Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, my first of many!

My goal and intent behind the blogs at “Knowledge for Growth” are to do exactly what the name suggests: To provide readers with little bits of knowledge that can help in personal growth. I’ve spent about …. let’s just say many, many years… in university and have been working as a psychotherapist for at least nine of those years. My professional experiences have led me to work with a variety of people from different cultures dealing with different issues. Most of the information that I’ll share on my blogs will be informed from my work, as well as the academic information I’ve garnered through my studies in counselling psychology.

If you visit my website (www.richardamaral.com) you can see that my areas of specialization are specific; however, these areas branch out into other areas that have affected most of us. For example, one of my passions is in working with people who have lived with domestic violence. When helping people who have experienced violence in their home (whether they have perpetrated the abuse, or been the victims of abuse), it is necessary to address several related areas: Anger and emotional management, spousal conflict, bullying, conflict management, trauma, addictions, anxiety, depression, and many others. You can start to see how addressing one problem area influences many other areas.

This does it for my first post. Please let me know of any areas that you would like information on. I will do my best to present you with succinct, easy to understand psychological knowledge that you can apply to your life.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Amaral, Ph.D.