You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The author considers developmental and transferential implications of the lateral dimension of psychic life, which entails the challenge to forge a unique and valued identity in a world of one's equals, beginning with siblings. The lateral dimension intersects with the vertical dimension of hierarchical relationships, notably those between child and parent. Consideration of the lateral dimension and its particular developmental challenge promises to expand our understanding of the processes of identity development and of transferences involving both siblings and parents. Moreover, conceiving of psychic life as comprising two dimensions may help to contextualize existing psychoanalytic understanding of sibling-related processes in light of fundamental tenets of psychoanalytic theory. A detailed clinical case provides an opportunity to consider the entwined roles of siblings and parents in the developmental challenges of the lateral and the vertical dimensions, and the ways in which identifications with parents and siblings may address those challenges. The author concludes that attention to the lateral dimension and its sibling-centered processes rewards us with a more comprehensive view of identity development and transference.