Siblings in the Psyche and in Psychoanalysis by Suzanne Haas-Lyon, Ph.D.

January 10, 2026

Suzanne (Sue) Haas-Lyon, PhD

Live Interactive Online Webinar

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Time:
10:00 am – 1:00 pm PST
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT

Content Level: Intermediate
One-Session Program: 3 CEs
Member Fee: $120.00
Candidate/Student Fee: $75.00

This videoconference is co-sponsored by The Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies (CIPS) and The Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS)

Siblings in the Psyche and in Psychoanalysis by Suzanne Haas-Lyon, Ph.D.

Description

Sibling relationships mark the beginning of finding one’s place in relation to an “other.” We intensely love and hate these similar beings — the longed-for soulmate, and the threatened replacement. The sibling experience invokes the questions — how are we the same and different, and can we each have a place?

The experience that a sibling has a position that one cannot have in relation to the parent often evokes annihilation anxiety and murderous wishes. For many patients, fears of harming or being harmed by a sibling object, and/or the vicissitudes of sibling love, play a crucial role in inhibitions, strivings, and intimacy.

This course will address various factors emerging in clinical work with a focus on sibling transference and countertransference. From a historical perspective, we will explore Freud’s own sibling trauma as a factor in his excluding siblings as theoretically significant in psychoanalysis. We will examine Juliet Mitchell’s “Law of the Mother” that prohibits sibling incest and particularly murder.

In addition, we will consider the role sibling dynamics may play in “othering” in which ethnicities, races, and religions appear to wish to be the only one.

Suzanne (Sue) Haas-Lyon, Ph.D., is an Emeritus member of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. She has published on sibling relationships, and has taught and presented on siblings for more than twenty years, including at the IPA, Division 39, and at a European Federation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy conference on siblings.

References

  • Davis, Rosemary (2018). Rivalry: Benign or belligerent sibling of envy and jealousy? A clinical reflection on the “Winded, not Wounded” experience in the countertransference. Psychoanal.Q., (87)(2):265-285

  • Jaffe, R. (2021). Looking for the lost sibling. Rom. J. Psychoanal., (14)(1):63-74.

  • Sommantico, M. (2021). The fraternal: From the intrapsychic to the intersubjective. Rom. J. Psychoanal., (14)(1):43-62.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the program, participants will be able to:

  1. Explain Juliet Mitchell’s theory that the vertical “separation trauma” and the horizontal “sibling trauma” both contribute to psychic structure.

  2. Describe Juliet Mitchell’s concept of the Law of the Mother and its role in the child’s passage from the trauma of losing its place as the baby to locating itself in the social realm.

  3. Describe Oedipal sibling triangles, as defined by Sharpe and Rosenblatt, and their effects on development, identifications, object relating, and psychopathology.

  4. Recognize and attend to sibling transference and countertransference in treatment, and recognize how such transferences may be evoked among peers and groups.

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
  • NY Psychoanalysts: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0021.
  • 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.