The holiday season is full of family dinners and time spent catching up. It’s intended to be a time of celebration, but it’s hard to enjoy this time when family quarrels or bad feelings run deep. The Center of Connected Living fully believes that any family issue can be tackled within the comfort of our facility through family counseling sessions, and we are happy to help you get to the place you want to be. In order to help you keep the peace this season, we’ve provided you with a few tips that are touched on during our family counseling sessions that will help you make it through these family events.

Plan

Whether the gathering is happening at your home, or someone else's, it’s important to plan ahead and know who to expect at the family gathering. Are there people that are sure to cause a scene? When you note these types of issues, consider making different plans for the holidays. This could change the course of events altogether. While a change of plans might be the best case scenario, don’t surprise your family with your absence. Let them know you won’t be making it to the holiday get together.

Positive Thoughts

While there may be history, focusing on the present is the best way to handle any situation that doesn’t need to be brought up or that doesn’t have any prominence. If you can acknowledge that you’d rather have a good holiday than kick up the past, make an effort to keep the energy of the gathering positive and focus on the current event at hand. Allow for the event to be light.

Family gatherings certainly aren’t the time or place to bring up and rummage through the past. If you and a family member have had difficulties with coming to terms or agreement on a particular issue, schedule an appointment at The Center of Connected Living. Allow a third party individual provide insight and mediation between you and your family member during a session of family counseling at our office in Fort Lauderdale.