Montserrat Santigosa, teacher and coordinator of the Postgraduate Course in Family Coaching and Guidance was present in this first edition. Under the title of “Renewal and support. Do you help or do you limit?” Santigosa presented some of the many factors that can help or limit, not only the people we support but ourselves as well. 

“Support is not only a matter of the will or a good heart, but establishing a relationship with the other person is also important,” the graduate lecturer explained. “From there, ideally a type of bond, which requires a series of skills and attitudes, is formed. That is what this renewal process is about,” Santigosa explained. 

In her presentation, the lecturer spoke on family support as a broad and extensive task that can be faced in different ways and from different areas. In any time or place where the family meets, whether at school, a family club or a parish, this important task can be carried out. 

During the session, Montserrat Santigosa discussed the relevance of beliefs in this work of support and how they can play a limiting role: “Their power,” she explained, “lies in their ability to condition, both positively as well as negatively. It is a power that can rule our life.” Santigosa divided those beliefs into limiting, empowering and driving. “When they limit us,” she said, “we must learn to identify them, recognise them through analysis, switch them to an empowering perspective and consolidate them.” 

Some 20 years ago, UIC Barcelona created the Institute for Advanced Family Studies, the first university institute in Spain of its kind, whose main objective is its activity in family policies. 

The IESF plans to organise new webinars or “support pills” throughout the academic year.