Dr. Todd Berntson

What Dr. Todd Berntson makes

Topics childhood trauma, self-esteem, mental health, addiction recovery, personal growth

A different take on childhood trauma—and the ways it shapes your life today. Why does success leave you feeling inadequate? Why do you keep trying to please people who don’t value you? Why can setting a boundary feel like doing something wrong? I’m Dr. Todd Berntson, creator of Effigism and the Five-Domain Model of Self-Concept. I explore how early relationships shape who we believe we are—and how those beliefs influence our emotions, choices, and relationships. Drawing on professional experience, research, and more than four decades of personal recovery, I bring a fresh perspective to shame, self-esteem, people-pleasing, addiction, and the struggle to feel connected and secure. Through direct explanations, practical healing strategies, and conversations with guests, we examine familiar problems, question assumptions, and explore what makes change possible. Understand what happened. Rethink what it means about you. Build a life with room to be yourself.

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