Many twin pairs begin to experience discord and tension when one sibling no longer needs the other the way she used to. This change can occur at all levels of development and depends on many factors unique to each twinship. In the cases I treat, I have found this dynamic to be particularly troubling for older female identical twins. They often have difficulty adjusting to new parameters even if they are both unhappy with the status quo. An identical twin […]

Some twins seek psychotherapy because they feel stuck in their relationship. Diminished communication, lack of physical proximity, angry interactions, or emotional tension can contribute to feeling detached. Many twins can explain why they think their twinship has changed, while others are clueless. My male patients seem more hindered in this capacity. Because they do not seem to need many outside attachments, they are content to hang out with their twin and share activities, hobbies, and sports. Being together without any […]

Many twins have limited access to their inner feelings because of the expectable emotional disruption triggered by growing up alongside a same-age sibling. Until they experience a developmental change or environmental shift, they do not realize that they have missed out on opportunities to acknowledge their gut feelings. Many twins maintain compatibility in the twinship by accommodating their sibling’s needs. So, if one twin has grown up believing that emotional equilibrium is best managed by ceding control to the other, […]

I have the privilege of working long term with several young-adult twins who are enmeshed. In many of these situations, the parents are either ineffectual or absent. One pair of identical female twins stands out because of their almost absolute dependence on one another. Ironically, they came from a large family and were the youngest of five children. Nonetheless, they seemed to grow up emotionally isolated from their siblings and parents. When the girls were adolescents, the older children were […]

I recently listened to a podcast in which a guest spoke about envying her brother’s financial success. The host advised the caller to “follow the envy”—in other words, to recognize this feeling as an indication of what she wants for herself and to come to grips with why she has not accomplished those desires. I was struck by the relevance of this advice to twin relationships. Individuals often feel that envy is a pernicious feeling that evokes shame and self-loathing. […]