The parental relationship object and its internalisation within sibling dynamics

In psychotherapy and psychoanalysis we often think we are quite relational How ever in many ways the focus does become quite individualist Harper For example we think about the impact of the mother on the child or the father on the child and how this passes down through an intergenerational transmission of experiences on a vertical axis to each individual rarely do we think about and stay with the relationship itself that is the relationship between the parents and how this relationship object is internalised and thus impacts the relationship between the children for instance siblings In doing so we could arguably be giving greater consideration to the horizontal lateral axis In this article the author aims to focus and stay at the relationship level focusing on selected themes identi fied within the parental relationship object and how this is internalised and impacts the sibling dynamic and future relationships between siblings in adulthood.