Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D

1 week ago | psychologytoday.com | Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D |Hara Estroff Marano

When we first meet and during the embryonic stages of loving relationships, we tend to be on our best behavior. Yet, way too often, over time, we also let down our guard and allow ourselves to respond to our partners in ways that don't feel good. It's human nature to take things for granted. Unfortunately, the same thing happens in our intimate relationships, where we lose sight of just how precious and special our partners are to us.

2 weeks ago | psychologytoday.com | Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D |Hara Estroff Marano

When parents contact me for coaching about struggles their adult children are having, they tend to share a lot about the actions they observe from them. It is heartbreaking to see their adult children in pain and for that pain to come back to the parents in the form of their adult children shutting down or lashing out.

2 weeks ago | psychologytoday.com | Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D |Jessica Schrader

Therapy often seems to people like it is some sort of mystical experience with a sagely mental health professional who is unwaveringly capable of helping resolve upsetting problems. We often discuss therapy as if it were a magic fix. As if you go into your therapist's office and share your struggles, receive insight, and walk away feeling healed. If only it were that simple. The actual reality is that therapy works best when it's collaborative.

2 weeks ago | psychologytoday.com | Jeffrey Bernstein Ph.D |Kaja Perina

If you think about it, it sounds like you're doing the right thing; maybe you can even think of it as being noble. I mean, what could be more reasonable than wanting things to be fair? But after 34 years and approximately 42,000 clinical hours of listening to counseling clients, I can assert that "fair" is the four-letter word that quietly wrecks relationships. Please hear me out.