By Natasha Clark
On a November night, loud music blared from room 404 in Enterprise Hall as 22-year-old resident assistant Allison Negron finished up her last round throughout the building.Annoyed by the music that was flooding the floor way past quiet hours, Negron began to knock on the door of 404.
No one came, so she knocked again this time a little louder. The music fell silent and out poked the head of a cute guy with brown hair, brown eyes and a cocky attitude.
Negron informed the resident, Stephen Carrasso, 22, that he was violating the University’s quiet hour policy and he needed to turn down his music.
She then disappeared before he had the chance to protest or slam the door in her face.Carrasso turned down his music that night, but he was intrigued. Who was the pretty girl with the Queen’s accent and brown eyes? He asked around and eventually found an answer.
By January they were an unofficial item.
It has been a year since Carrasso met the “girl of his dreams.” They are now officially an item; Facebook says so, but will their relationship last or will their different personalities collide and force their relationship status to go from “in a relationship” to “single”?
Gerald Epstein, MD, author of Healing Visualizations and an expert in morphology, a science of face reading, opens his door to his Upper Eastside apartment and helps Negron and Carrasso see that it is possible to judge a lover by his or her cover.
Morphology is a 5,000-year-old practice originating in the ancient Mediterranean and Egypt used to diagnosis health needs, behavior, personality and physiology all by the structure of the face.
“Your face is unique,” Epstein said. “The face speaks to who you are.”
According to morphologists, the face reflects what is happening in one’s inner being; no two faces on Earth are the same, Epstein said.
Morphologists believe that at birth, 95 percent of our disposition is fixed, our profiles reveal one of four temperaments and our faces reveal one of 12 personalities. These personalities are determined by shapes correlating with the names of Greek and Roman gods.
The morphological system is not fixed. As changes take place in a person’s life, that person’s morphology is altered to reflect those changes.
“The front face is exposed to the world and changes every five to seven years,” Epstein said. “It depends on the imposition of the world on you.”
Epstein explains that the four basic temperaments are: Nervous, which is displayed through a bullet-shape head and long nose; Sanguine, jutting chin, sloping forehead; Bilious, strong forehead, well-defined chin; and Lymphatic, flat forehead, weak chin and thick neck.
Epstein said that morphology lets one know what he or she needs as an individual. As the sun shines through the bay window, natural light engulfs the silent room and Epstein begins to examine Negron and Carrasso’s faces to determine if they are indeed compatible.
Hand on his chin, Epstein looks into Negron’s eyes and declares that her profile is Lymphatic.
“Look at her face,” Epstein said. “She has no chin, she’s a Lymphatic.”
According to Epstein, Negron is a straight arrow. She is a good administrator, a good communicator and very well organized.
Her face shape is a circle, Ios/Moon. “She wants to have a family,” Epstein said. “She is maternal.”
Moon women love their children and are nurturing by nature. The bond with their children often surpasses their relationship with their husbands; the husband must accept a secondary role in the family, according to morphology.
“I’d say it’s pretty accurate,” Negron said. “I do want to have a family someday.”Next, Epstein moves onto Carrasso’s face. Hand on his chin once again; Epstein searches his face for signs of his personality.
His strong forehead and well-defined chin tells Epstein that he is a Bilious. “He’s holding secrets,” Epstein said, adding that he could be addictive, volatile, self-centered and prideful.
“I’m definitely not self-centered, I’m just sexy,” Carrasso joked. “I’m not hiding anything, but everybody’s got their secrets.”
Carrasso’s face shape is a trapezoid, Chronos/Saturn. Trapezoid types are hypersexual and they often mistake sex for love, according to morphology.
Picking up both photographs of Negron and Carrasso, Epstein’s eyes move continuously to each face. He focuses his attention on one photograph, looks up, then moves to the next.
“I wonder if he would get bored,” Epstein said. “She is maternal, it’s like she is raising him.”
Placing the photos on the table in front of him, Epstein states that couples must never have the idea that they can change each other. “You are who you are,” Epstein said. “Trying to change the other person is a mistake and it will always come back to haunt you.”
Epstein believes Negron and Carrasso are a good match.
An hour session with Epstein costs $500; however, Epstein considers it to be “priceless.”
“One session will give them enough meaningful information,” Epstein said. “They can immediately use what they’ve learned.”
Epstein was originally trained as a physician, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst; however, after 15 years practicing Freudian psychiatry, he abandoned his direction in 1974 to study therapeutic uses of the imagination under Colette Aboulker-Muscat, teacher of Walking Dream and Transformational Imagery.
Epstein is currently the Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and he maintains a private practice in New York as well.
He is Director of The American Institute for Mental Imagery, a post-graduate training center for health care practitioners. He also holds public classes and workshops in imagery, dreams and Kabbalah.
“We give you the basics of the science of morphology,” Epstein said. “Then you must practice until you get the hang of it.”
In his 32 years of practicing morphology, Epstein said most of his patients come to him when they are suffering from some kind of physical, mental, emotional or social imbalance in one form or another.
“They are searching for relief from the suffering,” Epstein said.
Couples come to Epstein to help them understand one another’s needs.
“They build bridges,” Epstein said. “It’s helped to bring a lot of marriages together.”
Morphology was used 1,450 years ago as a major way for people to know someone quickly. Morphologists believe that all humans are incomparable beings, and morphology allows people to live a “guilt-free” life.
“With morphology there are no labels, it gives you a path in life and a way to pursue that path.” Epstein said.
Morphology is not an accepted field in the United States, but in the 20th century, the French used morphology in their hiring process, this practice is no longer legal, however, the Societe Francaise de Morphopsychologie still encourages the use of morphology as a way to make the most of their employees natural strengths.
Epstein believes morphology is the most accurate of all sciences.
“Morphology is an absolute science,” Epstein said. “This science is not open to speculation.”
Everyone is appreciated, not depreciated by being labeled or found to be wrong, bad or abnormal, according to morphology.
“It is information that comes to you through direct evidence,” Epstein said. “The face is direct there are fewer inferences and fewer gaps to fill in.”
Morphology is a sacred science and art and should not be used as a game or in public situations, Epstein said.
“I don’t want to trivialize it,” Epstein said. “It has great value, and helps us understand the way we’ve been created and how to carry out our life mission.”
As for Negron and Carrasso?
Their Facebook relationship status does not yet say they are “engaged,” but Carrasso said he plans on asking Negron to marry him within the next year.
“I was thinking about saying yes,” Negron said. “That is if I’m not busy that day.”

These are the shapes used to determine personality traits.

Negron (left) and Carrasso have a better understanding of each other aftera morphology session.