Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

GROUP, Vol. 35, No.4,Winter 2011 Introduction to the Special Issue JohnCaffaro1 Ithas takenmanyyearsforourfieldto understand whatsiblings meanto one another. Morethan65years(roughly 1890-1955) passedbefore themodernfield ofpsychotherapy acknowledged thefullimpact ofthefamily onthedevelopment oftheindividual, although references tofamily influence werealways present in thepsychoanalytic literature. Oncefamily therapy begantomakeheadway, itwas almost another 30years (1955-1982) before theimportance ofsibling relationships wasmorefully developed byBankandKahn(1982). Specific references totheimportance ofsibling relationships anddynamics tothe theory andpractice ofgrouppsychotherapy weresimilarly absent from theliterature . A comprehensive search ofthecontents oftheInternational Journal ofGroup Psychotherapy from theyear1980through 2003revealed onlyfour articles directly related tosibling issues.Oneofthoseearly papers(Rabin, 1989)hasbeenreprinted with permission inthisvolume. I willsaymoreaboutthisseminal paperlater. A bodyofliterature hasemerged overthepast30years that provides clearand convincing evidence that brothers andsisters havea majorinfluence onhuman development andbehavior (Bank& Kahn,1997; Brody, 1996;Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 1998; Dunn,1988; Schachter & Stone, 1987; Whiteman & Christiansen, 2008).Despite this knowledge, a prevailing buterroneous biasthat parents andpeersmatter more continues tokeepsiblings andsibling dynamics ingroups invisible. Fewgraduate programs inclinical psychology orsocialworkoffer substantive training inadult sibling dynamics. Asa result, many group psychotherapists areunderprepared tohelp group members copewith thecomplexities oftheir bondswith sisters andbrothers. Nonetheless, clinicalexperience suggests thatsibling issuesregularly ariseinthe 1 Distinguished Professor, California School ofProfessional Psychology, Alliant International University, Los Angeles, and private practice, DelMar, California. Correspondence should beaddressed toJohn Caffaro, PhD, California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, LosAngeles, CA91803, E-mail: jcaffaro@alliant.edu. ISSN 0362-4021©2011 Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society 273 274 CAFFARO practice ofgrouppsychotherapy. Grouptherapy offers anarray ofpossibilities for clients tointeract with leadersandmembers asthey onceinteracted with brothers andsisters. Sibling re-creations orfrozen roles, whenchallenged andconstructively addressed, provide group members with opportunities for increased awareness and for experimentation withnewbehavior (Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 2003). There aretwoaspectsofbeinga sibling that havedoggedtheliterature andtoo easilyconjured up rigidandfixed associations aboutourfield ofinquiry: rivalry andbirth order. Thebirth order hypotheses fuel popular assumptions aboutsibling rolesandbehaviors (e.g.,oldersaremoreresponsible andconventional, whereas youngers often becomerebels andhavemorefun)andalsoreducethecomplexity ofsibling relations tosometimes unrecognizable proportions. Important contextual variables, suchasgender, ethnicity, culture, andthefunctional rolea childoccupies ina family, getlostordiminished intheprocess. Thediscovery that siblings experiencetheir livesdifferently, though they areraisedinthesamefamily environment, highlights theimportance ofattending toeachgroup member sindividual reaction togroup events. Sibling experiences mayvary greatly, buttheevidence isclearthat sibling relationships matter a great deal.According toanearly longitudinal study ofsuccessful, well-educated men(including theHarvard classesof1938-1944), the single bestpredictor ofemotional health atage65years washaving a closerelationshipwith onessibling incollege; this wasmore predictive thanchildhood closeness toparents, emotional problems inchildhood, orparental divorce - more predictive, even,thanhaving hada successful marriage orcareer (Vaillant, 1977). Thisissueofthejournal begins with anearly article exploring theneglect ofpeer and sibling transferences in analytic grouptherapy byHerbert M. Rabin(1989). Theauthor usescaseexamples toexplore therichness ofworking through peerand sibling transference material ingroupwork. Asa supervising analyst overseveral decades,Rabinmakesthediscovery thatmosttherapists aremuchmoreattuned tothehistory ofthepatients relationship tohisorherparents thantohisorher relationships tosiblings andpeers.His efforts toaccountfor whythismaybe the case inevitably leadhimdirectly toFreud.Rabinunderscores theimportance of Freudsthinking regarding siblings andpeersas secondary actors withsuperficial rolestoplayinthedramaofthepatients narrative. ForFreud, everything points to either oedipal(three-person) orpreoedipal (two-person) dynamics. Rabinsetsoutto examinetheclinicalutility ofFreudshypothesis through exploration ofa groupcaseexample. Hisfocusonthefundamental importance of sibling dynamics intheworking through oftransference material for several patients demonstrates thevitality ofhisapproach. Rabinconcludes thatrather thanviewingpeerandsibling grouptransferences as derivative (ordefensive), they should beconsidered as sometimes central intheir ownright, with their ownexplanatory power.Thepoweroftheseearlyinsights has had considerable influence on the training anddevelopment ofa newgeneration ofgrouptherapists. Henceweare Introduction tothe Special Issue 275 pleasedto havetheRabinarticle serveas an important historical reminder and stimulus for thisspecialedition ofthejournal. Nextis Eva D. Papiasvilis"Sibling Transference Phenomenain Experiential ProcessGroups," which, building on Rabinswork, suggests thatsibling transferencescan also be manifested towardthegroupleader-therapist ortowardthe group-as-a-whole. Papiasvili, in herreviewoftheanalytic literature, notesthat, recently, Mitchell (2003)andVivona(2010)haveattempted toposita newspatial metaphor, addingthelateral (sibling) dimension tothevertical (parent-child) one astwointersecting challenges ofdesire andidentity. Sheexplores anddeepensour understanding oftherichness ofsibling transferences byreferring tothecontemporary analytic literature (Balsam, 1988; Des Rosiers, 1993; Vivona, 2010)addressing important distinctions between siblingderived parental transferences andsibling transferences intheir ownright, suggesting thattheformer reflects a pressure by thepatient tobeseenasa better sibling, whereas thelatter conveys competitiveness, specialunderstanding, andsolidarity. In "Family Systems Practicein Residential HealthCare:A Case forUsinga Sibling-Informed GroupIntervention," SusanRegas, RondaDoonan,John Caffaro, andJohn Bakaly takea family systems approach togroup intervention andexplore theremarkable impact that thedeath ofa child hasonthestaff ofa residential facility designed toprovide careforfamilies witha childsuffering from a critical illness. Thestrong emotions activated inresidential caregivers related tobothcurrent attachments andunresolved previous lossareheldinsharp relief under thetraumatic stress associatedwiththedeathofa child.Theauthors, as family psychologists, further...