My name is Rick Amaral, ACSW, LCSW. Let me begin by fully introducing myself and sharing with you my years of experience as a clinician, manager and director. I have been working with children, teens and adult in many different formats (i.e. individual, family work, group work) for over 30 years in both private practice, as well as with local community mental health agencies. I am also an Adjunct Professor at the local area colleges for the past 20+ years, teaching both psychology and sociology courses (both graduate and undergraduate level courses). In our sessions, I would like to utilize a strengths-based approach that works alongside you to identify areas that you would like to work on. Acknowledging that all cars come with rearview mirrors, I would like to spend some time hearing from you about past life events and journey that you think have contributed to your development (both positively and otherwise). My preferred way of assisting you is to focus on a Life Narrative format. Such narratives allow for many chapters, some written, many left to be written. When warranted, I will provide psycho-educational information on topics of interest (i.e. diagnosis, skill building, coping skills, mindfulness, etc..) and will share with you both local and community supports that you could draw upon after our time together has come to a close.