Owning our transactional analysis roots includes accepting coownership of the psychoanalytic vertical orientation. The dominance of the oedipal represents the vertical dimension of our lives and can be seen as the centerpiece of Freud’s theoretical framework, which found its way seamlessly into transactional analysis. This article takes a metaperspective on these developments and focuses on the murderous aspects of sibling relationships. It starts with a vignette about a sibling relationship and a reflection on mythology, both in relation to murderous sibling behavior. The author then considers why sibling relationships have been neglected so long in the psychoanalytic literature. The article expands on the lateral and horizontal dimensions of society before adding the core dynamics of lateral psychology thinking: identification and deidentification. The author concludes by promoting the case for integrating both vertical and horizontal orientations and suggests three potential areas for further research.

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Articles
The Murderous Sibling
Pages 26-38
Published online: 28 Dec 2017