Interesting Quotes
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King Jr.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.
Benjamin Franklin
'If you wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you cannot remove it without removing your face.''
MATSHONA DHLIWAYO
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie
'Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.''
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Counseling Articles
Is Munchausen syndrome by proxy driving kids to identify as trans? Psychiatrists answer
Interesting article. One of the psychiatrists quoted here says Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is now being called a factitious disorder. Will be interesting to see where this discussion goes.
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Former co-worker pushes back on whistleblower's claims about transgender clinic harming children
Former caseworker Jamie Reed had made several charges against the St. Louis Children’s Hospital with regard to sex change treatments, and that prompted the Attorney General from Missouri to begin an investigation. This article contains some comments from both sides of the issue.
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White House Honors International Women’s Day by Giving Award to a Man Who Identifies as a Woman
With all the deserving women in our country, why would we give an award for an outstanding woman to a man who claims to identify as a woman person? And now we hear that the Powerlifting Championship will allow men to compete in the women’s competition.
NY will pay $250K after trying to shut down Christian adoption agency over policy on same-sex couples
In case you’re wondering if you have the legal right to hire only Christian counselors to staff your counseling center, this article might be of interest to you. Two groups, Liberty Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, which both are funded primarily through donations, provide free legal representation to Christians in situations like this.
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Christians may doubt these two pro-life arguments
I don’t think this is a very good title for this article. The basic point is this: can you make a strong biblical case that the fetus or embryo is a human being from the moment of conception? This article will help you do so.
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Americans' IQ Declining for First Time in Almost a Century, Study Finds
This probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but it appears that the average IQ of Americans ages 18-22 has declined, probably as a result of a number of reasons.
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BREAKING: Indiana Student Counselor Fired for Condemning School District’s Hidden Transgender Policy
One example of the kind of policy that apparently is occurring at 6,000 schools in the U.S.
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When They Saw This Ten Year Old’s Phone They Had No Choice But To Arrest Him
Here is the story of a ten-year-old boy in Florida, what was on his phone, and what the authorities did in response. See whether you agree with their response.
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What We Can Learn from the History of Lobotomies
Gender affirmation surgery is now being hailed by some as a compassionate way to respond to someone who believes they were born in the wrong gendered body, and anyone who disagrees is considered insensitive to the needs of such teens. This article from Breakpoint is I think worth considering.
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Supreme Court Is Asked to Take First Transgender Sports Case
West Virginia is now asking the Supreme Court to take up the case of whether a male who says he identifies as a female can compete against females. We don’t know whether the Supreme Court will agree to take the case or not, but it seems likely that they will eventually decide to take a case and help the U.S. come to a decision on this issue.
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Over half of Christians say they sometimes experience doubts about their religious beliefs: survey
Barna, a highly respected organization of researchers, conducted this survey. If you have clients who sometimes have a question about some aspect of their faith, you can reassure them that they are not alone.
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Elizabeth Smart, rescued 20 years ago, now teaches others to fight back
Some of you may be young enough that you don’t remember the nine months when Elizabeth Smart was captured, held and tortured, but she has a remarkable testimony and if you haven’t ever heard her in person, this article will give you a little glimpse of her experience and life since.
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Bipolar & Acceptance: My Therapist Says the Craziest Things
A quote to give you the flavor of this article: “When dealing with bipolar disorder, the more we accept our diagnosis and challenges, the better chances we have for mood stability and peace.”
I think there’s some wisdom in this article for all of us, not just those with bipolar. All of us have some limitations, some realities, and the more we accept them and deal with the challenges that go with those realities, the better our lives will be.
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Teen Girls Are Not Alright. ADHD Magnifies the Crisis.
Probably by now we’ve all seen the problems and challenges teen girls are facing. Having an extra challenge like ADHD magnifies that challenge. Here is a discussion of those challenges and some brief steps of how parents can help.
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Warning: Even Doctors Make Medication Mistakes
In medical school most doctors get minimal training about ADHD and how to treat it, so they often make mistakes. This doctor, a specialist in treating ADHD, identifies the medication mistakes doctors often make.
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The Church’s Lane Is the Whole Cosmos
Sometimes people criticize the church for becoming involved in various issues and tell us to “stay in our lane,” i.e., focus on the Gospel message and inviting people to accept Christ. At the other end of the spectrum would be those who believe that the Christian faith should change everything we say and do. Here is a Breakpoint article that discusses this issue. After reading it, I encourage you to think about where you stand.
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Frequent Cannabis Use Tied to Coronary Artery Disease
One more reason against legalizing recreational pot—frequent users are more likely to develop heart problems.
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Reducing Alcohol Consumption
Another update on the risks of larger amounts of alcohol consumption.
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9 Ways Bipolar Can Differ Between Men & Women
I had never heard some of these things, but because this blog is written by Tanya Hvilivitzky, a respected writer about bipolar, I believe they are probably true. I think you will find it definitely worth your while to read this article.
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Failure to use students' preferred pronouns 'could lead to death,' Kansas district tells teachers
Teachers in one of the larger school districts in Kansas have been told to use students preferred pronouns with or without parents’ permission or it could lead to the student’s death.
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FOSTER SISTER’S CARE FOR AUTISTIC BROTHER LEADS TO THERAPY SUCCESS
Here’s a beautiful story of how the sacrifice of a foster sister helped her develop a new therapy for autistic children.
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How Near-Death Experiences Led Pastor to Start Church for Skeptics
John Burke was for many years an agnostic, a skeptic. But after his father was diagnosed with cancer, he began an investigation of Near Death Experiences, and has interviewed more than 1,000 people by this time from all over the world. That has also led him to leave his prior vocation, train to become a pastor, and now start a church for people like himself—skeptics. This article will give you a good summary of his book “Imagine Heaven,” which I have read and recommend. But let me recommend that you at least read this summary of what he has found. For us as believers, the best is still to come.
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90-Year-Old Creative Woodcutter Built His Own Hobbit House and Has Been Living in It Off-Grid
This has nothing to do with counseling, but is a fascinating story for all fans of the hobbits.
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Ask the Doctor: Understanding Bipolar Depression
I found a couple new points in this article. For people with Bipolar II, the time they spend in depression versus hypomania is 40 to 1. For Bipolar 1, the ratio is 3 to 1.
Also, using light boxes as treatment for depressed phases should be monitored, because it can trigger hypomania or mania.
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The Real-Life Risks and Rewards of Disclosing ADHD at Work
Here are comments both from those who disclosed to their coworkers or bosses that they have ADHD. Some thought it was helpful: others believed it was not.
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Endurance Exercise Tied to More Coronary Atherosclerosis
You might have been a little envious of those people who train for 26 mile marathons throughout their lifetimes, but this research study said that those who do this for a lifetime may actually harm their health by creating more coronary atherosclerosis. So moderate exercise is good, but pushing your body to extreme feats of endurance may not be the healthiest thing.
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Science-Backed Benefits of Forest Walking That Will Surprise You
In some research from Japan, it appears that walking in the forest may have several benefits, including decreasing anxiety, depression, and anger and decreasing the risk of stress-related diseases like heart disease and cancer.
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Study Indicates How rTMS Treatments Alter Neural Connectivity Brain-Wide in Treatment-Resistant Depressed Patients, a Clue to Predict Who Will Benefit
For those who have treatment-resistant depression, here is a new non-invasive treatment that is effective in approximately half of those patients.
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J.K. Rowling Puts the Kibosh on Transgender Ideology With Language That Is Going to Set Off a Firestorm
Not a counseling article, but J. K. Rowlings comments about transgenderism are worthwhile to listen to.
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Have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler
