The index person on a genogram
This page shows the Maddox family, drawn for Isla, 16, who is the index person and has a yellow outline, with her two brothers beside her, her parents above her and both sets of grandparents in the top row.
Updated October 2026Notation follows McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed., 2020)
Cite this diagram
Genogram Pro. (2026, October 20). The index person on a genogram [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/guide/genogram-symbols/index-person
Index person
Isla, 16, has a yellow outline because the genogram is drawn for her.
Siblings on her row
Her brothers Logan, 20, and Finn, 12, are drawn on either side of her in birth order.
Both families of origin
Her father's parents, Leonard and Shirley Maddox, and her mother's parents, Clifford and Valerie Fenwick, form the top row.
Primary Person in the key
The yellow outline is listed as Primary Person in the genogram key.
Mark the index person on any symbol
On a hand-drawn genogram the index person is a double square or a double circle, a symbol drawn inside a second one of the same shape. The editor draws the same mark as a yellow outline around the square, circle or diamond.
Male
A square, drawn on the left of a couple.
Female
A circle, drawn on the right of a couple.
Unknown or non-binary
A diamond, also used for a pet.
Index person
A yellow outline around the symbol, listed in the key as Primary Person.
Draw the genogram around one index person
- Choose one index person. Mark only the client, or whoever else the genogram is drawn for.
- Draw the family around them. Put their parents and grandparents in the rows above, their partner and siblings on their own row and their children below.
- Set it in the editor. Select the person and press Toggle focus person, the focus icon beside their name in the side panel. The next Auto-arrange lays the family out from them.
The person symbols on the genogram symbols chart show the index person beside every other shape, and choosing the index person is the first step in the guide to how to make a genogram.
Avoid two common mistakes with the index person
Mark one index person
With two outlines, the reader cannot tell whose genogram it is, and Auto-arrange can start the layout from only one of them.
Outline the index person instead of shading them
Shading part of a symbol means a physical or psychological problem, so if you shade the index person to pick them out, you record a problem they may not have.
Questions people ask
Read the genogram key guideWhat is the index person on a genogram?
The index person is the person the genogram is drawn for, usually the client. Their parents and grandparents are drawn in the rows above them and their children in the rows below.
What is the genogram symbol for the patient?
The patient is drawn as the index person. On paper that is a double square or a double circle, and Genogram Pro draws a yellow outline around the symbol instead.
What does a double circle mean on a genogram?
A double circle means that a woman or girl is the index person, and a double square means the same for a man or boy.
Is the index person the same as the identified patient?
Identified patient is a family therapy term for the family member whose symptoms are the reason for treatment, and on a genogram that person is usually drawn as the index person.
Can you change the index person?
Yes. Select the current index person and press Toggle focus person to remove the outline, then select the new person and press Toggle focus person again.
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.