November 14, 2026
Silvia Resnizky
Live Interactive Online Webinar
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Time:
11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST
Content Level: Intermediate
One-Session Program: 2 CEs
Member Fee: $80.00
Candidate/Student Fee: $50.00
This videoconference is co-sponsored by The Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies (CIPS) and The Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS)
Siblinghood and the Fraternal Complex in Psychoanalytic Theory and Clinical Practice by Silvia Resnizky
Description
Siblinghood and the Fraternal Complex in Psychoanalytic Theory and Clinical Practice
This presentation explores the place of siblinghood and the fraternal complex in psychoanalytic theory and clinical practice. It proposes an expanded understanding of siblinghood that goes beyond biological sibling relationships to include social and symbolic ties among peers. From this perspective, siblinghood can be understood as a paradigm of horizontal links, encompassing relationships with “fellow beings” throughout the lifespan.
Over the last few decades, cultural transformations have given increasing prominence to these horizontal forms of relating. The decline of traditional vertical authority, the flattening of hierarchies, and the growing importance of peer networks have contributed to new forms of siblinghood that are not necessarily organized around parental figures or family belonging. The fraternal dimension can therefore be recognized not only within families, but also in friendships, institutions, political and ideological groups, religious communities, and other forms of collective life.
Fraternal links are inherently complex and ambivalent. They may be organized around shared ideals, projects, identification, cooperation, and solidarity, while at the same time involving jealousy, rivalry, and even hatred. The fraternal complex thus plays a structural role in psychic life, confronting the subject with fundamental experiences of similarity and difference, belonging and exclusion, cooperation and competition, as well as with the challenge of recognizing the other as both similar and irreducibly different.
The presentation will examine how the fraternal complex emerges and is reactivated in psychoanalytic clinical practice, not only in relationships between actual siblings but also in couples, families, peer relationships, and other significant links. Particular attention will be given to the tensions between similarity and difference, identification and alienness, solidarity and rivalry, and to the ways in which these tensions may either promote psychic transformation or become sources of conflict and suffering. Clinical vignettes will illustrate how a Link Theory perspective can broaden our understanding of these dynamics and open new possibilities for psychoanalytic intervention.
Silvia Resnizky, Licenciate in Psychology UBA (University of Buenos Aires), is a Training Psychoanalyst at the Buenos Aires Psychoanalytical Association (ApdeBA) and an IPA Specialist in Child and Adult Psychoanalysis. She has a private psychoanalytic practice with adolescents, adults, couples, and families in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and teaches and lectures locally and internationally. She was Co-Director of the M.A. Program in Family and Couples at the Mental Health University Institute in Buenos Aires (2013-2017) and has been Professor of Fraternal Links in the program since its establishment. She served on the IPA Board (2017-2021) and IPA Executive Committee (2019-2021). She currently serves as Co-Chair for Latin America of the IPA Committee on Psychoanalysis with Couples and Families (COFAP, 2021-2027). She is co-author, with Susana Mauer and Sara Moscona, of Psychoanalytic Work with Families and Couples: Clinical Perspectives on Suffering (Rutledge, 2020) and, most recently, Clinica Psicoanalitica Vincular (Letra Viva, 2024).
References
- Mauer, S., Moscona, S., & Resnizky, S. (2020). Thinking About Siblings. In Psychoanalytic Work with Families and Couples: Clinical Perspectives on Suffering (pp. 42-49). Routledge.
- Mauer, S., Moscona, S., & Resnizky, S. (2020). The Fraternal Dimension and Trauma. In Psychoanalytic Work with Families and Couples: Clinical Perspectives on Suffering (pp. 62-77). Routledge.
- Mitchell, J. (2022) Why Siblings? Introducing the “Sibling Trauma” and the “Law of the Mother” on the “Horizontal” Axis. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 75:121-139
- Resnizky, S. (2021) Siblinghood: The Paradigm of Horizontal Links. Romanian Journal of Psychoanalysis 14:15-26
- Resnizky, S. (2022a). Configurations of the fraternal in the social bond. Journal of Psychoanalysis of Guadalajara, 16.
- Resnizky, S. (2022b) Thinking About Siblinghood. Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in China 5(1):115-119
- Resnizky, S. (2023). The River Plate link theory: Training in link psychoanalysis. Interazioni, (2).
- Resnizky, S. (2025). Clinical devices, interventions and the development of the transference in couple psychoanalysis. Journal of the International Association of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis, (21).
- Ruiz, G. (2012) Siblings, Identity Development, and Clinical Process. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 60:1289-1295
- Vorchheimer, M. (2022) Discussion: “Thinking about Siblinghood” by Silvia Resnizky. Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in China 5:120-124
Learning Objectives
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
- Define siblinghood as a broad psychoanalytic concept that extends beyond biological sibling relationships to include social and symbolic horizontal links among peers.
- Describe the structuring function of the fraternal complex in psychic life, including the tensions between similarity and difference, identification and alienness, solidarity and rivalry.
- Identify manifestations of the fraternal complex in clinical practice and analyze how fraternal dynamics may contribute to both psychic transformation and conflict or suffering.
Who Should Attend
Mental Health Professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, e.g., LPs, LCATs, and pastoral counselors) and those with an interest in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic thinking and clinical applications.
Continuing Education Credits
- NY Social Workers: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0087
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- NY Licensed Psychologists: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0017.
- Psychologists: The Contemporary Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The CFS maintains responsibility for this program and its content. (DC, MD and VA Psychologist licensing boards accept CE credits provided by an APA approved Sponsor. All other psychologists should check with their licensing boards.)
- DC, MD and VA Social Workers: The Social Work Boards of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will grant continuing education credits to social workers attending a program offered by an APA authorized sponsor.
CE credits will only be granted to participants with documented attendance of the entire program. No partial credit will be offered. It is the responsibility of the participants seeking CE credits to comply with these requirements. Upon completion of this program and online evaluation form, participants will be granted CE credits.
Important Disclosure Information: There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
Cancellation Policy:
Full refunds will be issued if notification of cancellation is received 72 hours prior to the start of the course.