by Richard Amaral | Nov 20, 2022 | Counselling and Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Stress, Thinking, Trauma
It’s easy to be hard on yourself and doubt your abilities. When discussing the role of thoughts and self-talk with my counselling clients, I’m always attentive to the kinds of words a person uses to describe themselves and their feelings. Using phrases...
by Richard Amaral | Jun 18, 2022 | Change, Emotions, Lifestyle, Mind-Body Health, Stress, Thinking
I enjoy having plants around my home. It helps clean the air, adds colour to any space, and it feels rewarding to take care of something and then watch it grow. While all plants seem to grow differently and at different rates, nothing grows as tall or as...
by Richard Amaral | Jun 4, 2022 | Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Stress, Youth and Adolescents
By the time this post gets released, it will have been around two weeks since the last school shooting in Texas, and about three weeks since a racist mass shooting in Buffalo. Regardless of where or how often these kinds of tragedies occur, the reality is that...
by Richard Amaral | May 28, 2022 | Balanced living, Mental Health, Psychology, Stress, Thinking
My plan for this post was to follow up on some of the thoughts and experiences from taking a personal mental health day. “My Day Off – Part 2” is what I was going to call it. However, with the horrific events in Buffalo, NY (10 people killed...
by Richard Amaral | Mar 26, 2022 | Balance, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Stress, Thinking
Last week, it felt rewarding to finally announce the release of my book, The Promise Wheel. It took me a while to get the book complete and ready for publication. But now that it’s launched, the feeling of accomplishment is greater than I imagined. I mentioned...
by Richard Amaral | Mar 13, 2022 | CBT, Emotions, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Stress, Thinking
Although my day-to-day thoughts and feelings continue to be strongly influenced by the war in Ukraine, I do find myself getting better at accepting them. The ideas I’m using to help me in this regard come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Acceptance...
