the editor, swap in your own names and dates, and export it as a PNG or PDF.