Counseling News from the Week of July 17, 2026
Explanation: Although I scan the Internet primarily for counseling articles, in the process I run across quotes and interesting facts that I sometimes include in these first two sections. If you’re just interested in the counseling articles, you can skip these first two sections and go directly to the section called Counseling Articles. HV
Interesting Quotes
“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.”
Thomas Jefferson
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Sir Isaac Newton
"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions."
The 14th Dalai Lama
"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom."
Sandra Day O'Connor
"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."
John D. Rockefeller
"True heroism is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
Arthur Ashe
"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
Atticus Finch from Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
"When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."
Malala Yousafzai
"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."
Harrison Ford
“People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "Emile"
Fascinating Facts
The Strange Phenomenon of ‘Terminal Lucidity’
This is from the New York Times Magazine, so you probably won’t be able to read it without a subscription, but it describes a phenomenon, which has been reported in several geriatric journals, of people with dementia who, during the last days of their lives, recover the ability to speak and often carry on extended conversations in which they accurately recall events that had happened, sometimes decades earlier. The article also talks about a related experience, sometimes occurring with those who have near death experiences who, during times they were thought to be unconscious, can describe in detail things that were occurring in the medical suite where they were. Explanations for both kinds of events are not conclusive.
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Counseling Articles
America and France: A Tale of Two Revolutions
While not a counseling-related article, I watched this 5-minute video this last week, which compared the American and French Revolution. The American Revolution set up the United States which, while imperfect, stands as a representative of one of the most successful governments in the history of the world. The French Revolution formed a government which collapsed within one century. In this five-minute video learn several of the most important reasons why these two revolutions produced such startling different results.
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Israel: The World’s Most Moral Army
Another 5-minute video from Praeger University that is not directly counseling-related, but I think is worthwhile for Christian counselors to know about. We are told by Palestinian activists that Israel is the aggressor and should be punished, and there are several articles in social media to that effect. But this video, narrated by someone who has fought in many wars on various continents, makes several points to demonstrate that the Israeli army makes every effort to wage a very moral war, never initiating war but only responding when Israel is attacked, and making great efforts to minimize civilian casualties. Unlike Iran and Putin, who often bomb civilian targets in their war efforts, countries like the United States and Israel use precision=guided weapons to focus on military targets alone. War is brutal, and some civilian casualties occur, but they can be minimized by the armies involved. See what you think after hearing his discussion.
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The 'Pursuit of Happiness' Begins at Home
Before industrialization most women worked on farms and in family businesses. With industrialization, for a period women’s participation in the work force declined, but with the changes in society, families believed they needed women’s income to make ends meet. However most modern jobs require women to work full-time outside the home and are inflexible in that regard. The author makes the point that for families to pursue happiness, it will be necessary for there to be greater flexibility in female employment.
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Marriage, Faith, and Family: How JD Vance Became the Father He Never Had
The story of J.D. Vance illustrates how people can become good parents, even though they did not have them in their own life. His father was absent most of his life, his mother had a drug abuse problem and went through a series of husband’s and boyfriends, and his grandfather had his own set of demons. So even though he had mastered college and graduate school, he realized he had no idea how to become a good father, even though he recognized the importance that marriage and fatherhood was in a child’s life. His two books, Hillbilly Elegy, and Communion, describe the process of how he learned to become a good father. His wife, Usha, although a Hindu, recognizes the importance of religion and accompanies him to church. This article describes more of his journey.
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How Do Today’s Young Adults Feel About Monogamy and Polyamory?
Polyamory, the situation in which partners mutually agree to explore sexual and emotional unions with outside partners (sometimes called ethical nonmonogamy) is being more widely written about. It is still rare (estimated at between 1 and 4% of couples) but may become more frequent in the future, since 20% of young people are interested in exploring the issue. This is particularly true among more educated groups. It may be helpful to read some about this, since you may have a couple come for counseling who are considering this option.
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What Fertility Clinics Don't Say: The Hidden Risks of Assisted Reproduction
Some couples resort to assisted reproduction after multiple unsuccessful attempts at conceiving or because they wish to become established in their careers before having children. Fertility clinics frequently advertise their success rates, without telling couples this is the rate which couples have successful pregnancy tests, rather than the rate of successful children born, which is often much lower. Also, fertility clinics generally do not tell couples of some of the risks associated with assisted reproduction, which include congenital disorders, complications related to prematurity, and diseases that emerge later in childhood. If you are counseling with a couple who are considering assisted reproduction you may wish to share this article with them so they can make an informed decision.
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Like Mother, Like Child: When ADHD Is a Family Affair
Raising a child with ADHD is challenging enough by itself, but when the mother also has ADHD, it is doubly challenging. This article has some excellent suggestions.
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Four Steps to Independence: How to Support (Not Enable) a Child with ADHD
This article is more in-depth than most. It makes a clear distinction between enabling a child with ADHD and supporting a child to move towards independent adulthood. While this is written for parents of children with ADHD, if you are working with parents who are doing “too much” for their children, and enabling them to remain dependent rather than growing toward healthy adult independence, there may be things in this article helpful to them.
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Tipping Points in a Teen’s Relationship
This article by Mark Gregston talks about some common behaviors by parents, especially when their teens are acting out, and some things parents can do to tip the relationship in a better direction.
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Keto Diet for Bipolar: 5 Common Myths Debunked
The Ketogenic Diet is being promoted by some in social media for those with bipolar disorders. Many of us have only a minimal awareness of this diet. Here is some helpful information in case you have a client who asks about it.
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What’s “Emotional Sobriety”? Learn How the Self-Regulation Tool Can Help You Maintain Peace Amid Life’s Ups and Downs
The term “emotional sobriety” was originally coined by Bill Wilson, the founder or Alcoholics Anonymous, as a parallel to physical sobriety. It is a method of emotional regulation and some of the techniques may be helpful, even to those not in recovery from substance abuse issues. To learn about emotional sobriety techniques and see whether they might be helpful to some of your clients, see the following article.
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Just How Postliterate Are We?
A new term has started appearing recently—postliterate. It refers to the fact that some people (and this includes adults and not just children) today rarely read books. They pick up information from short video clips on social media or television. This is a discussion about the pros and cons of this trend.
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A Cure for Anxiety that Might Help Some of Your Clients
This fascinating 5-minute video describes Augustine, who struggled with severe anxiety and what we would now call sexual addiction early in life. After finding relief from his anxiety, he became one of the world’s most influential philosophers and theologians. His approach may still be helpful for some clients today.
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Why recruiters can’t find workers and new grads can’t find jobs (it’s not AI)
Employment counselors say that there’s a reason some new grads can’t find jobs and recruiters can’t find workers--a mismatch between what college students are majoring in and the jobs that are lacking workers. The jobs that still need tens or even hundreds of thousands of nurses, physicians, teachers, engineers, pharmacists, mental health counselors, construction workers and airplane mechanics. Also, semiconductor production is expected to have a high demand in the coming years. For those high school students who are not college bound, there is a need for people in the skilled trades, including construction, which frequently can be entered after a short (often paid) internship period.
Areas where there is a glut of graduates who have difficulty finding jobs are those who have majored in business and finance. This information is important for those who do career counseling.
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Can Artificial Intelligence Be Wise?
There have been several critiques of mental health suggestions offered over the Internet. But this group of mental health professionals are asking whether AI could be harnessed to give valid information to mental health professionals and laypersons. This article talks about this endeavor, and the last line of the article contains a hypertext link to the journal presenting their articles.
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The Fascinating True Story Behind ‘Jesus Loves Me’
This article recounts the true story behind the much-loved song, “Jesus Loves Me. It was not originally written as a hymn, but for a very different reason.
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ADHD Pharmacotherapy and Mortality in Individuals With ADHD
Parents of children with ADHD sometimes wonder whether ADHD medication may be harmful to their children. ADHD medication clearly increases symptom control, and this large study demonstrates that taking ADHD medication significantly lowers mortality risk in individuals with ADHD. One drawback to the study is that it only lasted two years, so it is unclear the long-term effects of ADHD medication, but the medications do not produce harm during the first two years.
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Why Sunlight Is Nature’s Antidepressant
For years doctors recommend that people minimize their exposure to the sun. But now doctors are recommending that 10 to 30 minutes of exposure to direct sunlight can be helpful in stimulating certain neurotransmitters and helping produce better sleep. While doctors recommend using sunscreen, apparently the recommendation to totally avoid direct exposure to sunlight no longer holds.
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5 Things to Know About Your Unmotivated Teen
Sometimes parents are frustrated because it seems their teens are not motivated to do anything. Mark Gregston has some good insights into what parents can do in this situation.
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Rethinking Evangelism in an Age of Quiet Belief
This is a 30-minute discussion between two young employees at Barna. They share the research that now 80% of people are rejecting the atheism of 20 years ago, and sensing that there must be something deeper and more meaningful than the natural universe. This awareness can change how we do evangelism, doing it much differently than the ways we were taught to do evangelism in the past. I encourage you to watch this discussion in the Barna you-tube channel. I found my attitudes about evangelism changing significantly because of listening to this video. I encourage you to listen and then decide for yourself.
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Abnormalities in Perception of GI Tract Signals Are Found to Be a Possible “Core Pathology” in Anorexia Nervosa
In this article some of the latest findings regarding anorexia nervosa are discussed. While theoretical, these are consistent with previous theories of what could be at the heart of this disorder.
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Is Your Child Suffering from ‘Popcorn Brain’? Here’s What You Need to Know.
Popcorn brain is defined as “individuals are so hooked on digital multitasking that slower-paced everyday tasks hold no interest.” Children’s obsession with social media plays a role, but experts recommend not using legalistic measures such as forbidding social media totally, and recognizing that different methods may be best for each individual. This article describes several good methods to consider.
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Election Integrity
In a 30-minute public address last night President Trump presented four research studies indicated vulnerabilities in our present electronic and vote-counting systems, evidence for Chinese hacking and attempts to affect our elections, and examples of two states that have had serious voter fraud, making his case strongly that Congress needs to pass election integrity legislation.
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Hope you have a wonderful week!
Henry Virkler