Sibling Therapy

Adults with siblings actually have two sets: the flesh-and-blood ones they grew up with, who have changed and aged together, and the ones who are a creation of their childhood perceptions, resentments, and idealizations about the original siblings. These siblings, like ghosts, are not visible; they never age. People carry them within, and, at varying times, are haunted by them. The ghosts have four components--frozen images, crystallized roles, unhealthy loyalty, and sibling transference--each of which has a unique effect on one's adult life and all may be transferred onto important adults in their love, work, and friendship lives.