Articles from the Week of July 1, 2022
Interesting Quotes
"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
C. S. LEWIS
''Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.''
ALBERT SCHWEITZER
No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.
Alice Walker
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
Napoleon Hill
“The best revenge is none. Heal, move on, and don’t become like those who hurt you.”
Pamela Short (seen on Ginny Sales’ Facebook page)
''Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.''
FRANCIS BACON
“You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes, because that’s where the fruit is.”
Will Rogers
“I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.''
OG MANDINO
To My Porn-Watching Dad, From Your Daughter
This is a very moving letter from a daughter to her father about how his porn-watching has affected her life in many ways. If you are working with a male who needs an additional incentive to stop his porn-watching, reading this letter might provide that motivation. Click here to read full article.
A Book I Would Encourage Every Teen and Adult to Read
You’ve probably seen the trailers for the documentary “What Is a Woman.” I had seen several, and thought it might be interesting, but probably I didn’t need to watch it, since I thought I had known the answer to that question for many years. Then I saw a part of an interview in which the author said that there was quite a bit of information in the book (which just was published) that there wasn’t time to cover in the documentary. So I purchased the book on Kindle and read it in the last few days.
The book discusses and documents a battle occurring in our culture (and many other western cultures) that I believe represents a more serious threat to the lives of our children, teens, and adults than I had previously realized. This past week the present administration proposed a 700-page set of revisions to Title 9 regulations asserting that sex not just be restricted to gender but also include gender identity. This would mean that teens’ restrooms and showers will be open to transgender students, transgender athletes will be allowed to compete on all women’s teams, etc. There will only be a 60-day period for the public to comment on this proposal. I recommend that every teen and adult read this book and voice their opinions during the comment period—it is that important.
How to Make the Case against Abortion in Less Than a Minute
Now that the Supreme Court has turned the question of abortion back to each state, the question of whether abortion should be allowed may cause many discussions. If you would like a simple way to stand for the idea that abortion is morally wrong that does not rest on religious arguments, here is a brief video (less than five minutes) that may give you some ideas. Click here to read full article.
The heart of the abortion debate: What is human life?
The Washington Post has long been a very liberal newspaper, and has been a strong supporter of abortion rights over the years. That is why publishing of the above opinion piece seems quite amazing. Let me just quote one paragraph from this article: “That unborn child is the only reason abortion is, and ought to be, an issue of political discussion. No rational person today believes that one human being ought to take the life of another because they want to. Abortion on demand can be morally justified only if the entity whose life is extinguished is not a human being worthy of the legal protection any decent society provides.”
Flow State vs. Hyperfocus: On Channeling Your Unsteady ADHD Attention
Most of us are aware of the hyperfocus that sometimes happens in people with ADHD. This article also talks about “flow state” and how the two conditions are different. It also has some helpful ideas about why people are reluctant to break their hyper focus and ways to help children or themselves to gradually move out of hyper focus. Click here to read full article.
What It’s Really Like to Live with Bipolar Disorder
We often say that clients shouldn’t anchor their identity in their disorder. Here are several quotations from people with bipolar disorder who are doing that. The ideas could be applied to anyone with a mental disorder. Click here to read full article.
Colorado, Louisiana and Ohio Signs Interstate Counseling Compact into Law
[The following message was brought to our attention by Mona Nassar. It means that Florida and 13 other states are now part of the Interstate Counseling Compact. The following is a statement by the American Mental Health Counselors Association.]
Jun 15, 2022
The American Counseling Association and licensed professional counselors nationwide are celebrating the latest signings in support of the Counseling Compact, which will authorize counselors to practice across state lines once enacted.
The dream of many licensed professional counselors to practice across state lines moves toward reality as Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law their states’ Counseling Compact legislations.
This milestone marks fourteen states who have signed the Counseling Compact into law, allowing professional counselors licensed and residing in a compact member state to practice in other compact member states without the need for multiple licenses.
“When the ACA Governing Council and staff discussed how the Counseling Compact could evolve, the biggest initial challenge was how we would achieve the passage of legislation in at least ten states that would then trigger the creation of the public commission to make the law operational,” said S. Kent Butler, ACA President, “Achieving and surpassing our goal of the ten state threshold this quickly speaks volumes about the awareness of states as to the need for increased access to licensed professional counselors.”
“In addition to state legislators and governors who have enacted the Counseling Compact, we need to thank professional counselors at the frontlines who helped advocate for the bills in their states,” said Richard Yep, ACA CEO, “I also want to make sure that our professional partners such as ACA branches, ACES, CACREP, NBCC, Chi Sigma Iota, and AMHCA also take pride in our joint efforts to realize the enactment of this Counseling Compact.”
Funded and created by the American Counseling Association, the Counseling Compact was finalized in December 2020 and has now been passed by the legislatures in Georgia, Maryland, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah, Maine, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, Colorado, Louisiana and Ohio. Currently, the Counseling Compact has been introduced in 21 states this legislative session.
Compacts provide a pathway for counselors to move seamlessly from one state to another through an agreement between states to recognize each other’s licenses. Previously, counselors have had difficulty transferring their licenses from one state/jurisdiction to another because of the independent nature of jurisdictional licensing rules and regulations. There was little consistency regarding the requirements for licensure and these varying requirements make it difficult to transfer one’s license.
The Counseling Compact enables professional counselors who meet uniform licensure requirements to quickly obtain a privilege to practice, which is equivalent to a license to practice counseling in another state.
For more information, please visit CounselingCompact.org
The Sleep Debt Collector Is Here
This article is from the New York Times science magazine, so you may not be able to read it without a subscription. Here is a quote that captures the essence of the article.
“A review article published recently in the journal Trends in Neurosciences contends that the folk concept of sleep as something that can be saved up and paid off is bunk. The review, which canvassed the last couple of decades of research on long term neural effects of sleep deprivation in both animals and humans, points to mounting evidence that getting too little sleep most likely leads to long-lasting brain damage and increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.”
This is not certain, because many of the more drastic studies have been done on mice, who show severe brain damage when deprived of sleep, and we don’t know for sure that the same processes will occur in humans (and it would be unethical to do those experiments). However, we do know that the brain does engage in some “janitorial” processes during sleep, so if people are chronically sleep-deprived, some of those processes may not have time to be completed. Considering what we know now, it’s probably wisest to get the amount of sleep your body tells you to, and not develop a habit of getting inadequate sleep. From the research I have read, adequate sleep for most adults is between seven and nine hours, depending on the person. Click here to read full article.
Psychosis, Addiction, Chronic Vomiting: As Weed Becomes More Potent, Teens Are Getting Sick
This is another article from the New York Times science magazine, so let me just include a quote: “With THC levels close to 100 percent, today’s cannabis products are making some teenagers highly dependent and dangerously ill.”
In 1995 typical THC levels in cannabis levels were 4%. Now in some products they are 95% and higher. Research has shown that teens more quickly become addicted, become psychotic, and have observable brain changes as a result of using pot. Click here to read full article.
Is Bipolar Disorder Correlated with High Intelligence?
This is an article by Julie Fast, one of my favorite bipolar bloggers, and I think she has some interesting insights. Click here to read full article.
10 Signs You May Have an Addictive Personality
Although addictive personality isn’t a diagnosis in the DSM, I found this article interesting, and wonder if there is some validity to the concept. Click here to read full article.
A letter to my black sons on the truth about racism
This moving letter is from Sheila Qualls, a mother of five children, attempting to provide her children for the realities of the lives they will face. If you have a client of color who may be struggling with one or more issues regarding racism, it might be a worthwhile beginning of a discussion. Click here to read full article.
Happy 4th!
Henry Virkler
