Articles from the Week of May 2, 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. (Although you probably should read at least the last article in Fascinating Facts for your own safety) HV

Interesting Quotes

"Each of you has the power, the will, and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live."

Harry Belafonte

"The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

Lucille Ball

“Let others praise the ancient times; I am glad I was born in these.”

Ovid

The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

Douglas MacArthur

Fascinating Facts

Most fatal lightning strikes kill people doing this routine activity

The most dangerous place to be during a lightning storm is fishing.

Click here to read the full article

Self-Driving Cars

Volkswagen and Uber plan to test out self-driving taxis in 2016 in Los Angeles. Present autonomous vehicles require a driver to still be present in the driver’s seat to take over controls in some situations. For more on self-driving cars, see the article.

Click here to read the full article

Why 3D printing could make housing cheaper and more sustainable

Last week in this section I included an article about prefabricated homes built in factories that might make home-buying more affordable. Here is another solution—homes made from sawdust (waste from sawmills mixed with corn resin) and printed on a very large 3-D printer. The resulting homes are small (at this point) but reportedly stronger than concrete. (My wife, a retired Chemistry teacher, says this combination of materials could actually be that strong.)

Click here to read the full article

Living with alligators: Can I shoot a gator in my yard? Florida wildlife laws to know

Since April through June is alligator mating season here in Florida, you are more likely to run into an alligator, and male alligators are likely to be more aggressive than normal. And since they are found in every county in Florida, all Florida residents should be aware of them. This article answers several questions: (1) What should I do if I see one (the Nuisance Alligator Hotline is given, so you can put it in your Telephone Contact list), (2) What to do if you’re swimming and see one in the water nearby, (3) What to do if you are grabbed by one and want to get away, (4) If you get away, what is the best way to escape, since they can run quite fast, (5) If you have a gun, can you shoot it? Worthwhile article to read.

Click here to read the full article

Counseling Articles

Some Reflections on the Relationship Between Empirical Research and God’s Word

I’ve been writing these compilations of counseling articles for several years, and I’m amazed at how often meta-analyses (compilations of several research studies) confirm again and again the truths God has given in his Word. The two next meta-analysis are good examples, as are the research articles in last week’s compilation of the joy it brings to couples when they create and raise children together. Those positive results occur whether clients are believers or not. So I think that we can be comfortable when we subtly encourage clients to live honestly, faithfully, fairly with other people and not hold onto resentment but encourage them to forgive others. When we do so we act with their best interests in mind. While we may not bring Christianity into the discussion unless they are believers, we can encourage clients to think through the pros and cons of various plans of action with Socratic questions and hopefully help them make wise decisions. God’s principles (his commands) are not meant to restrict our enjoyment of life, but to help us live harmoniously with each other.

Five Reasons Porn is Bad for Your Marriage

While there was for a time a belief that porn could enhance one’s marriage, the results of many empirical studies have shown this is not true. Both men and women use porn, and it seems to have similar negative effects on their marriage relationships. This article describes five reasons, some of which you may not be aware of, that porn is bad for couples’ marriages for both male and female users.

Click here to read the full article

Cohabitation is Popular, But It’s Still No Replacement for Marriage

About ¾ of high school students believe that cohabitation is a good way of testing out a relationship before marriage. However, the research does not bear this out. Most cohabiting relationships do not last more than a handful of years, and the relationship quality and stability of such relationships is less than that of marriages. And the effect on children born in such relationships is less healthy than the effects on children born into intact marriages.

Click here to read the full article

In His Deliverance of a Desperate Man, Jesus Gives Hope to Us All

Although not specifically a counseling article, I think this article from Randy Alcorn can speak to us all and perhaps give us something to share with struggling clients.

Click here to read the full article

Do We Need a Pronatal Approach to Sex Education?

In case the word “pronatal” is new to you, it refers to sex education that affirms the joy that new life can bring. The article makes the point that so much of our premarital education is focused on preventing unplanned pregnancies that perhaps unwittingly we have conveyed the message that pregnancy is something to be avoided. This may be one of the reasons that the birth rate is below replacement levels in most countries. This article describes some of the interesting experiences that can be used in pronatal classes to help men and women develop a more positive view of pregnancy and welcoming new life. Pronatal classes may be a more helpful approach than paying couples a $5,000 bonus for having a child.

Click here to read the full article

Two studies find cannabis use increases heart attack risk significantly

You may have already heard this research, but two separate studies found that cannabis use increases heart attack rates significantly, even among those under 50.

Click here to read the full article

The Truth About Electrolytes, according to a Nephrologist

Advertisements encourage us to purchase beverages with added electrolytes. This medical expert says that healthy bodies have natural mechanisms to help us maintain the optimal levels of electrolytes. The only exceptions would be when someone has kidney disease, diabetes, or heart disease. In those cases physicians may prescribe medication for those diseases, and there may be a need to prescribe another medication to help the body maintain appropriate electrolyte balance.

Click here to read the full article

Autism Science Leader Reacts to RFK Jr.'s Misinformation

This is the transcript of some remarks by Robert F. Kennedy Jr about autism, and some responses by Alycia Halladay, Ph.D. about why she believes those statements are incorrect. I believe the bulk of the empirical research backs up Halladay’s views rather than Kennedy’s. While Kennedy’s views are likely correct about food dyes (many European countries have already banned them), his views on autism seem to be overly-simplistic.

Click here to read the full article

Driving with ADHD: Pumping the Brakes on Vehicle Safety Risks

This article, written by an M.D. who counsels patients with ADHD, chronicles just how much higher the accident rate is for those with ADHD, and discusses some of the things that can help such drivers be safer drivers.

Click here to read the full article

When Parents Disagree About ADHD Medications

Sometimes when a child has ADHD, the parents (or grandparents) disagree about whether the child should be on medication. And if there has been a divorce, one of the parents may disagree with the other about the issue. This medical doctor offers several practical suggestions for working with conflict about this issue.

Click here to read the full article

ADHD Medications and Cardiovascular Effects: New Data

The latest review of ADHD medications found that stimulants do increase heart rate and blood pressure slightly, but for most people, heart rate and blood pressure still remain within the healthy range. Prescribing physicians can measure both blood pressure and heart rate and can try a different medication if one medication produces significant increases. The consensus is that the cost/benefit ratio for taking ADHD medications if one has ADHD definitely indicates their benefits.

Click here to read the full article

Note: The next four articles are from the Psychotherapy Networker. I believe you can read them (or at least a few of them) without a subscription by submitting your email address, but if you only believe you can afford one subscription to a counseling journal, I recommend you read these as a foretaste and then consider subscribing to the Psychotherapy Networker yourself. Although a subscription to the print edition is expensive, the digital-only subscription is very affordable.

Bad Couples Therapy: Getting Past the Myth of Therapist Neutrality

For those who have done marriage counseling during the last 30 years, William Doherty is one of the most respected mentors. This article identifies some of the most common mistakes Doherty believes beginning marital therapists make and then goes on to identify the most common mistakes he believes experienced therapists make. I think this is probably one of the best articles on marriage counseling I have read. If you are just starting to do marriage counseling or have been doing it for years, I encourage you to read it.

Click here to read the full article

The Therapist Who Sees Therapists

This writer is a therapist who sees some therapists as his clients. He spends part of the article talking about that experience. But he also talks about what he thinks makes therapy “work” and includes some things that he himself does that many counselor educators say counselors should never do. See what you think about the points he makes.

Click here to read the full article

What Not to Do in Neuro-Affirming Intakes: And What You Should Always Do

This title is a bit confusing: the article gives some suggestions about how to conduct a good diagnostic interview, and things not to do (even though some counselors do them), and why not counselors should not do those things.

Click here to read the full article

What is Faceblindness?

Faceblindness, technically called prosopagnosia is sometimes not recognized by the person experiencing it for years, as was true of the person who wrote this article. It is possible that those who have difficulty remembering names and faces have some version of it.

Click here to read the full article

How to be a resilient, adaptable leader

Although this article is about how to be a resilient, adaptable leader, I think it has wisdom that could be applied to any person, whether they’re a leader of a group or a solo entrepreneur and could have useful concepts to use in working with many clients, since as counselors we all are leaders.

Click here to read the full article

6 Ways to Choose Stability Over Mood Highs in Bipolar Disorder

People with bipolar disorder may be tempted to allow themselves to have periods of hypomania or even mania, believing they will be more creative during those times. This medical doctor, with long experience with bipolar disorder, gives solid reasons for choosing stability over allowing oneself to go into periods of hypomania or mania.

Click here to read the full article

‘SkinnyTok’ Weight-Loss Trend May Encourage Dangerous Food Deprivation

A new TikTok trend is skinnytok, which emphasizes various rapid weight-loss methods. Medical experts warn that extreme thinness can cause “malnutrition, especially in young people, can disrupt hormones, weaken the immune system, and impair cognitive function. It can also cause lasting damage to developing brains.” Unfortunately these warnings probably won’t have much impact on those who should listen most to them.

Click here to read the full article

The Ethics of Brainless ‘Spare Bodies’

In what seems like a work of science fiction, scientists are now saying that it may be possible to produce human bodies without brains that can be used by surgeons for “spare parts.” These creations might be called “bodyoids.” But the possibility raises the question of whether we should do that, how would these spare parts be used, and what limits would be placed on their use? See some of the ethical questions being raised by this new technological development.

Click here to read the full article

The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event

After Roe v. Wade, in states that were prolife and enacted legislation to stop abortions, it became more difficult for women in those states to end their pregnancies. But eight states allowed approval for physicians to prescribe abortion pills based on a single telephone interview, to send abortion drugs by mail and wrote laws to absolve them of any medical liability, so abortion has become even more available throughout the U.S. than when Roe was in effect. Early promotional material said that the abortion pill was safer than ibuprofen but a larger follow-up study confirmed that was not true. About 10% of women who use the abortion pill experience serious, often life-threatening, medical consequences in the following days. And of course, the abortion is almost always fatal to the child and may have serious emotional consequences for the mother.

Click here to read the full article

The rise of coerced ‘cultural Christianity’: A disturbing Christian Nationalist trend

I am not including this article because I in any way support it, but I think we should be aware of this practice among a few Christian nationalist speakers, who are advocating mandatory church attendance and forced conversions. This seems totally contrary to the message of Christ, where accepting Him is a matter of personal choice (“whosoever will may come”).

Click here to read the full article

Five-Year Outcomes of a School-Based Personality-Focused Prevention Program on Adolescent Substance Use Disorder: A Cluster Randomized Trial

There is great concern about the number of teenagers becoming involved in substance abuse. This brief cognitive-behavioral intervention (only two sessions) was associated with a 35% reduction in students developing substance abuse problems in the following five years.

Click here to read the full article

Persecuted Christian Women Around the World

I think most of us agree that it is unwise to allow unvetted immigrants to enter the United States. But this article describes a group of migrants who deserve our prayers and support for helping them find some way of legally immigrating. Since President Trump seems open to supporting Christians, let’s hope those in his administration can find some way of helping these women.

Click here to read the full article

I hope you enjoyed these articles. Have a wonderful week!

Henry Virkler