Metro Event - A Twin’s Dilemma: Being Known, Noticed, and Recognized

When:  Feb 21, 2020 from 08:30 AM to 11:00 AM (ET)

Presentation Description:

Most twins do not feel they have permission to express what they authentically feel about being and having a twin. Many fear that to do so would mean jeopardizing a relationship that is often valued even more highly than a marriage. Whether one’s twinship is superficially compatible or outwardly combative, neither extreme can reflect the spectrum of one’s authentic feelings. Every close relationship involves ambivalence, and this is especially true of twins. Children cannot be parented by a same-age sibling; nevertheless, some twin pairs are raised this way because parents often find caring for and managing twins so understandably taxing. Unfortunately, some parents feel that the twin connection is more important than the parent-child connection and thus abdicate their parental role to the twinship. This usually results in the twins growing up excessively dependent upon and possessive of one another. Twins who have not had ample opportunities to develop a singular sense of self will be delayed in terms of feeling as if they can manage adult life challenges such as going to college alone or living apart from one’s twin. Moreover, the triadic system of mother/baby/baby organically engenders competition and comparison. Each child competes for parental love and attention while also being labeled and compared to his same age sibling. Based on the content of the workshop, participants will be able to 1.Identify distinct childhood developmental differences that impact twin maturity 2.Utilize attachment and development theory to work with parents of twins and twins 3.Define three goals with patients to help manage the twin connection

About the Presenter:

Dr. Joan A. Friedman is a psychoanalytically trained psychotherapist who has devoted many years of her professional career to educating twins and their families about twins’ emotional needs. Having worked through her own twinship challenges and parented her fraternal twin sons, she is a definitive expert on twin development. She is the author of Emotionally Healthy Twins: A New Philosophy for Parenting Two Unique Children and The Same but Different: How Twins Can Live, Love, and Learn to Be Individuals. Her latest book, Twins in Session: Case Histories in Treating Twinship Issues, was published in June 2018. It is a book written for psychotherapists and educators who are seeking specialized insight into twin psychology. She has spoken to and consulted with culturally diverse groups of twins around the world. Dr. Friedman’s work focuses on issues that adult twins confront as they adjust to life as singletons after having been raised as twins.

Continuing Education:

2 CE for NYS MFTs, Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers
Please review our Continuing Education Policy
Please follow our Check In & Out Procedure for your Continuing Education Certificate
Please note AAMFT Event Cancellation/Refund Policy

Pricing Information

Registration Price
New York Network Students $5.00
New York Network Members $20.00
AAMFT Members $40.00
Non-Members $60.00

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations to any paid event and any subsequent request for refund must be made in writing no later than 15 days prior to the start of the event. Upon cancellation you have the right to request that your fee (in full) be held (for up to one year) and used toward another event registration from this same AAMFT Network. If you prefer a refund, cancellations made more than 45 days before the event will receive a 75% refund. Cancellations made between 44 and 15 days before the event will receive a 50% refund. No refunds will be offered within 14 days of the event.

To request a refund, please contact your program leadership directly.