Counseling News from the Week of August 15,2025

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

"I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside."

Whitney Houston

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy!”

Anne Frank, "The Diary of a Young Girl

“Wherever you look there are inspirations, books, literature, paintings, landscapes, everything. Just living is an inspiration.”

GAVIN ROSSDALE

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

Marcus Aurelius

"Either you deal with what is reality, or you can be sure that reality is going to deal with you."

Alex Haley

No legacy is so rich as honesty.

William Shakespeare

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly."

Lauren Bacall

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

Bruce Lee

Fascinating Facts

The Science Behind Sex Differences in Health and Immunity

Research is discovering why some illnesses occur more frequently in men than women and vice versa and why some appear later in life or with different manifestations in one gender versus the other. One major difference is that the genes that determine sex have different properties in terms of fending off disease, and the sex hormones produced by these genes also affect our defenses against certain diseases.

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'Ultramassive' Black Hole Discovered

The largest black hole ever discovered is 36 billion times the mass of the sun. Apparently it’s big enough and so does not suck in more material.

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Counseling Articles

It's OK to 'Parentify' Our Kids

In some circles, asking children to help with household chores and caregiving is akin to child abuse. Even the respected Cleveland Clinic, described parentification as “when a child takes on the responsibilities typically reserved for the parents such as childcare, cooking, and cleaning.” Yet this author says that by helping children learn to do these things is a healthy thing that prepares them for adulthood and teaches them important things about being human. While it is true that there are occasional examples where children are expected to do things that are beyond their maturity level, this author argues that the normal process of helping children learn to do age-appropriate things at reasonable levels can be part of healthy parenting.

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Babies Today Are More Likely to Have College-educated Mothers

In encouraging news, it has been found that babies today are more likely to have college-educated mothers. This is encouraging because such children are more likely to have married parents throughout their formative years, are less likely to experience welfare and poverty, and are more likely to do well in school themselves.

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How to Find Your Calling

This article could be useful to anyone who counsels young people who are searching for the answer of what to do with their lives. It tells the stories of several people who thought they were destined for one vocation and eventually discovered that that was not the best fit for their gifts and priorities, something which is often true about the first major students choose when starting college.

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A Case for Climbing Trees

Most of us boys stopped climbing trees sometime in our late teens, and most of us have never started again. This author argues that we as adults need to, for our own good, discover some equivalent of adult play and engage in it. See what you think.

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Heidi Klum's Worm Cleanse: 'Medically Unfounded, Potentially Harmful'

You may have clients who ask you about Heidi Klum’s “worm cleanse” which allegedly relieves the body of worms and parasites. Medical professionals say that the proposed regimen is not only ineffective but is medically harmful.

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Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.

This relates to an article I included in last week’s Friday Mailing about AI Psychosis. You won’t be able to read this without a New York Times subscription, so I’ll summarize its main points. Here are few quotes: “Over 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero.” Over a period of three weeks he came to believe that he “had discovered a novel mathematical formula, one that could take down the internet and power inventions like a force-field vest and a levitation beam.” (The transcript of his conversations with GPT, which he shared with the Times, includes 3,000 pages. The Times is suing for permission to release it.) He asked ChatGPT more than 50 times for a reality check about this discovery but was reassured that his findings were sound. He has now recovered and feels betrayed by ChatGPT. But if he was not so mentally sound, the results could have been more serious. As mentioned in this article and the one last week, his experience is not rare.

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Before You Offer Advice, Ask This Question

This is another article from the New York Times. I read the headline several times before giving into the temptation to read it. I don’t think it’s a very useful article, but its main point is this: Before offering suggestions, ask the person this question: “Do you want my advice?”

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Myth Busting: No, Red Wine Isn’t Good for Your Heart

Last week we talked about a medical myth that is no longer recognized as accurate—that chocolate is good for you. This week a second myth, this one about red wine being good for you, is now being recognized as a myth, is also being discounted for similar reasons—red wine, as is chocolate, is packed with sugar.

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“What Should I Be When I Grow Up?”

ADHD can cause attributes that make it difficult to succeed in some careers. This article begins by recognizing some of them but then goes on to identify several kinds of careers that may be well-suited for the person with ADHD.

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Put a Stop to Household Clutter Once and for All

Parents with a child with ADHD may be at their wits end about how to get their child to be less messy. Here are some practical tips that such parents can use.

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Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Terrible Life

For those of you who no longer remember the ideas of Jean Jacque Rousseau this Breakpoint article is a good reminder of some of his ideas, and of the people whose thinking was influenced by his. It sometimes is helpful, if we want to pursue truth, to read others and identify why we disagree with them.

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7 Smart Ways to Protect Your Finances From Elevated Moods

People with bipolar disorder need to have a safe way to protect their finances during manic or hypomanic mood episodes. Here are seven suggestions for how to do this.

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The Hidden Trauma of Jury Duty

This is from the New York Times¸ so I’ll summarize its major points. When people are summoned for jury duty, they sometimes see it as a welcome break from their normal routine. But sometimes they are required to pay attention to gruesome details of trauma or abuse, and unlike a newspaper article, where they can just skip a section that is too troubling, they are required to pay attention, sometimes repeatedly, to troubling details. This can lead to vicarious traumatization or even PTSD. The situation is made worse by the fact that jurors are instructed that they cannot discuss details of what they have seen with each other or anyone else.

At least one state has recognized the need to offer some supportive services to jurors after jury service, but most states do not. Some people seek counseling, but probably many cannot afford this. Perhaps support groups might be an answer, and counselors could consider offering these two kinds of services free or at reduced rates. Some people find it helpful to invest themselves in finding some way to create memorials or to create services for those who might suffer such abuse or trauma in the future. Something some counselors might invest in.

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The Truth About Detransitioning

This article is also from the New York Times, so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription. I read it because I think it is good to read articles from both sides of a controversy. I’m not going to summarize it, because it is basically negative about detransitioning and written by a person who has been transgender for 15 years and views this as a positive experience. I read the research study (allegedly the largest study of detransitioners ever done (https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e63252) but could not find the negative conclusions this author had drawn). If you are a subscriber to the New York Times and are interested in the topic, it can be found here.

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'Step toward peace' or rewarding ethnic cleansing?: Experts react to Trump's Armenia-Azerbaijan deal

Normally I don’t include international political news here in this mailing, but since Armenia is considered the first Christian nation (dating from 301 A.D.) I thought it would be wise to be informed about this development. Armenia is primarily Christian, and Azerbaijan is primarily Muslim. They have been at war for decades. President Trump brokered a peace deal between them, which will include a 20-mile safe corridor between the two countries. I don’t see this as “ethnic cleansing” because anyone who chooses to emigrate does so based on their own preferences. It is believed that the route will allow peaceful trade to flow between the two countries.

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A Life Changed by the Messianic Prophecies

Not a counseling article, but an memorable story of how a famous football hero became a Christian after reading his Tanakh (the Old Testament Jewish scriptures) and saw how Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies of what the Messiah would do.

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This little-known synthetic opioid is up to 43 times more deadly than fentanyl, resistant to Narcan and killing young Americans

For those who counsel those who experiment with drugs, there is a new class of drugs known as nitazimes becoming available. They are sometimes used to taint other drugs such as Xanax. The nitazimes vary in strength, but some are as much as 43 times more deadly than fentanyl and those who are exposed cannot be saved even by administering Narcan.

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Abigail Shrier: Stop Asking Kids If They’re Depressed

Abigail Shrier, who published the noteworthy book Bad Therapy in 2024, has written a thoughtful article for parents that I believe contains some good points. She says that children are very suggestible, so that mandatory mental health screenings which ask them if they are depressed or anxious can be counterproductive.

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Mixed States in Bipolar: A Risky Combination

We often think of bipolar disorder as a bipolar disorder. Dr. Jim Phelps, a psychiatrist with 30 years’ experience, explains why bipolar disorder, similar to autism, represents a spectrum of disordered states, and describes some of the common ones to help us understand what they feel like to the client. He also talks in this article about the treatment of the mixed disorder states. Very worthwhile article, even if you only see an occasional bipolar client.

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Acute Unfinished Projects Syndrome—an Early Sign of a Mood Episode

I taught graduate counseling courses for 42 years but never heard of “acute unfinished projects syndrome” before reading this article. But after reading this article, written by someone with bipolar disorder, it makes sense and could be a good way for some people with bipolar disorder to recognize when another mood disorder is impending.

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How Older People Are Reaping Brain Benefits From New Tech

This is from the New York Times, so I’ll summarize its major points. While overuse of technology can be harmful to young people because it keeps them from actual relationships and real-life experiences, research shows that the opposite may be true for senior citizens. Interaction with digital media is associated with higher cognitive functioning and little use of digital media during old age is associated with the opposite. Digital media helps older adults stay connected with friends and family and allows them a wealth of cognitive information and stimulation.

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ChatGPT says it’s a fact that God exists

Alex O’Connor calls himself an agnostic atheist. Agnostic atheists default to atheism because they don’t acknowledge any supernatural deity and claim the existence of one is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact. He threw the argument from contingency at the AI bot to see what will happen.

If you’re not aware, the argument from contingency starts with the idea that everything in the universe is either a necessary being or a contingent being. He is asking ChatGPT whether, based on the theory of contingency, there must be a God. The theory of contingency is that since not everything can be contingent (dependent on something else for its existence), there must be a necessary being (a being that exists by its own nature, not because of something else) that is the ultimate cause or explanation for the existence of all contingent beings. And ChatGPT says that based on logic God (a non-contingent being) must exist. This is not an example of AI Psychosis (see previous article earlier in this Friday Mailing) because O’Connor is asking ChatGPT to draw its conclusion from the logic of the situation. See article for more details.

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What Produces Happiness?

This is based on a short interview by Brett Baier on Special Report that occurred on August 10, 2025 with Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor who is well-known for his weekly column in the Atlantic. Brooks says there are four pillars to happiness—faith, family, friends, and service. Brett asked him about the relationship of exercise to happiness. Brooks replied that exercise tends to reduce depression, but does not by itself produce happiness. If interested, the book is available on Amazon.

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Study Reveals ChatGPT Gives Dangerous Guidance to Teens, Despite Safety Claims

Reportedly 800 million teens have access to Chat GPT worldwide. While ChatGPT says it’s not intended for those less than 13, it only requires users to give a birthdate, with no further age verification required. While efforts are being made to make it safer, there are still current examples of ChatGPT giving unhealthy information such as how to help a hypothetical 13-year-old teen girl write suicide notes to friends and family and other such examples. So parents and counselors need to have good conversations with their children about this.

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The Transhumanist Quest to Never Die

Two transhumanists who are leading the movement that says we never need to die are Peter Diamandis and Bryan Johnson. Their work and thinking are highlighted in recent articles in Time and in the Atlantic. Although these men claim we may never need die and have spent thousands of dollars and bought impressive instruments to ward off the effects of aging for themselves, other experts disagree with the idea that we can live forever.  Pinchas Cohen, dean of Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California stated bluntly, “Death is not optional. It’s written into our genes.”

Perhaps the statement that best responds to this transhumanist trend is the one by Dr. Eric Verdin, CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, who said “If you want immortality, you should go to church.”

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Giving Teens Ownership of Their Faith

The bad news is that many children raised in Christian homes stop attending church in their twenties. The good news is that in their thirties many do return to the faith of their families during their thirties. The problem is that in their twenties young adults make many of the decisions about their adult identities and marriage during their twenties. Here Mark Gregston gives some good suggestions for how parents can lay a strong foundation of faith during their children’s childhood, and then give their later teens gradual responsibility for continuing their faith so that hopefully they will let that Christian identity guide them while in their twenties.

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

Henry Virkler