Interesting Quotes
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
Abraham Lincoln
If love finds you again, don’t fight it. Don’t let grief hold you back. Love is a risk. There are no guarantees. But, in the end, it is always, always worth it.
J.L. Berg
''It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.''
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.
Joseph Newton
You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
A.A. Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh”
''The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.''
DR. SEUSS
Trust is lost in buckets and regained in drops.
Author unknown
''I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.''
DOUGLAS ADAMS
Fascinating Facts (not included this week because there were so many counseling articles that I was over the word limit)
Counseling Articles
Special Report: Bipolar Disorder II—Frequently Neglected, Misdiagnosed
There is a growing recognition of the importance of counselors becoming more aware of the presence of Bipolar II, and the probability of it being missed or misdiagnosed. The research we have suggests that it is often not diagnosed accurately for 10 years. As a result there has been a paucity of research on effective treatments for it. This is a highly worthwhile article, and explains why it is often missed or misdiagnosed. It also discussed some of the myths (mistaken beliefs) about Bipolar II.
Click here to read more.
Interview With an Expert by Lived Experience
This is an interview with a person who had Bipolar II for 25 years before clinicians recognized and gave her the correct diagnosis. She describes her experiences movingly in this interview, has done a TEDx presentation on it, and has written the book Brainstorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum. It is now increasingly recognized that Bipolar II is as emotionally painful as Bipolar 1, and the risk of suicide from either one is very similar. As with the above article, I encourage you to read this interview, because I think most of us missed correctly diagnosing this for many years.
Click here to read more.
Substance Use Disorders and ADHD: 5 Key Facts and Additional Resources
As you probably know, those with ADHD are at increased risk of substance use disorder. This brief article answers some very important questions about how to treat ADHD when the client also has a substance abuse disorder, and also has some hypertext links to additional resources. If you work with this population (or think you might in the future) this is an excellent article to read.
Click here to read more.
Jinger Duggar Vuolo ‘Disentangles’ Her Faith After Gothard Upbringing
If you are counseling with older Christians, some of them may have gone to Bill Gothard’s Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts. If they are like many evangelical Christians of their time, they may have gone back to the seminar several times, for it did have a lot of content that probably did help many people in their Christian lives. However, in recent years a number of accusations against Gothard and his teachings have come out. This article is a good, balanced treatment that would help you know more about the Institute, its teaching, and the criticisms that have come out about it in case you ever have a client who has gone to those seminars.
Click here to read more.
10 Ways to Avoid Parenting Burnout
Although this is written for parents who have a child with ADHD, I think most of these suggestions would be helpful to any parent who’s feeling burned out.
Click here to read more.
Handling Public Meltdowns
Another article specifically for parents of children with ADHD, but I think there is good advice here for any parent of a child who has public meltdowns.
Click here to read more.
Feminist-Turned-Traditional Housewife Is Now a Warrior Against Wokeism and Progressivism
An interesting article about hardcore feminism and how it treats women who decide they want to choose another path for their lives. It might be a helpful encouragement to those women who have always chosen a more traditional path, as well as women who have embraced some or all of hardcore feminism’s thinking, but now are considering a different path.
Click here to read more.
Raquel Welch found personal peace in an ordinary church pew
I’ve never found a way to link to Terry Mattingly’s Religion Column, so I just wanted to quote several paragraphs from his column of March 8 talking about a side of Raquel Welch most of us didn’t know:
“The statuesque film legend didn't call attention to herself as she shared a pew with other conservative Presbyterians in their small church not far from Hollywood.
“She was articulate when discussing theology and church matters and, from time to time, would offer advice on finances. She had learned a lot in the film business.
“Raquel Welch wasn't trying to hide, during the later decades of her life when she faithfully attended Calvary Presbyterian Church in Glendale, California. She was simply looking for people she could trust.
"She was careful. … She wasn't going to one of those 2,000-member churches where everyone would look at her. That wasn't her style," said the Rev. Christopher Neiswonger, who grew up in that congregation and attended nearby Fuller Theological Seminary.....
"She also wasn't trying to stick her thumb in the eye of a Hollywood culture that she knew would denigrate this kind of faith commitment. … She was Raquel Welch, but she just wanted to be part of our church family."
“At the end of her 2010 memoir, "Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage," Welch described the hard questions she asked after the death of her mother, a faithful Presbyterian, and a sister's struggle with cancer. After decades away from church, Welch offered an "awkward inept prayer" to the "God of my childhood and, lo and behold, he was still there."
“One Sunday, she drove away from Beverly Hills and found a "beautiful little church," wrote Welch. The members "weren't Hollywood types. They were modest, unassuming, cheerful and friendly. … Maybe I didn't belong among these people who actually practiced their faith." But soon, she embraced a fellowship in which "I can affirm my beliefs and worship. … I'm just Raquel, not anybody special."
Sending the Wounded to the Front
You probably wouldn’t guess it from the title, but this is an article by a Ph.D. ethics student, talking about how detransitioners are often becoming the public face of the movement arguing that the movement to encourage 12 and 13 year-olds to start on puberty blockers, then cross-sex hormones, and then sexual reassignment surgery (often at 15) is like sending the wounded to the front lines of a battle. Most 12-year-olds will not have the ego-strength to contradict a teacher or counselor or medical doctor who tells them that starting this process will solve all their problems.
Click here to read more.
Psychiatric Illnesses Share Common Brain Network
A metanalysis of almost 200 studies which included 15,000 patients found that there are shared neural connections for six psychiatric illnesses--schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety. We have known for some time that it sometimes is difficult to make differential diagnoses because symptoms overlap. This research still does not have clinical applications, but this finding does suggest that such applications may be found in the coming years.
Click here to read more.
Antipsychotic Use in Pregnancy: New Data
Women who are on antipsychotics often worry that continuing on their antipsychotics during pregnancy could increase the likelihood of birth defects in their children. This research found that there was not a statistically significant increase in the likelihood of birth defects for either typical or atypical antipsychotics, with the possible exception of olanzapine.
Click here to read more.
If you get a nasty or impolite message from Microsoft’s AI chatbot, don’t take it to heart
Reportedly, Microsoft's AI chatbot has been sending messages to individuals saying things such as they are crazy, ugly, unathletic, or claiming they don’t love their spouse. Apparently Microsoft has decided to put the chatbot on hold until they work out the kinks.
Dissociative Identity Disorder: Fad or Fact?
Interesting article. Apparently 50% of French psychiatrists now question whether DID is actually a real disorder.
Click here to read more.
Yale Professor Says There Is One Solution To Our Problems
Dr. Yusuke Narita, an economics professor at Yale, says there is a solution to many of the problems our world is facing. It is euthanasia of all the older people. So your clients may want to reconsider before sending their children to that particular school.
Richard Dreyfuss—Brash, Bold, & Proudly Bipolar
If you have a client who is embarrassed about their bipolar disorder, this might be a helpful article for them to read. Richard Dreyfuss has done many things in his life that probably were unwise, but where he is now seems like a relatively healthy place, and might be encouraging to some who are depressed or embarrassed about having bipolar disorder.
Click here to read more.
University Warns Students About New TikTok Drinking Trend After Rash of Ambulance Calls
It seems like almost every week there’s a new trend on TikTok that’s causing harm. This one apparently is primarily among college students and is known as BORGs or Blarney Blowouts. It seems like Congress is getting to the point where they may take some action against TikTok.
Click here to read more.
Caregivers Of Adult Children With Disabilities May Qualify For Time Off Work, Feds Say
Those who care for adult children with disabilities sometimes need to take time off to care for their adult child, but fear losing their jobs or their health insurance. Fortunately there are now some program available to help them with this problem.
Click here to read more.
Fighting Back Against the ‘School-to-Scalpel Pipeline’ With Ian Prior
This is a summary of an interview with Ian Prior about the controversy regarding gender change here in the United States.
Click here to read more.
Learn how to help clients face a suicide in a marriage with this free video series
Focus on the Family has developed a series of six short videos that are available at no cost. The first one is focused on caring for a spouse who is suicidal and the other five are on caring for yourself after a suicide has occurred. I have not listened to them myself, but I trust that anything developed by Focus on the Family is of good quality. To register for them a client may go to this website:
Click here to read more.
Nearly 6,000 US public schools hide child’s gender status from parents
A shocking statistic, but unfortunately true.
Click here to read more.
Hope you have a nice week or weekend!
Henry Virkler
