She Didn’t Believe, But God Heard Her Cry

An interesting story of how God worked in her life, even though she wasn’t initially a believer. Click here to read full article.

Association of Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Drinking and Smoking with the Risk of Stillbirth

This large study (more than 8,000 women) found that the likelihood of stillbirths for those women who both smoke and drank during pregnancy was nearly 3 times as high as those who either did not smoke or drink, or who quit during the first trimester of pregnancy. Click here to read full article.

Rethinking Bipolar “Relapse”

People with bipolar disorder usually want to avoid the disruptions that a bipolar relapse can bring.  Here are some suggestions for how to reduce the likelihood of a relapse and how to respond if a person realizes a relapse is occurring. Click here to read full article.

3,000-Plus Pediatricians, Medical Professionals Sue Biden Admin Over Transgender Mandate

More than 3,000 pediatricians and other medical professionals are suing the Biden administration over their recent mandate to perform gender-related services, including surgery, to children and teens who request it or face “discrimination” charges. Click here to read full article.

 Should Therapists Go Back to an Office?

This is an article by a therapist who is also an actor.  I think his discussion might help free us from some of the inhibitions we have about letting clients know about our humanity.  See what you think. Click here to read full article.

Therapists in a Fishbowl: The Challenges of Small-Town Practice

Sometimes we may feel like we live in a fishbowl, not necessarily because we live in a small town but because we sometimes see our clients at church, etc.  This person and her husband are both psychiatrists in a small town, and she shares some of the practices she has adopted. Click here to read full article.

A Hazy Picture of Long-Haul COVID Begins to Emerge

There are new things about COVID that are just beginning to be identified.  One is the picture of long-haul COVID, which can have psychological symptoms and can affect both those with severe cases of COVID and mild or asymptomatic cases.  Here is a good psychiatric summary of what we know now. Click here to read full article.

How Exercise May Help Keep Our Memory Sharp

It has been known for some time that exercise helps brain function, but exactly how it does that has not been clear.  Now new research suggests that exercise causes the body to produce irisin, and this can help the brain remain functional. Click here to read full article.

China Seeks to Save Minors from Video Game Addiction

China has a pretty heavy-handed way of dealing with personal freedoms, but here is a law that might not be a bad thing.  They’ve recently ruled that children cannot play video games for more than three hours per week.

I don’t have a website for this, but it has been widely reported.

Understanding Autism from the Inside

This book is by Daniel Bowman, who wrote On the Spectrum:  Autism, Faith and the Gifts of Neurodiversity.  Bowman is a professor of English at Taylor University and who is also “on the autism spectrum.”  He did not learn of his diagnosis until 2015, but when he did, it put many of his struggles into perspective The book review is by Eric Johnson, who is considered one of the leaders in the integration of psychology and theology movement.  Bowman is apparently on the highly functional end of the autism spectrum, but he shares his struggles about living quite honestly.  Johnson talks about the fact that reading the book will make him more curious to understand the world of people on the autism spectrum next time he meets someone.  If you have a counseling client who is on the spectrum, this book might be helpful to understand their world and some of their challenges. Click here to read full article.

How a Holocaust Survivor Thanked the Courageous Christians of Le Chambon

Here is an inspiring story of Christian courage.  Even though it isn’t related to counseling I encourage you to take a couple minutes to read it. Click here to read full article.

When ADHD Impulsivity Jeopardizes Your Job and Friendships: 8 Expert Tips

This article talks about what the title promises.  If you work with ADHD clients it probably would be worthwhile using. Click here to read full article.

Association of Cannabis Use During Adolescence With Neurodevelopment

This was a large study and showed that marijuana use during adolescence was associated with a dose-dependent cortical thinning in the region of the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain associated with matters of judgment and thinking.  The dose-dependent relationship indicates that more marijuana the adolescent smoked, the greater the cortical thinning occurred. Click here to read full article.

Man Who Married A Sex Doll Now in Love with An Ashtray

Yuri Tolochko, who achieved notoriety some months ago for marrying a sex doll now claims he is in love with an ashtray.  I’m not going to include a web address for the article, but I’m sure you can find it if this is of great interest to you.  Question:  What DSM-5 diagnosis would you consider for him? Click here to read full article.

Transforming Mental Health Care Delivery Through Implementation Science and Behavioral Economics

Often field studies in the real world don’t get as many positive results as research studies do.  This research studies why this occurs.  Although this article is technical and a little hard to read, these researchers found that clinicians often underestimate their own feelings in clinical settings and this interferes with them applying the best evidence-based treatment in each case.  Something important to think about. Click here to read full article.

Effect of Matching Therapists to Patients vs Assignment as Usual on Adult Psychotherapy Outcomes

This study found that when matching clients to therapists who have demonstrated skills in using certain evidence-based techniques, remission of symptoms was significantly increased.  This research sheds light on the study above.  If you work in a center with multiple therapists, probably each therapist has methods that are their favorites, so it might be very possible to do matching and increase the likelihood of your center helping those clients who come to it. Click here to read full article.

Ten Practical Recommendations for Improving Blinding Integrity and Reporting in Psychotherapy Trials

If you are in a doctoral program and will be doing a research dissertation soon, or if you regularly do research I highly recommend you read this article.  It gives ten very practical suggestions for improving blinding integrity and reporting. Click here to read full article.

Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Tx OK'd; Austedo Effective Long-Term; $$ for Sobriety

This column, which will only take a minute to read, tells about a new FDA-approved treatment for schizophrenia that only requires two injections per year.  It also covers several other studies that either have been completed or are in progress. Click here to read full article.

Let’s all pray for those in many states who have lost loved ones and homes from Hurricane Ida and also for all those who are still in Afghanistan.

Henry Virkler