The Initial Phase of Concomitant Treatment of Twins

The concomitant treatment of preschool age fraternal twins is presented in its initial phase because it provided an unusual opportunity to understand further the implications of separation of twins from each other as revealed during the therapeutic process. The initial phase of therapy,2 a period of three months, encapsulated two main problems: how the introduction of therapy upset the formerly established equilibrium between the twins, and how each differed in her ability to utilize treatment. This initial phase shed some further light upon the problem of individuation3 and the development of object relationship in twins, an area of focus in the growing psychoanalytic interest in twins. The treatment of these twins within the Council Child Developmental Center4 provided a unique opportunity to observe their behavior prior to and following the introduction of therapy.

Prior to the influence of psychoanalytic theory, studies on twins traditionally focused upon the problem of heredity versus environment. It became apparent that material obtained during the adult analysis of