Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D. (www.tinatessina.com) is a licensed psychotherapist in S. California since 1978 with over 40 years’ experience in counseling individuals and couples and author of 15 books in 17 languages, including It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction; The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make After Forty; Love Styles: How to Celebrate Your Differences, The Real 13th Step, How to Be Happy Partners: Working it Out Together and How to Be a Couple and Still Be Free. She writes the Dr. Romance(TM) blog (drromance.typepad.com), and the "Happiness Tips from Tina" email newsletter. Online, she’s known as Dr. Romance(TM) Dr. Tessina appears frequently on radio, TV, video and podcasts. She tweets @tinatessina. Dr. Tessina’s many years of experience in helping people shows in her writing. Her very practical books are filled with reader-friendly exercises, suggestions, guidelines, and examples. Although simply and elegantly written they are deceptively powerful. Each of Dr. Tessina’s books draws on the knowledge she has gained in her years of clinical work with individuals and couples. Each book was written as Dr. Tessina discovered a body of information needed by her clients that was not already published. Her books are not mere speculation, but the concrete result of Dr. Tessina’s experiences in helping people overcome their resistance, their fears and their emotional wounds. In addition to her professional work, Dr. Tessina is a trained opera singer and a lyric coloratura. She also writes poetry and song lyrics (her songs have been recorded by several well-known singers, including Helen Reddy), speaks Spanish and some French, and loves ballroom dancing. She lives in Long Beach, California with her husband of 36 years, Richard Sharrard, ballroom instructor and owner of DanceFactoryOnline.com. They spend the little spare time they have traveling, enjoying their vintage California bungalow, gardening, and playing with their three dogs. Dr. Tessina earned both her B.A. and M.A. at The Lindenwood Colleges, St. Charles, Missouri (1977), and her Ph.D. at Pacific Western University, Los Angeles (1987). She is a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association and a Certified Domestic Violence Counselor. Connect with Dr. Tessina online: http: //www.tinatessina.com Dr. Romance Blog: http: //drromance.typepad.com Twitter.com/tinatessina Facebook.com/TinaTessina Facebook.com/TheReal13thStep https: //www.facebook.com/DrRomanceBlog