Let’s jingle bells all the way in this holiday’s celebration

By Valeria Vilar, MA, BEd, LMHC

The Holiday season is a time of great expectations. People plan with anticipation how to make each event a special moment to be celebrated and remembered. Different celebration models reflect each one’s nature: from romantic environments, with fireplaces, and inspiring music; all the way to fireworks, exotic, and magnificent parties; and everything in between. There is no universal or established way of celebrating, just the opposite, we may choose to create and participate in the kind of festivity that best suits our preferences.

For some people the holiday season can also be a conflicting time. This time of year is often a tough one to go through, for those people with addictions to shopping, alcohol or food.

The most wonderful time of the year

By Valeria Vilar, MA, BEd, LMHC

We hear holiday songs all around us; there is cinnamon scent in the air; houses, streets and shops gleam with lights; and a sense of magic pervades our emotions.

Shop windows entice us to buy attractive gifts. Radio, television, multiple tourist offers, attractive destinations, cruises, etc., delight us and invite us to experience amazing holidays, the best and most unique holidays in our lives, that will remain in our memories forever.

This magical ambience promises both joy and plenitude that may lead some people to build up high expectations hard to achieve.

The importance of positive communication in the family

By Valeria Vilar, MA, BEd, LMHC

The influence of family communication is critical. The interaction between parents and children is essential and constructive.

The interaction between members of a family consists of a system of emotional relationships between people who usually live together and are a source of mutual support.

The family is the first socialization field for an individual, and communication is an essential factor in this process.

When it comes to communication, the "what is transmitted” is as important as the “how it is transmitted”. Communication is very important in the adjustment of children both in childhood and adolescence.

The influence of communication on the adaptation process of both children and adolescents can be positive or negative:

Positive family communication:

•  Positive attitude in life
•  Positive self-esteem, personal self-assessment

The holidays tramp

By Valeria Vilar, MA, BEd, LMHC

The Holiday season is a time of great expectations. People plan with anticipation how to make each event a special time to be celebrated and remembered.  Different celebration models reflect each one’s nature: romantic environments, fireplaces, inspiring music on one side; on the other, fireworks, and exotic, exhilarating carnival-like parties. There is not a universal or proper way of celebrating, on the contrary, we are able to create and participate in the kind of festivity that best suits our preferences.

The Holiday season is also a very conflicting time. Some couples find it difficult to match their expectations and families are torn away by competing events and celebrating styles. Even the selection of gifts could become a bitter confrontation. 

Yours, mine... Ours

By Valeria Vilar, MA, BEd, LMHC

Family is the basis of society, the space where the personality of each member starts building up, the pillar on which the psychological, social and physical development of humans is determined. Ideally, it gives each of its members a sense of emotional stability and safety.

Nowadays, there are different family structures, and the traditional family —mother, father and children— is now just one of the many possibilities. The concept of family now includes blended families as well.

Blended families, that is, those that come together through a second marriage merging the children of both spouses, face different challenges than the traditional biological family.

• As professionals, in the last years we have seen a variety of blended family families.
• The most frequent concerns these families face are:
• Arguments regarding the different criteria for raising children. Between “my natural children and yours”.