Sex & Relationships Archives

Therapist and Bestselling Author Vienna Pharaon Shares 10 Insights on Healing Childhood Wounds and Building Healthier Connections

Many of the behaviors that show up in adult relationships — defensiveness, emotional shutdown, perfectionism, people-pleasing, fear of conflict — often begin as survival strategies long before adulthood. At a recent conversation hosted by The Family Institute at Northwestern University — a Make It Better 2026 Philanthropy Award winner — licensed marriage and family therapist […]

by Jane Bodmer

May 28, 2026

Domestic Violence in Wealthy Communities Is Hiding in Plain Sight — and Silence Keeps It That Way

I remember the day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. My stomach churned, my hands shook, and the circles under my eyes could no longer be covered with makeup. That was the defining moment I chose to rescue myself from my abuser, despite the privilege that convinced […]

by Tracey Mayer

March 31, 2026

I Love You, My Dear Chatbot: Why People Are Falling For AI Companions

We know it isn’t real. We know that the “person” on the other end of the screen doesn’t have feelings, a body, or a past. And yet, we talk to it, confide in it, even fall for it. Artificial intelligence has entered our emotional lives quietly but decisively. Apps and AI chatbots now listen, flirt, […]

by Robin Stern, Ph.D. and Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

February 4, 2026

Reach For a Loved One Before They Reach for a Drug — A Mother’s Plea and Advice After Losing Her Son to Fentanyl

My youngest son Charlie had only been 27 for two weeks when his body was found dead in a Sacramento hotel room in July 2022. He died from fentanyl poisoning. Charlie always told me he was too smart to do a bad drug. I asked the Sacramento Police Department for help in getting my son’s phone […]

by Betsy B. Murphy

April 28, 2023

Author Q&A: How Rebecca Makkai Blends Fiction and True Crime in Her Latest Novel ‘I Have Some Questions For You’

How reliable is our memory? When we examine the past now, what do we see? Bestselling author Rebecca Makkai tackles these questions in her latest novel, I Have Some Questions For You — available February 21, 2023, published by Viking Penguin. At its core, the story is about revisiting the past to distinguish truth over […]

by Better Staff

February 21, 2023

You Said It: The Holiday Season Can Be as Difficult as It Is Delightful — How to Give the Gift of Your Best Self This Year

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” We can’t help wondering if Edward Pola and George Wyle, who wrote this famous Christmas tune — popularized by Andy Williams — meant for their lyrics to be sung with a touch of sarcasm. As much as we may want this time of year to be the hap-happiest season […]

by Robin Stern, Ph.D. and Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

December 17, 2022