Articles from the Week of October 11, 2024

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

My life is full of mistakes. They’re like pebbles that make a good road.

Beatrice Wood

You cannot wait for an untroubled world to have an untroubled moment … In the meantime, it is best to grab what wonderful moments you find lying around.

Lemony Snicket

I realized that I don't have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.

Kerry Washington

Vulnerability is like a connector... it connects you to the rest of the world.

Phil Stutz, psychotherapist

Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.

bell hooks

Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy, not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.

Gary Chapman

The more reliable and consistent we are in our follow-through on commitments and our relationship repair work, the deeper trust grows.

Gina Senarighi

Most people think of love as a feeling, but love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present.

David Richo

Fascinating Facts

You may not be able to keep up with all the new words and slang that are coming out. This year Merriam-Webster alone came out with 200 new words and slang expressions.

Maybe Research on Fruit Flies Isn’t Inconsequential After All

Last week in included an article about the first complete map of the brain (of a fruit fly) was made. This week I found out that fruit flies have enabled biologists to make some of the biggest discoveries of the 20th century!

Move Over, Simone Biles

The most impressive backflipper is someone you’ve never heard of—the globular springtail, a common insect found in many people’s backyards. Very tiny (about the length of a pencil tip), it can vault more than 60 millimeters in the air and spin up to 368 times per second! However, you’ll have to be watching closely because it’s backflips last just 161 milliseconds. They are so brief that this tiny insect often seems to disappear, something that may help it escape from predators.

Counseling Articles

Can religion and spirituality have a place in therapy? Experts say yes

For a while in the early 20^th century people like Sigmund Freud and B. F. Skinner advocated that psychology and counseling was purely an academic and scientific enterprise and that religion and spirituality had no place in it. Since then various theorists and therapists have made the points that spirituality may have positive results in giving clients stability and resilience during times of emotional stress, and that the majority of clients view themselves as somewhat to very religious, and many would like their spirituality included in their counseling. Furthermore, some writers have demonstrated that all therapy is practiced from some worldview, whether that be secular humanism or some other (usually religious) view, so that even though those therapists who claim to do value-free counseling are still practicing therapy from some worldview viewpoint. Most therapists say that their training in religious values was inadequate. This recent article in the APA Monitor encourages us that therapists do not need to be shy about asking about what the client’s spirituality is and whether they would spiritual issues included in their counseling.

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Are “Deaths of Despair” Really Caused by Despair?

For the last decade the predominant theory is that the primary cause of the rise of early deaths among working-class whites was “deaths of despair,” i.e., deaths caused by alcohol, drugs, or suicide. The authors of this article present evidence to argue that this is not an adequate explanation. While they argue that the explanation is more nuanced than this, they do not specify what they think these deeper issues are.

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‘It Took Over Everything’: Stories of Marijuana’s Little-Known Risks

You may not be able to read this article without a subscription to the New York Times, but I think it is significant that a normally left-leaning newspaper like the Times is even running such an article. As more and more states consider legalizing the recreational use of pot (e.g., one of the things you’ll vote on this election cycle is whether Florida should legalize the recreational use of marijuana),  I think it is worthwhile to consider the downsides of normalizing this drug.

Although many people use small amounts of this drug without serious problems, when people start to use larger and regular amounts of the drug, some of the problems that can result include addiction, psychosis, and other serious symptoms. Some users report significant weight loss (e.g., 100 pounds), numbness in their extremities, increased blood pressure, inability to sleep without it (one person couldn’t fall asleep for several days), anxiety and panic attacks, hearing voices, seeing demons, and other hallucinations. The article does not go into other problems such as impaired driving, inability to even get a license (in some states), and disqualification for some kinds of jobs. Clearly our legislators need to consider these findings before continuing the process of legalizing this drug in more states.

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Evidence over Ideology: Gender-Distressed Children Deserve Nothing Less

It seems like the tide is gradually turning and we’re beginning to turn away from the insanity of “gender-affirming care.” I say “beginning” because here in the U.S. many doctors and therapists are still clinging to the beliefs and practices that a majority of countries that were at the primary proponents of the transgender movement in Europe just a fear years ago are now abandoning those treatments and replacing them with counseling as the first-line treatment for children who are struggling with gender-identity issues. See this from no less authority than Dr. Jill Simmons, the Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians.

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Detransitioner describes agony of pregnancy after changing gender as a teen: ‘Makes me feel like a monster’

Here is an unusual story but may be the first of many such stories—a natal female who went through the gender-affirming protocol, lived as a male for a few years, and then detransitioned back to living as a female. She thought she would be sterile, but unintentionally became pregnant and carried a baby to term and is on uncharted waters, because it is unknown what effect the hormones given her during her teenage years will have on her and her baby. She already has some significant medical issues because of the “treatments” she had as a teenager.

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A Big Win for Christian Students and Schools

The last two weeks I’ve been including several articles where Christians have been winning court cases that allow them to stand for their Christian beliefs. For several years there has been a movement to try to prevent Christian schools receive federal assistance. In another case represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) the court ruled that such students could still receive federal assistance to attend Christian schools.

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Jack Phillips Wins Again

Here's another court victory for the often-sued cake baker.

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Raising a Child Who Wants to Behave

While this article was written for parents of children with ADHD, these are positive, practical suggestions that could be applied by many parents.

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A Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards

What if you discovered after your husband died that he had multiple relationships with escorts, had spent countless hours and dollars downloading porn and categorizing it on his computer, and had rented an apartment so he could more easily meet with escorts? This widow expressed her grief by writing a book with the above title and by other rather unorthodox, but understandable ways.

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Stressed? Here’s How to Stick to Your Mood Management Plan

With all that is happening in the world today, it’s easy to feel stressed, and this can cause people with bipolar to deviate from their regular mood management plan. Here’s some good suggestions from Tanya Hvilivitzky for daily practical things to stay on track.

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More women’s college volleyball teams forfeit match against San Jose State over trans player

Although not a counseling article, I think this growing trend will be of interest to anyone who counsels teens. There are now five colleges that have joined in not allowing their teams to play against a team that allows transgender players. This is both a safety issue (males can spike volleyballs at speeds that can do serious damage to opposing players) and is also in line with the original purpose of Title IX in allowing women sports to have an equal but separate footing from men’s sports.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Here is a compilation of good sayings Richard Simmons has collected in his readings this quarter. Worth taking a look at.

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Woke Is Getting New Names, But it Isn’t Going Away

I’d like to encourage you to read the third part of Albert Mohler’s message for Monday, October 7. In it he talks about how many newspapers and businesses have given up using “woke” terminology because they realize it could be bad for business, but that they have continued to promote “woke” philosophies, only under new names. You can read this as Part III of his transcript: I think this is important for all counselors, Christian parents and pastors to be aware of.

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The Baxters: A Good Television Series for Families

My wife and I recently became aware of a Christian series that some families may want to try. The name is “The Baxters” and it stars Roma Downey of “Touched by an Angel” fame. The plots include many of the challenges Christian families face, along with some models of healthy Christian responses. Probably appropriate for children 10 years and older. If you have Amazon Prime the first three seasons are available free and may be available through other services.

Group finds 14,000 child sex changes in American hospitals

The group Do No Harm found that between 2019 and 2023 approximately 14,000 child sex change surgeries were performed in American hospitals. Doctors and hospitals have up to this point considered sex-change surgeries a highly lucrative source of income. As professional, political and public sentiment about the damages done by such surgeries and more and more former “patients” of such surgeries sue their surgeons and the hospitals, hopefully the number of such surgeries will rapidly decrease.

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Polygraph Machine Explodes After Tim Walz Passes Nearby

Fun headline from the “Babylon Bee”

Cannabis Use in Teens, Young Adults Linked to Lower Academic Success

A meta-analysis combining the results of 31 studies of student teenagers and young adults found that marijuana use was associated with lower academic performance, greater likelihood of dropping out of high school, greater likelihood of dropping out of college, and lower university enrollment. These impairments were more pronounced among those who started using marijuana earlier and those who graduated from occasional use to heavy use.

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FDA Antidepressant Warnings Tied to Increase in Suicidality

In 2003 the FDA instituted “black box” warnings on antidepressants. As you may remember, when many antidepressants start to work they increase energy level a couple days before they reduce depression. It is during this brief time period that the likelihood of suicidal behavior is most increased.

This research study looked at 34 studies on depression and suicide. It found that immediately after black box warnings were implemented there was a significant decrease in patients going to doctors about depression, a significant decrease in the use of antidepressants, but then also the increase in suicides. Because of this the investigators in this study suggested the re-evaluation of black box warnings and possibly replacing them with standard medication warning such as noting that all medications have benefits and disadvantages, and your physician has apparently decided that the benefits of you using this medication outweigh any possible disadvantages.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed these articles!

Florida Amendments on the Ballot this Coming Election Day

In order to give you some time to think about and pray about how you want to vote on the following issues, I’m including the proposed amendments with some minimal explanations below:

AMENDMENT 1: This requires that candidates for local school boards must declare their party affiliation.

AMENDMENT 2: Establishes a state constitutional right to hunt and fish, even though that right already exists in state law. It proclaims that hunting and fishing are to be the 'preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.' Opponents say that this could potentially override traditional wildlife management programs.

AMENDMENT 3: Legalizes the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and over, allowing approved medical dispensaries to sell marijuana for recreational use. Removes criminal penalties for adults 21 and older for simple possession of marijuana in small quantities.

AMENDMENT 4: Establishes abortion as a constitutional right in the state of Florida. It would overturn Florida’s present law, which bans abortion after six weeks of gestation. (The present law allows abortions whenever the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.)

AMENDMENT 5: Creates an annual inflation adjustment on the amount that is tax-exempt from a homeowner’s primary residence homestead exemption. Proponents say this would supply some relief to homeowners hit by inflation. Opponents say that this would reduce revenue for local communities by an estimated $111 million annually by 2029 for services like public safety workers, parks, and sanitation collection.

AMENDMENT 6: The law approved by voters in 1998 provided some public funds for political candidates. The original rationale for approving some public financing was so that politicians wouldn’t be indebted to wealthy contributors once they were elected to office. Amendment 6 would remove public financing for politicians, so that wealthy donors would be their primary contributors. Opponents of Amendment 6 say that by repealing the public financing option available for state candidates it gives more political power to corporations and wealthy individuals.

Henry Virkler