| Course | DNP 677 Management of Complex and Chronic Mental Health Problems in Children, Adolescents and Adults Across the Lifespan |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Genogram slide presentation with summary |
| Length | About 911 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 slide deck with speaker notes |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | Doctor of Nursing Practice |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DNP 677 Module 2
Five Generations of Holding It Together: My Family Genogram Through Bowen's Eyes
Student Name
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University
DNP 677: Management of Complex and Chronic Mental Health Problems in Children, Adolescents and Adults Across the Lifespan
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Slide 1: Holding It Together: My Family in Five Generations
Composite family presented for DNP 677. Bowen family systems lens.
Speaker notes: This genogram is my family of origin across five generations, from my great-grandparents to my own children. I used the standard symbols and the Bowen concepts from the course text (Nichols & Davis, 2017), and I spoke with my aunt, our family historian, to fill in the oldest generation.
Slide 2: How to Read the Genogram
Squares are males, circles are females, an X marks a death, a double slash marks a divorce, a thick line marks a very close bond, a zigzag marks conflict and a broken line marks a cutoff. Ages and causes of death are written beside each symbol.
Speaker notes: I followed the standard conventions so the chart can be read at a glance (McGoldrick et al., 2020). Every symbol shows age or age at death, main occupation and any chronic illness.
Slide 3: Generations 1 and 2: The Farm
Great-grandparents: dairy farmers in the Netherlands, emigrated in 1951 with six children. Great-grandmother died at 54 of a stroke. Grandmother (eldest daughter) left school at 14 to raise her siblings. Grandfather: welder, alcohol use, died at 61 of liver disease.
Speaker notes: The theme starts here. When my great-grandmother died, my grandmother, the eldest daughter, became the mother of the household at fifteen. Nobody discussed the loss. Work was how the family coped. My grandfather's drinking was known but never named.
Slide 4: Generation 3: My Parents
Mother: eldest of four, registered nurse for 38 years, hypertension, type 2 diabetes. Father: truck driver, depression treated in his fifties. Parents divorced when I was 12. Mother's younger brother: alcohol use disorder, cut off from the family for 15 years.
Speaker notes: My mother repeated her mother's position: the eldest daughter who looks after everyone. My uncle's cutoff left a gap the family still steps around. My parents' divorce was quiet and practical, which fits a family that handled feelings by staying busy.
Slide 5: Generation 4: Me and My Siblings
Me: eldest of three, nurse, now a psychiatric NP student. Brother: two years younger, electrician, anxiety. Sister: six years younger, teacher, the "free spirit."
Speaker notes: Sibling position matters in Bowen's thinking. As the oldest daughter of an oldest daughter of an oldest daughter, I took the reliable role early. My sister's role as the free spirit only works because I am the responsible one.
Slide 6: Generation 5: My Children
Daughter, 10, and son, 7. My husband's family shown in brief. My daughter already reminds her brother of his homework.
Speaker notes: Seeing my daughter correct her brother's homework was what made the pattern real to me. I want her to have a different choice than the women before her.
Slide 7: Triangles
Triangle 1: mother, grandmother and me. When my mother and grandmother disagreed, both called me. Triangle 2: mother, father and brother after the divorce.
Speaker notes: Bowen described a two-person relationship under stress pulling in a third person to lower the tension. When my mother and her mother clashed, I became the go-between, which kept them from resolving it directly. I recognized that I still do this at work, stepping in between patients and families.
Slide 8: Loss and Its Reach
Great-grandmother's early death. Uncle's 15-year cutoff. Father's depression after the divorce.
Speaker notes: One early death, never grieved, shaped three generations of eldest daughters who took over and did not stop. Emotional cutoff, as with my uncle, can look like distance but carries the same unresolved intensity (Nichols & Davis, 2017).
Slide 9: Bowen Concepts in My Family
Differentiation of self: I function well but find it hard to separate my feelings from my mother's. Multigenerational transmission: over-functioning passed down the female line. Emotional cutoff: my uncle. Sibling position: the eldest-daughter role.
Speaker notes: Differentiation is the ability to hold on to your own thinking while staying connected in an emotionally charged relationship. Researchers have built a questionnaire that measures it, including emotional reactivity, cutoff and fusion with others (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998). I scored myself informally and saw the most work to do on emotional reactivity.
Slide 10: What This Means for My Practice
I tend to over-function for patients. I will notice when I am pulled into a triangle between a patient and family. I will ask patients about their own families' patterns.
Speaker notes: Knowing my pattern helps me work with it. With patients, I want to support their own decisions rather than take over, and to stay out of family conflicts instead of being the go-between. Thank you.
One-Page Summary
Building this genogram showed me a theme I had lived but not seen: in every generation, the eldest daughter keeps the family running after a loss that is never grieved. My grandmother, my mother and I all became caretakers, and all three of us chose caring work. The pattern brought real strengths, reliability, competence and loyalty, along with costs, including chronic illness in the women, a cutoff brother and little room for our own needs. I also saw how I became part of a triangle with my mother and grandmother and how I repeat that role at work. Bowen's idea of differentiation gave me words for my goal: to stay close to my family while making my own choices. In practice, I will watch for over-functioning, avoid stepping between patients and their families and use genograms with patients to help them see their own patterns.
References
McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2020). Genograms: Assessment and treatment (4th ed.). W. W. Norton.
Nichols, M. P., & Davis, S. D. (2017). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (11th ed.). Pearson.
Skowron, E. A., & Friedlander, M. L. (1998). The Differentiation of Self Inventory: Development and initial validation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45(3), 235-246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.45.3.235
DNP 677 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms
According to the posted syllabus, the Genogram is worth 15% of the DNP 677 grade, 100 points. Students build a five-generation genogram of their own family of origin and present it to the class on PowerPoint slides. The syllabus asks for ages, divorces, deaths, chronic illnesses and jobs; the role you played in your family and who supported you in it; family problems seen in the context of yourself; triangles where possible; the effect of losses; and how family influences may affect how you relate to clients. A brief summary of no more than one page describes what you discovered. Start early, since you may need to contact relatives, and use the Week 1 Bowen materials and the Nichols chapter on genograms. Share only what you are comfortable sharing with classmates.
How this DNP 677 Module 2 example is built
Ten slides make up the deck, each carrying speaker notes. After a title slide and a key to the symbols, it gives one slide to each generation with the same facts for every person, so the pattern appears before it is named. Later slides identify two triangles, trace the reach of an early loss, apply four Bowen concepts and end with specific practice changes. A one-page summary states the theme, its strengths and costs and what the writer will do differently. Three sources support it: the course family therapy text, a standard genogram reference and a study measuring differentiation of self.
DNP 677 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
The syllabus describes what the genogram should contain rather than a point breakdown, so expect grading on completeness across five generations, accurate symbols and facts, insight into your own role, identification of triangles, attention to losses, use of Bowen concepts and a reflective summary within one page. Presentations earn more when facts lead to a theme rather than a list of relatives. Applying concepts such as differentiation, triangles and cutoff to specific relationships shows understanding. Linking the family to how you relate to clients is the assignment's stated focus. Clear slides that the class can follow also matter. Faculty usually also respect the boundaries students set, so careful, honest reflection on what you do share counts for more than disclosure of every detail.
DNP 677 Module 2 help from the desk
One frequent weakness is a genogram full of facts with no theme. Look for what repeats across generations. Another is naming Bowen concepts without showing them in your family. Decide in advance what you will keep private, since you present this to classmates. If you would like help turning your family information into slides and a summary, send the desk the generations you have mapped, with names changed. Ask the family historian early, as the syllabus suggests. Keep the summary to one page. Practice the presentation aloud with a timer, because a genogram with five generations can easily run long. Choose the two or three patterns that matter most and give them the most time.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More DNP 677 and Doctor of Nursing Practice sample papers
- DNP 677 Module 1: Vulnerable Family Review: Children of Parents With Mental Illness
- DNP 677 Module 3: Evidence-Based Paper on an Alternative Therapy
- DNP 606 Module 1: Case Study 1: Status Asthmaticus
- DNP 672 Module 6: Medication Presentation: Tardive Dyskinesia
- DNP 709 Module 4: Leader Self-Assessment Paper
- DNP 661 Module 1: Moral Compass Narrative
DNP 677 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DNP 677 Module 2 sample paper?
The complete DNP 677 genogram sample, ten slides with speaker notes across five generations and a one-page summary using Bowen concepts, appears on this page.
What does the DNP 677 genogram require?
A five-generation genogram of your own family on PowerPoint with ages, divorces, deaths, illnesses, jobs, roles, triangles and losses, plus a one-page summary.
How much is the DNP 677 genogram worth?
The posted syllabus lists the genogram at 15% of the grade, 100 points.
What Bowen concepts should a genogram include?
Common choices are differentiation of self, triangles, emotional cutoff, multigenerational transmission and sibling position, each shown in specific relationships.
Do I have to share everything in my genogram with the class?
No. Decide what you are comfortable sharing, and ask your faculty how to handle private details.