Articles from the Week of March 21, 2025

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

"Celebrate what you've accomplished but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed."

Mia Hamm

"The wiser you get, the more experience you have, and the more you see people for who they are as human beings, as opposed to figures you have to fight against."

Vanessa Williams

"It's not the honors and prizes of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It's the knowing that we can be trusted that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff."

Mister Rogers

Fascinating Facts

When and How Does the Chicago River Turn Green on St. Patrick’s Day?

In case you ever wondered how they turn the Chicago River green on St. Patrick’s Day, this article will explain the process. For environmentalists, the green allegedly is non-toxic.

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Counseling Articles

Several of the articles that I’ve included this week are not counseling-related articles, but each one that is not is one that I believe might be of interest to some of you.

The Long, Faithful Obedience of William Wilberforce

This is the inspiring story of William Wilberforce, who after his conversion toiled unsuccessfully for long years in Great Britain’s Parliament to get Britain’s slave trade abolished. He is a good example to all of us of never staying obedient to the very end of our lives.

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The Tragic Truth in 'Anora' That Modern Women Will Recognize

Probably most of you will not be planning on going to the movie Anora, but this article is a good description of the movie and the truths implicit in it. Since you have some clients who have seen it, I encourage you to read this article so you can interact with them about the issues it brings up.

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A New Guide to What the Church Has Always Said About Sex

This review in Christianity Today gives a brief taste of what the book has to offer. It has apparently some good things to tell women—affirming women and encouraging them to listen to their moral instincts and making some clear distinctions between men and women (in contrast to some of the gender-blending of the last 15 years that made those distinctions muddy). The review (perhaps not the book) has some good observations about the strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of evangelical churches. It sounds like the book is not totally consistent with conservative evangelicalism, e.g., the advice not to sleep with someone unless you think he’d be good husband material (versus not sleeping with them until you were married), but if you were counseling with a more liberal Christian, this might be a book they would benefit from.

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President Trump Declares Biden’s Pardons ‘Void’ and No Longer in Effect!

Not a counseling article, but this is an issue that concerns most Americans. Can a President order “pre-emptive” pardons even though courts may never have issued decrees on them? But now a new issue has been raised about President Biden’s pre-emptive pardons as he left office. The fact that they were signed by an auto-pen may mean that they are not legally binding. Several Presidents have used auto-pens when signing bills. However, according to the Heritage Foundation the pardon authority is the President’s alone and cannot be delegated. This raises questions about whether pardons signed by an auto-pen will be considered valid.

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Judge Orders Taxpayer-Funded Sex Change for Inmate Convicted of Baby’s Murder at ‘Earliest Opportunity’

In a court case bound to raise questions about judicial over-reach, a judge has ordered the state of Indiana to provide sex-change surgery to an inmate convicted of a baby’s murder, even though the state bans tax-payer funded surgeries for this type of operation on inmates and a psychologist who evaluated the inmate said he does not have gender dysphoria and is likely to be doing this for attention. Nevertheless, the judge ordered the state to provide the surgery at the earliest possible opportunity.

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How Satanist Pedophile Groups Strategize to Groom Kids, Avoid Detection on Popular Chat Site

Some of you may have young persons who are interested in the chat site Discord. If so, this article warns of the large number of unsavory characters on this site who attempt to lure young people into behavior that can harm them.

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AI ‘Hallucinations’ Are Changing Medicine — Should We Worry?

Artificial intelligence is producing some wonderful things, but generative AI has been known to produce “hallucinations” that are not based on reality. Here is a surprisingly balanced article in a Psychiatry Journal talking about some of the possible benefits of AI-generated hallucinations as well as some of the dangers, and some of the safeguards we must put in place. Worthwhile to understand AI-generated hallucinations and the pros and cons of such.

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Mahmoud Khalil is a test case for the survival of Western civilisation

This is not a counseling article, but it is such an important question for all Western democracies that I think we need to consider it. It is from the Telegraph, a moderately conservative British newspaper, which you won’t be able to read without a subscription, so I’ll summarize its major points.

Hankinson, the author’s major point is that the West’s refusal to deport migrants, even when they lie on their immigration applications or commit violence against citizens of those countries (e.g, the Afghan man who intentionally drove into a crowd, injuring 28 people), or who are defiant against the countries that welcome them, are engaging in suicidal levels of tolerance.

Khalil recognizes terrorism as legitimate, celebrates October 7 as a glorious day, and wants the extinction of the nation of Israel and the overthrow of the government of the United States. Hankinson applauds President Trump for renouncing the visa of Khalil and encourages European countries to begin doing the same to migrants, whether legal or illegal, who endorse terrorist activities or the overthrow of the countries where they are residing. While democracies affirm the importance of free speech, there needs to be some limits to that speech.

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Is Gen Z truly experiencing a religious revival?

We’ve heard many voices saying that America and the world is becoming increasingly secular in its outlook. The author, who is the President of Asbury College, cites many examples of how Gen Z young people are finding life without a belief in God is increasingly unsatisfying, and many are returning to God. He even gives them a name—"the corrective generation.”

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Another Similar Article: Some Good News from College Campuses

See this Breakpoint article with further encouraging information.

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Pa. Board of Education rejects Christian schools’ association as accreditor

ACSI accredits 2,200 Christian schools in the U.S., including 116 in Pennsylvania. ACSI sought recognition by the Pennsylvania Board of Education to enhance its standing. However, some individuals and groups opposed the ACSI’s application because of its stands on sexuality, asserting they were discriminatory.

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Leading a Movement Away from Psychiatric Medication

This is from the New York Times so I’ll include a summary. It begins with a focus on Laura Delano, who as a young person was an accomplished athlete but at the same time was on four psychotropic medications. She eventually removed herself from those medications, and now with her husband has a website where she encourages others who are considering stopping their psychological meds.

The article recognizes that many people are on meds that are no longer needed or are not working for them, and that there is a need for patients and therapists to evaluate what they are taking. However, therapists and psychiatrists are leery of people doing this without consultation.

There are probably some truth to both perspectives. Clearly medication usage needs to be evaluated on a regular basis and in some cases modified or discontinued. But it is also true that clients should not do this without consulting with someone who can help them think through the pros and cons for their particular situation.

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Will AI Replace Reading?

Last week we looked at an article that compared the brain activity generated by reading a book versus the activity generated by reading something online. This article takes it even one step further, suggesting that humans remove themselves from the drudgery of reading books and articles themselves, and instead let AI compile summaries for them. This article discusses what is lost when we don’t interact with the text ourselves.

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Thinking about Thinking

I’m going to include some extended discussion about this, since I think you will find several concepts useful in your work with clients. You probably have not heard of Daniel Kahneman, but he earned a Ph.D. in psychology, taught for many years at Princeton, and interestingly, wrote a book called “Thinking: Fast and Slow” that won a Nobel Prize in Economics, selling more than 2.6 million copies. He believed that there are two systems that govern how we make decisions. System 1 is fast, intuitive and emotional. System 2 is slower, more deliberative and more logical. System 1 is motivated primarily by avoiding some negative consequence, whereas System 2 is more motivated by long-term goals.

We often make purchases based on System 1—we want to avoid missing a sale—rather than on System 2—is this wise in terms of our long-term financial goals? One of the things we can do in counseling is help clients become aware of these two systems of thought and help them learn to make decisions using System 2 thinking.

Kahneman described how he decided to become an atheist at age 15, and he continued to remain one throughout his long life. One of the many concepts he is known for is his hedonic calculus—calculating how much pleasure or pain can come from a given decision. This is almost the polar opposite of what Jesus talks about as servant leadership—finding our satisfaction and fulfillment in serving others using the gifts and opportunities God has given us. Probably no concept can be more different than making decisions based on a hedonic calculus.

But in addition to Kahneman’s insights about System 1 and 2 thinking in decision-making, and the difference between his hedonic calculus and Christian motivation, I think we can gain important insights from his decision to die by assisted suicide at age 90, which spurred headlines through elite circles this past year. He made a decision and informed several friends of his plans for assisted suicide in Switzerland on March 27, 2024. He spent the last several days of his life touring Paris, going to museums and the ballet, savoring souffles and chocolate mousse with family members.

Since Kahneman was in good health, was not suffering significant pain, and had not suffered any significant cognitive decline, many of his colleagues are mystified that he would end his life by assisted suicide at that time.  He believed that living past a certain time was superfluous and unnecessary. There may have been some System 1 thinking here, recognizing that there was the likelihood of upcoming disability and pain with advancing years. There may have been some System 2 thinking—wanting to leave when he was at a prime in his cognitive capacities and on his own terms.

Retirement and old age can be approached differently for individuals who hold specific beliefs. It is true that with retirement many experience a temporary “retirement slump” and if people do not find a new purpose for their lives, many die within the first twelve months. But many of us do find a new purpose—caring for loved ones—volunteer activities, and although our bodies do not do all the things we once could, and we may feel more pains, we believe God has a purpose for our lives in this last chapter of our lives. And we believe that we should continue to serve Him as faithfully as we can until He calls us home.

So let’s learn the positive things we can from Kahneman and use them with out clients. And we can also learn from him by articulating with way we see things differently.

Sight to the blind? Elon Musk looks to expand Neuralink applications to 'telepathy,' 'telekinesis'

Christians have often been skeptical of claims to telepathy and telekinesis, since these have often been associated with occult powers. However Elon Musk’s neuralink inventions are applying for approval to develop technical capabilities to help paralyzed persons to have some of these abilities, which are similar in some ways to telepathy and telekinesis.

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Senolytics: Zombie Cells, Longevity, and What’s Possible

Not a counseling article, but one that has relevance to all of us. As we age, we all develop cells that are senescent—older cells that no longer are active and cannot repair themselves, but sometimes still secrete chemicals. Researchers are now working on ways to help the body remove them, not so that we could live to 120, but that we could live healthier longer. I think you might find this article fascinating for a look at what the future may hold.

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A.D.H.D. Videos on TikTok Are Often Misleading, New Study Finds

This is from the New York Times¸ and since I’m already over the word-limit for Wild Apricot, I’m only going to include the summary from the Times: “Even people who have been diagnosed don’t always spot inaccuracies or generalizations about the condition in the social media posts, research suggests.”

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I hope you have a wonderful week!

Henry Virkler