The intense outpouring of strong opinions regarding the issue of inviting one twin to a party and not including her sister has provoked an unexpected outcry on social media. I suggest that a more overarching issue has touched and inflamed many people: the cultural stereotyping of twins has been attacked and dismantled by the notion of separating the twins. Throughout the ages, twins have been portrayed as indivisible soul mates who will remain together forever in life and beyond. So […]

I have had the pleasure of working with several identical male twin pairs. Interestingly, in a number of instances, the parents of the twins reach out for help for their sons. Mothers and fathers alike are stunned and grief-stricken, at a loss to figure out why their closely bonded twins have stopped speaking to or seeing each other. They have little patience with or understanding about how or why the twin bond has collapsed. Never in their wildest dreams had […]

Helping patients find the courage and motivation to confront situations or experiences that feel too anxiety provoking or paralyzing is a therapeutic goal. Behavioral changes resulting from exposure to seemingly untenable situations can enhance the emotional growth facilitated by psychotherapy. The following narrative is a case in point. An identical twin woman in her midtwenties, “Marcy,” recounted a recent story. She had signed up for a four-day conference and had planned to be there with her twin sister. However, at […]

Many twins make successful adjustments when attending the same college. However, I often hear stories about unhappy twin pairs who go to the same university. In most of these cases, little or no thought has been given to the needs of both twins. While there may have been a fleeting notion about considering different universities, the idea is oftentimes dismissed or characterized as unimportant or frivolous. Also, many parents leave the decision-making up to the twins themselves rather than take […]

I am inundated with parental requests for help regarding their twins’ social struggles. Whether it’s primary school, middle school, high school, or college, these issues pop up and cause tremendous turmoil for twins and their families, who look for help to navigate through these dilemmas. In responding to requests from parents of twins of various ages, I believe that the root causes appear to be similar and longstanding. It stands to reason that if younger twins have been together most […]