Fused relationships on a genogram
This page shows the Marsh family, where Claire, 41, and her mother Diane have a fused relationship drawn as three red lines, next to Claire's close tie with her brother Tom and her parents' distant marriage.
Updated October 2026Notation follows McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed., 2020)
Cite this diagram
Genogram Pro. (2026, October 20). Fused relationships on a genogram [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/guide/genogram-symbols/fused-enmeshed
Fused
Claire and her mother Diane, whom she calls every day and relies on for her decisions, have three red lines between them.
Close
Claire and her brother Tom, who are warm with each other and make their own decisions, have two green lines between them.
Distant
Peter and Diane have a distant marriage, so a grey dashed line is drawn between them.
Tell the fused line from the close and combined lines
The fused line is three red lines and the close line is two green ones, and each combined line is drawn as the fused or close lines in grey, with a red zigzag over them for conflict or violence. The enmeshed family genogram example shows the same fused line in two generations of one family.
Close
Two green lines, for a warm tie between two people.
Very close
Two green lines with small crosses, for unusual trust and understanding.
Fused
Three red lines, for a tie in which one person's feelings and decisions follow the other's.
Fused-hostile
Three grey lines with a red zigzag, for a fused pair who cannot stop arguing.
Fused-violence
Three grey lines with a tighter red zigzag, for a fused tie with violence in it.
Close-hostile
Two grey lines with a red zigzag, for a pair who are often in contact and argue.
Draw fusion with three lines
- Use fused for a dependent tie. Three red lines mean a tie in which one person's feelings and decisions follow the other's.
- Use close for warmth without dependence. Two green lines mean closeness between two people who make their own decisions.
- Use fused-hostile when the pair fight but never separate. The fused-hostile line is three grey lines with a red zigzag over them.
- Draw fusion between the two people it involves. Join a mother and one child, not every member of the family.
The bond lines section of the genogram symbols chart shows the fused line beside the cutoff line and the other bond lines.
Avoid drawing fusion as a close bond
Draw a dependent tie as fused
With a close line, Claire's tie with Diane would look like her tie with Tom, and how much she relies on her mother would be hidden.
Questions people ask
Read the guide to Bowen family systems theoryWhat does a fused relationship mean in a genogram?
A fused relationship is a tie so close that the two people have little separate identity, and one person's feelings and decisions follow the other's. It is drawn as three parallel red lines between them.
What is fusion in family systems?
Fusion is Murray Bowen's term for the opposite of differentiation of self, when two people's emotions and thinking are so bound together that neither can act on their own. Bowen saw every family as more or less fused, and the scale is explained in the guide to Bowen family systems theory.
What is a close hostile relationship?
A close-hostile relationship is one in which two people are often in contact, yet they argue and keep secrets. It is drawn as two grey lines with a red zigzag over them.
What is the difference between fused and close?
Close means two people are warm with each other and still make their own decisions, and it is drawn as two green lines. Fused means one person's feelings and decisions follow the other's, and it is drawn as three red lines.
Is enmeshment always unhealthy?
Bowen saw fusion as a matter of degree, which becomes a problem when one person can no longer act on their own. Families that value closeness are not enmeshed by default.
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