Brothers & Sisters

How would depth psychology have evolved if Freud and Jung had used the Bible for inspiration, instead of Greek Mythology. These founders, both privileged firstborns, would have immediately discovered the central role sisters and brothers play in our social life, in our psyche and in our clinical work. Drawing on the original Hebrew text of Genesis, beginning with the primal story of Cain and Abel, this unusual book explores the tension within the brother-sister archetype between cooperation and competition, and between the myth and the reality of being brothers, having sisters, as well as the repeating motif of the missing brother or absent sister.

Exploring all 33 brother-sister stories in Scripture, author Henry Abramovitch examines the developmental sequence within brotherhood/sisterhood as we struggle to find a place for each other. His knowledge of Indian epics, linguistics, anthropology and years of clinical experience deepen the work, and so highlights the crucial role sibling dynamics plays in the formation of our identity, in the transference and especially in the process of individuation.

Abramovitch develops a new vocabulary to examine the depth psychology of siblings such as “shadow sibling,” “sibling stranger,” “Abel and Cain complex,” “polarized identity” and other innovative concepts. The book concludes with a very personal account of his own relationship with his brother and sister. This masterwork allows us to return to our roots and rediscover the significance of brothers and sisters in depth.