ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the impact family-of-origin sibling relationships can have on couples. It reviews the literature on sibling relationships. The chapter focuses on technique and makes some suggestions for future work in the field of couple therapy. It suggests that sibling relationships can infiltrate the very fibre of our intimate relationships. F. Klagsbrun has argued that internalized childhood sibling images can have an even greater impact on couples than parental images. E. Morley writes how "the couple's relationship [is] one of transference to the couple of their lateral sibling relationships, the quality of which had been dictated by their experience of their vertical parent-child relationships". The idea of partner-to-partner transference was first alluded to by A. C. R. Skynner, who described the ways partners perceive and manipulate each other as if they resemble important figures from childhood. The chapter presents some examples from the author clinical work with couples.
