Compare methods

	Ecomap Analysis	Genogram Analysis	Strengths Assessment	Task Analysis (Social Work)
Field	Social Work	Social Work	Social Work	Social Work
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	1978	2008	2012	1992
Originator	Ann Hartman	Monica McGoldrick & Randy Gerson (standardized notation); Murray Bowen (theoretical roots)	Dennis Saleebey (strengths perspective); Charles Rapp & Richard Goscha (strengths model assessment)	William J. Reid & Laura Epstein (task-centered practice)
Type	Graphical, qualitative person-in-environment assessment tool	Graphical, qualitative family-assessment tool	Structured, domain-based assessment of client and environmental strengths	Qualitative procedure for decomposing a goal into sequenced, accomplishable tasks
Seminal source	Hartman, A. (1978). Diagrammatic assessment of family relationships. Social Casework, 59(8), 465–476.	McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and Intervention (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 9780393705096	Saleebey, D. (Ed.). (2013). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice (6th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 9780205011544	Reid, W. J. (1992). Task Strategies: An Empirical Approach to Clinical Social Work. Columbia University Press. ISBN: 9780231076876
Aliases	Ecomap, Eco-Map, Ecological Map, Hartman Ecomap	Genogram, Family Genogram, Family Diagram, McGoldrick Genogram	Strengths-Based Assessment, Strengths Perspective Assessment, Strengths Model Assessment, Asset-Based Assessment	Task-Centered Task Analysis, Task Implementation Sequence Analysis, Reid Task Analysis, Task Breakdown Analysis (Social Work)
Related	3	3	3	3
Summary	An ecomap is a graphical map of a household or individual set within their social environment, showing the connections between the focal system and the external systems around it — extended family, work, school, health care, friends, agencies, religion, and recreation — and coding each connection as strong, tenuous, or stressful, with arrows for the flow of energy and resources. Ecomap analysis is the practice of drawing and interpreting this map to assess the person-in-environment, the central organizing concept of social work. It was introduced by Ann Hartman in 1978.	A genogram is a graphical map of a family across at least three generations that uses standardized symbols to record its structure, key biographical and medical events, and the quality of relationships among members. Genogram analysis is the practice of constructing such a map with a client and then interpreting it to reveal intergenerational patterns — of illness, relationships, roles, conflict, and resilience — that shape the presenting situation. Standardized by Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson and grounded in Bowen family-systems theory, it is a staple qualitative assessment tool in social work and family therapy.	Strengths assessment is a structured way of assessing a client that deliberately foregrounds capabilities, resources, and aspirations rather than deficits and problems. Grounded in the strengths perspective articulated by Dennis Saleebey and operationalized in Charles Rapp and Richard Goscha's strengths model, it surveys the client's life domains — such as daily living, health, finances, relationships, leisure, and spirituality — to record what is already working, what the person wants, and the personal and environmental resources available to get there. Those strengths then become the raw material for goal-setting and intervention.	In task-centered social work, task analysis is the qualitative procedure of breaking a client's agreed-upon goal into a sequence of concrete, accomplishable tasks, then examining what helps and hinders the completion of each. Rooted in William Reid and Laura Epstein's task-centered model, it turns a large or vague problem into a chain of small, reviewable actions for the client and worker, and treats the success or failure of each task as data for refining the plan. It is both a planning device and an analytic lens on the change process.