Elaine Bontempi, Ph.D.

© Elaine Bontempi, Ph.D., 2022 All Rights Reserved Almost all classic fairy tales begin with “Once upon a time…” and end with “…happily ever after.” Yet, this is one of the very things that critics of fairy tales, including feminists and some psychologists, point to when making arguments against teaching children these treasured tales. Others see great value in fairytales, including Albert Einstein, who is credited as saying, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read

© Elaine Bontempi, Ph.D., 2022 All Rights Reserved “The Shadow,” was a popular radio show based on dramatisations of detective stories that aired during the 1930s. My mom, who listened to the show when she was young, purchased CD reproductions of the show that were complete with the crackling and popping sounds of the original recordings. In attempts to recapture the ambiance of the era, she would listen to them on a CD player designed to look like an old fashioned radio. At

© Elaine Bontempi, Ph.D., 2022 All Rights Reserved During the 1960’s there was a popular television game show called “To Tell the Truth.” During the show four celebrity panelists such as Betty White and Kitty Carlisle were presented with three contestants that all claimed to be the same person who had accomplished some amazing feat such inventing the ball point pen, escaping from concentration camps, receiving singing awards, being crowned “Miss America,“ etc. The real person

This is a very powerful but fun activity for self reflection and providing insight into one's sense of self identity...

The ways in which people handle stress vary considerably from one person to the next. Each person has a unique set of experiences, coping...