Articles

The following articles are published and copyrighted columns in the
Santa Cruz Sentinel, Santa Cruz, CA under "Relationship Matters"
by Offra Gerstein.

The articles are categorized into the following five sections:

1. Tools for Couple Happiness
2. Dating/ Mate Selection
3. Understanding Your Partner's Personality
4. Marriage and Family
5. Divorce
6. Coping With Trauma

1. Tools for Couple Happiness

Make love last with the five-to-one method
How to stay in love long after the honeymoon is over
How couples sustain happiness
How not to fight
How to feel better when you are hurt
How to give and receive strokes
The noncompetitive edge will win love
Boundaries that will enhance life
A loving relationship means never criticizing your partner
Spend a little time with me
Why should we be monogamous?
The powerful language of love
Always tell the truth? Keep on dreaming
Can being loved make you better looking?
Promises made and kept- fuel trust
Are you feeling loved? The magic of reciprocity
The healing power of apology
How to avoid controlling behavior in your relationship
How to communicate your needs to your partner
Keep your love alive while raising your children
Messages to avoid in healthy relationships
How to get in the mood for sex
Handling the ebb, flow in relationships
Avoiding resentments in relationships
Are you happy together?
Use your anger wisely
Playfulness can keep you together
Accepting the whole package
Men and women are from earth
Handling the male mid-life crisis
How to stop fighting the wrong way
How to cope with s-s-s-stress
Who is right and who is wrong?
Make your thanksgiving a daily habit
Spicing up your sex life
Messages to avoid in healthy relationships
Empathy strengthens relationships

2. Dating / Mate Selection

How to choose the right partner
How to overcome rejection in romantic love
What is love? And how do you know when you have found it?
How to follow your intuition in love
Breaking up is hard to do
Dealing with jealousy in relationships
Getting back together after ending a relationship
The successful woman's search for Mr. Right
To commit or not to commit
Can you be married and free?
When you date the unfit to commit

3. Understanding Your Partner's Personality

Dealing with your partners unique traits
Understand your highly emotional partner
What can be done about a womanizer?
Is your partner self absorbed?
How to deal with a flirtatious partner
The lovable-infuriating partner
Being a giver is a mixed blessing

4. Marriage and Family

We are family
How to balance your relationship with your current and former spouse?
Family and forgiveness
The secret types of marriage contracts
Can this marriage be fixed?
His, her chores; Is it fair?
The state of the affairs
The choice is up to you
The money is gone but we still have...
What teen girls think about sex
How to get in the mood for sex

5. Divorce

When a man leaves a woman Part 1
When a man leaves a woman Part 2
When a man leaves a woman Part 3
The differences love and hate create in divorce

6. Coping With Trauma

Sept. 11th - How can we cope?
Sept. 11th - Why have our dreams changed?
Sept. 11th - Everyday heroism
Sept. 11th - How do we heal?
Sept. 11th - Managing our fears
The resilient American