Articles from the Week of November 1, 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
"When I was little, my mother taught me how to use a fork and knife. The trouble is that mother forgot to teach me how to stop using them!"
Hattie McDaniel
"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."
Bill Gates
Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each includes the other, each is enriched by the other.
Felix Adler, philosopher
Love is a great beautifier.
Louisa May Alcott
No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different.
Tim Cook
Fascinating Facts
"Mona Lisa" is not the name of the painting's subject.
“Not entirely, anyway. The subject of this early 16th-century portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, so famous that it resides in its own bulletproof glass case at the Louvre Museum in Paris, is believed to have been Lisa del Giocondo (née Gherardini), the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.
“As was common with other Renaissance works, the "Mona Lisa" didn't have a formal title for many years, instead going by names like "A Certain Florentine Lady" or "A Courtesan in a Gauze Veil." The identity of the subject also became something of a mystery, as Leonardo failed to provide any confirmation in his papers or in the painting itself. It was a later Renaissance artist, Giorgio Vasari, who provided the first inkling that the sitter was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, in his 1550 book The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects. From there, the now-famous name took root: Mona, short for Madonna, means "my lady," or something akin to "Mrs." in 16th-century Italian. The painting's common Italian ("La Gioconda") and French ("La Joconde") names also seemingly derive from the subject, although those monikers carry a double meaning as adjectives describing a smiling person.
“For a long time, the question persisted as to whether Vasari correctly identified the woman who inspired the iconic painting’s name. However, the 2005 discovery of the "Heidelberg document" (in which a secretary noted that Leonardo was painting "the head of Lisa del Giocondo" in 1503) seemingly provided contemporary proof of the Leonardo-del Giocondo partnership, confirming for many that the sitter was indeed Mona Lisa and not Mona Somebody Else.” (Source: InterestingFacts.com)
Counseling Articles
“11 Things I’d Tell My Younger Self”
A woman who was not diagnosed with ADHD until her 40s identifies 11 things she’d like to tell her younger self. I think this message could be very helpful to younger people, both boys as well as girls, who have just learned they have ADHD.
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“I’m Resilient, Strong, and Proud. Thank You, ADHD.”
Several stories from people with ADHD who discuss how resilience has allowed them to triumph over the challenges produced by their ADHD.
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Cannabis use linked to head, neck cancer risk
The bad news about cannabis continues. Heavy users of marijuana have a significantly increased risk of developing various head and neck cancers.
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Gratitude: An Alternative Medicine for Anger and Depression
Here is a simple counseling technique you might want to try with some clients—a gratitude journal. Read some of the surprising results of clients who have tried it.
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After the Diagnosis: The Hardest Truths About Bipolar Disorder
Here is a compilation of statements from a wide variety of people about their first feelings when they heard and accepted that they had bipolar disorder. I think this article could be an excellent discussion starter to use with someone who has just learned the same thing. And if you’ve been thinking of providing support for clients with this challenge, this can inform you of the things you can help them with.
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Is It Real Love or Bipolar Mania? Here’s 10 Ways to Tell
Clients with bipolar disorder often have difficulty distinguishing whether the romantic feelings they’re experiencing are part of a manic episode or the real thing. Here are 10 criteria that a group of psychiatrists suggested for clients and their counselors to use to differentiate the two.
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Surprising link between childhood adversity and malevolent creativity revealed in new study
A well-done study that used several measures to measure adverse childhood experiences, then malevolent creativity in early adulthood, finding that the two were positively correlated. However, something that reduced the likelihood of malevolent creativity in young adulthood was if children who had adverse childhood experiences were also exposed to social support during childhood. That could include supportive relationships within church, counselors, or other sources. I think this research has implications for us as counselors and as churches: we can make a difference in whether adverse childhood experiences need to eventuate in negative outcomes later in life. My thanks to Wynne Stallings for drawing my attention to another helpful article.
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5 Ways to Brighten Your Relationship with Little Things
This is another article that can have implications for all of you who do relationship counseling. This probably won’t tell you anything new, but it’s a good reminder that there are many little things that clients can use to convey caring to those whom they care about.
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Raising Kids in a Secular Age
This important article says that it’s not enough to just send children to private schools or homeschool them. It found that a large sample of more than 50,000 college students embraced beliefs that reflected their culture’s beliefs rather than those of their families. Psychological research found that the best way to prepare students to think for themselves was not to tell them what to think but to help them prepare to evaluate the pros and cons of beliefs themselves and make their own decisions based on their own evaluations of the arguments.
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Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy Found Effective for Suicidal Adolescents
If you work with teens you probably will want to become aware of this new approach—dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy (DDP) described as a less intense form of DBT, it reportedly involves “deconstructing” the negative self-image and maladaptive patterns of responding to charged experiences that patients bring to therapy. Studies have found that DDP results is less suicidal thoughts, fewer suicidal attempts and fewer hospitalizations. For more information, see article.
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Nation Takes Solace In Fact That No Matter Who Wins Election, The Political Text Messages Will Stop
Fun Babylon Bee headline.
More women, young adults being diagnosed with autism
This study by Kaiser Permanente found that many children as well as adults with autism are being missed in traditional screenings and that many young adults are just now being identified for the first time. Here are a few quotations from the research: Between 2011 and 2022 “the greatest increase in diagnosis rate occurred among 26- to 34-year-olds, at 450% over 11 years. Diagnosis rate increases were greater for female children than male children (305% increase vs. 185% increase).”
If you are looking for a new area to develop counseling expertise in, this area seems ripe for additional counselors to provide services.
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Trump calls Christians 'the most important people' in faith summit appearance
I don’t usually focus on political matters in this compilation of articles about counseling, but I think this issue is important to us as we face the upcoming election. Although most evangelical theologians don’t believe Trump fully understands the Gospel, he does seem to have a sincere belief that Christian beliefs make for a healthier society, and has promised to restore a role in the White House to represent religious issues and to have direct access to him. In contrast, his opponent seems determined to make abortion on demand available throughout the entire pregnancy, to allow for no religious exemptions, and to dismantle the Senate filibuster in order get this legislation passed.
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Key Differences Between Love And Infatuation
Here is an article that might be helpful to you sometime when working with clients. It’s a helpful clarification between the differences between love that is long-standing versus infatuation. See what you think and then possibly save it for use with selected clients.
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Alarming decline in adolescent condom use, increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies, reveals new WHO report
A study of sexually-active teens in 42 countries found three concerning trends—a decline in teen condom use, leading to increased risk of sexually-transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies. It is clear from this article that the 42 countries were European countries: the article did not say whether it included the U.S. If you are counseling teens or young adults who are sexually active outside marriage you may want to be aware of these trends.
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The Double-Edged Sword of Advancing Sex Tech
The advances in AI-powered sexual technology and its advantages and disadvantages for human relationships are discussed in this article. One possible disadvantage is that VR-porn can be more intensely-stimulating than normal human loving interaction. Another disadvantage is that sexual chatbots will do anything their owner asks them to, rather than engaging in the discussion and compromises that human relationships do. And for teens who have their earliest sexual experiences with chatbots, how this will affect their expectations when interacting with human partners. Many of these questions have not been studied, so we don’t know the answers to them.
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Understanding the Male Gaze and How It Objectifies Women
A very thorough discussion of the “male gaze” and its impact on women.
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Experiments Point to Possible Next-Gen Drug Therapies for Bipolar Disorder, Including for Lithium Non-Responders
This is probably the most complete explanation I have read about some of the recent research on next-generation drug therapies for those with bipolar disorder. It’s quite interesting, and I think points to how some future medical research for mental disorders may be heading.
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Busy Mom Can’t Find Babysitter For Jury Duty – So Here’s What She Did To Avoid That $1K Fine
Not a counseling article, but one you might find amusing if you need a humor break. A mother with a four-year-old and 18-month-old triplets was called for jury duty. She explained her situation to the court and said she couldn’t get a sitter for her children. She even sent a picture to the court but couldn’t get a reprieve, and didn’t want to pay $1,000.00 per day for violating the court order. You can see what she decided to do to solve her problem here.
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Hope you enjoyed these articles!
Henry Virkler