Category Archives: Loss

Selective Mutism in Twins

A few weeks ago I came across a terrific article about the treatment of selective mutism in five-year-old male twins written by a prominent psychologist named Dr. Katherine K. Dahlsguard. She is the lead practitioner of the Anxiety Behaviors Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In the case described in the article, she astutely ruled out a language disorder in the twins, explaining that the boys exhibited normal language development as toddlers. Additionally, she pointed out that idioglossia—the technical term for […]

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Running Out of Time to Be a Twin

A seventeen-year-old fraternal twin girl whom I will call Mia contacted me to talk about the challenges she and her sister may encounter when they attend separate colleges in the fall. She described her relationship with her sister as very close, sharing extracurricular activities, friends, and interests. They are the only children in the family. Last summer, they separated for the first time. Although Mia felt strange being without “her security blanket,” she related that it felt fantastic to be […]

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The Intersection of Our Past and Present

Speaking to a lovely group of twin moms a few months ago, I was struck by a dilemma plaguing one of the mothers. She related that, contrary to her own personal beliefs, her husband is passionately opposed to the idea that it is healthier for twins to be differentiated. He believes their six-year-old fraternal sons should wear the exact same clothes, and he does not see the value of spending alone time with each boy. He feels that the twin […]

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Twin Loss: Tragic and Terrifying

I have been working with a middle-aged woman whose twin brother died suddenly and unexpectedly a few years ago. It has taken her a long time to find the right therapist to help her work through her loss. She tried attending various grief groups; however, her disappointment and anger about not finding anyone who could intrinsically understand the loss as it related to the twin relationship made the process all the more difficult, painful, and prolonged. She appreciated e-mail exchanges […]

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Aussie Parenting Advice

I recently read an article on the Internet about triplet families from Australia, and it referenced a book titled Twins: A Practical Guide to Parenting Multiples from Conception to Preschool by Katrina Bowman and Louise Ryan. The book was initially published in 2002, and a revised edition came out in 2014. The latter edition has a new section dedicated solely to triplets. Immediately I ordered a copy and read it. The book is easy to read and organized from conception […]

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