The 'phantasy sibling transference': only-child adults and finding a 'position' in the therapeutic setting.

This study originated from my experience of an unusual transference with my only-child adult patients and in my own psychotherapy. I wanted to explore the idea that only-child adults may create a transference in the therapeutic setting which mimics a sibling transference. Juliet Mitchell provides a valuable framework in which to understand the intersecting and yet distinct lateral and vertical dimensions of psychic life suggesting that on the arrival of a sibling, the infant is thrown into disarray and must negotiate a new position both with the parents and within the sibling group. This propels the infant into a complex and fraught challenge around the issue of identity which, according to Jeanine Vivona, can only be resolved through the gaining of validation and recognition on the lateral dimension with siblings, enabling the infant to know who they are and where they stand in the sibling group. This is later reflected in the world of peers. I suggest the only-child adult, having missed out on these psychological challenges in relation to siblings, is left without a ‘position’ and without an identity in the lateral world. This research attempts to investigate this potential phenomenon through the interviewing of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapists who have worked with only-child adult patients. Analysing the data through reflective thematic analysis and developing themes from their countertransference, the results suggest the only-child adult does enact a ‘phantasy sibling transference’. Finally, understanding the inner world of the only-child adult may enable an attempt at resolution of this sibling conflict within the therapeutic setting with the discovery of the only-child adult’s identity on the lateral dimension.