Relate-0-Gram

Miriam Hanson, an LPC at Northwest Behavioral Medicine, and an intern are about to go to print with a book titled The RELATE-0-GRAM:  Learning About Your Relationships Using Colors. The Relate-o-gram is a therapeutic tool devised by Miriam and her former intern Rebecca for visually showing patterns in one’s choice of relationship partners. This circular drawing uses the philosophy of a genogram with the format of an ecomap.  Although the original purpose of this technique was to assist co-dependents in analyzing their relationships, the uses have expanded to helping clients resolve anger issues, analyze substance abuse “friends”, address causes of fathering children out of wedlock, search for a new mate, and address the reason behind internet relationships.  While at a therapy session, a client begins to create a circular drawing that is a visual representation of their partner’s, friend’s, person’s attributes – good and bad.   This drawing done with colored markers, a large piece of paper, and symbols denoting behaviors, characteristics, or descriptors is created in a clockwise manner with the client being in the center.  This chronological representation of relationships can help clients “see” patterns in their relationships, question these and lay the foundation for work on changing choices and behaviors. 

The relate-o-gram is NOT meant to indicate that a person’ relationship choices are ‘abnormal” or “bad”.  It is just the client’s pattern.  This drawing might not make sense to those uninvolved in its creation but to the client and therapist, it often makes a dramatic impact. The interpretation of this drawing is key to the therapeutic process.  This book gives a step-by-step process of how to create this relate-o-gram and was written for therapists who are seeking another way other than “talk therapy” to get clients to have a picture of their patterns.  Communication symbols as well as symbols designed specifically to depict attributes of individuals are included in the text.  Illustrations of relate-o-grams used in therapy are in the appendices.

If you are interested in knowing more about the relate-o-gram, which is trademarked, contact Miriam Hanson, LPC, at 770-565-8252, miriamhanso@msn.com, or write to her at 11755 Pointe Place, Suite B-2, Roswell, GA 30076.