Counseling News from the Week of September 19,2025
Even if you don’t read every item in this newsletter, please read the warning about QuickAssist. This is a scam that can be quite convincing (they use icons that look identical to programs you trust, such as Microsoft), but if you allow them to install QuickAssist on your computer they can gather all the bank and other information that is stored there.
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
“But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
1 Peter 3:4
A hug is worth a thousand words.
Author unknown
If your birthdate years started with 19, don’t do anything on the floor.
Post my wife Mary found on Facebook
“Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it.”
Cicero, "On Friendship"
"The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you."
BB King
Fascinating Facts
Quantum Computing
Most of us have heard about quantum computers and are a little mystified about them. Here is an article that will give you a little introduction to them. The first paragraph is about the dark web, but the rest is about quantum computing.
Click here to read the full article
Man, 34, has tooth implanted in eye to restore his vision
This story sounds like something out of science fiction but is actually a true story, and not the first time this surgery has been successfully used. The surgery has been used for several hundred people to restore their eyesight. For details, see article.
Click here to read the full article
An AI bot that was successful
Normally when I hear an AI bot on the telephone line I try to respond but often end up eventually saying “Please connect me to a real person.” But this Friday I was pleasantly surprised. We had hurricane shutters installed on our home and in the process our ADT lawn sign was broken. I called ADT on Friday night around 9 p.m. expecting to get an answering service and leave a request for a call back when the office opened. Instead I got an AI bot who asked me what the problem was. I told it, and he/she said they could help me. I gave my name and address. They did a second confirmation check to confirm it was me, then gave me my address and asked if this was the correct address to mail the replacement sign to. They said I would receive the sign in three or four days. So there is hope for properly configured AI bots!
5 Wives Who Didn't Know They Were Married to Serial Killers
In an article that is likely to strike fear into the hearts of many women, here are the stories of five women who unintentionally married men who were or became serial murderers. Only one of the five men was abusive to his wife. The other four were normal, even upstanding citizens. It certainly reminds us that all of us, men and women alike, should pray for God’s wisdom before making important decisions, because human beings can be quite different than they appear on the surface.
Click here to read the full article
Counseling Articles
These are three articles I had planned to post last week commemorating Charlie Kirk, which were the only things I was able to recover from last week’s deleted files.
5 ways Charlie and Erika Kirk championed God, marriage
Many of us who are older Christians may not have been highly aware of Charlie Kirk and Turning Point before his assassination last week. He said in an interview that he hoped his legacy would be how he stood as an advocate for his Christian faith. Here is a brief introduction to his faith, his marriage and his home church.
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Charlie Kirk’s Final Message
For a bit more on why we all can be thankful for Charlie Kirk and his courageous stand as a Christian, see this article about his final message.
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Charlie Kirk, the Brevity of Life, God’s Sovereignty, and Our Rock-Solid Hope
An especially heart-warming message from Randy Alcorn on the life and ministry of Charlie Kirk.
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Faith, Foster Care, and the Surprising Path to Flourishing
Research shows that Christian families are increasingly becoming involved in adopting children as well as providing foster care for children, some of whom eventually can safely be returned to their natural families. These parents sometimes describe the experience as both the hardest thing they’ve ever done, and simultaneously as the most fulfilling thing they’ve ever done.
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10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World: How Parents Can Stop Smartphones, Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their Children's Lives
Dr. Jean Twenge is considered one of the best commentators on social media and its impact on children and teens. I had a really good review of the book in last week’s Friday News but couldn’t find it again. However, the reviews on Amazon from those who have purchased the book attest to its helpfulness. And Dr. Marty McKary, the highly respected medical doctor and Director of the Food and Drug Administration, says parents should consider that internet-enabled cellphones, because of many of the addictive sites available on them, to be as dangerous for preteens as drugs. And there are a growing number of programs (e.g., Discord) where people share ideas that foster distrust and hatred of certain groups and institutions. So this is an important book for parents to read before deciding whether to give an Internet-enabled cellphone to their child. See an excerpt from the book in the article below.
The Most Important Screen Time Rule: No Devices in the Bedroom
Here is an excerpt from the above book, Jean Twenge’s book 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. It is an excerpt from Rule #2, no devices in the bedroom.
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Is 'Marriage Illiteracy' Robbing Your Marriage of Joy?
Many couples who are struggling in their marriages believe they only have two options: divorce or stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of the kids. But this author differentiates “hard problems” such as addiction or infidelity from “soft problems.” Most couples divorce because of “soft problems.” While these couples may feel frustrated with their partner and think their problems can’t be solved this writer believes those problems are relatively easy to fix if couples learn some “best marriage practices.”
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Men and Women with Multiple Sex Partners Are Less Desirable as Long-term Mates
It might seem that people who are more experienced sexually might be viewed as better long-term partners, but this does not seem to be true. Research across five continents found that both men and women who had multiple sex partners in the past were viewed as less desirable as long-term mates.
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ADHD medication reduces negative real-world outcomes
Dr. David Rabiner, a well-respected expert in ADHD, reviews research that should help parents who are cautious about allowing their children who have been diagnosed with ADHD to receive medication. He shares that a two-year research study demonstrates that children receiving such medication have lower likelihood of suicidal behaviors, substance abuse, accidents, traffic accidents and criminality.
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Therapists are banned from talking to kids about accepting their biological sex
This is an opinion article rather than a news article, but it does make several thoughtful points. It mentions that half the states in the United States ban counselors from discussing gender identity with children who have questions about that issue. In contrast three countries—Great Britain, Finland, and Sweden, who formerly encouraged children to take puberty blockers, cross-gender hormones, and even sex change surgery—now encourage counseling as the first approach to use when a child has questions about their gender identity. It has been found that 85% of these children revert to identifying as their natal gender on their own if they are not encouraged by counselors, teachers or others to become transgender.
Click here to read the full article
When No One Sees
If you have a client who sometimes fudges the truth, this story makes the point about the importance of honesty better than most anything I know. And for those of us who are believers, it reminds us that there is Someone who always sees all we do.
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JK Rowling has a 'God-shaped vacuum' inside her, says she could die with 'matter unresolved'
Many of us have an affection for JK Rowling because of the Harry Potter series she authored that has enriched so many children’s lives. In recent years her reputation has been affected by her views on gender. But this article is about her search for faith. Please pray for this dear woman, that she can come to know the peace and joy that a personal relationship with God brings.
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How Gen Z gender wars are reshaping America
Although this is not a counseling article, if you counsel with Generation Z (those aged 18-29) this is important information. You can read three articles a month from the Spectator with a free registration. The gender differences between Generation Z men and women could not be starker. For men, the most important issues were jobs, marriage and children, whereas for women one of the top two issues was abortion and having children was one of the ranked lowest (there are individual exceptions for both men and women, but these are the general trends). And these are quite different from the priorities of men and women in previous decades, where having children used to be one of women’s highest priorities.) If you counsel with either young men or women today it is important to be aware of these changing trends.
Click here to read the full article
The problem of the progressive middle class
This is another article that is not a counseling article, but I think it has implications for how you might counsel younger and middle-aged clients. About 20% of our population identify as conservative, about 20% as liberal, and the remaining 60% might be considered the “progressive middle class.” The focus of this article is that many in this middle class are not basing their lives and thinking on facts, logic or any moral foundation, but simply conforming to the cultural trends of those around them. While the article does not go into any counseling methods, I think Socratic questions (one of Jesus’ favorite teaching methods was also questions) could be something useful when you have a client who is unthinkingly going along with a cultural trend that you believe would be harmful to them.
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Talking About Bipolar Symptoms so Your Doctor Listens
The author of this article believed, as a teenager, that she had symptoms of bipolar disorder (because she had studied books and articles on this topic), but for many years she couldn’t convince her psychiatrists that she had that disorder. Here are her suggestions about how to prepare for sessions so that psychiatrists take what you are telling them seriously
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OpenAI to launch ChatGPT for teens with parental controls as company faces scrutiny over safety
Based on recent teen experiences with ChatGPT, OpenAI is trying to take precautions for teen users, as explained in this article. Undoubtedly, these precautions will not be perfect at first, but hopefully over time can be improved.
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A Christian Atheist?
There are several prominent people who identify themselves as cultural Christians, i.e., they believe that Christian moral principles are good for society but don’t believe that God really exists. This article has some interesting thoughts on cultural Christians and some of C.S. Lewis inimitable comments on the topic.
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Energy Drinks May Raise Suicide Risk: What to Ask Your Patients
In an interesting study it was found that moderate coffee intake actually decreases suicide risk, but the ingestion of energy drinks, even small numbers of such drinks, can increase suicide risk. For an explanation of the reasons for this, see the article.
Click here to read the full article
QuickAssist: Do Not Use This App, Microsoft Warns Windows And Mac Users
This is the second time in two years that I was almost conned by scammers. This time it was supposedly an email from Microsoft telling me my Microsoft 365 license had expired and when I went to renew it, a message said the order did not go through. When I tried to renew it a second time, it also was declined, and then I suddenly received a call, supposedly from Microsoft, saying they had a software glitch and saying they wanted to repair the error so I would not be charged twice for the order. The technician asked me to accept QuickAssist so they could make the correction. When I downloaded QuickAssist Norton 360 warned me of dangerous software, so I ended the call and then went to Microsoft to see whether my 365 account had expired. It turned out that my Microsoft 365 license is on automatic renewal. I then remembered that two years ago some scammers had tried a similar thing and I had to take my computer into a repair shop to get it even operational again. So please be very suspicious of anyone trying to have you install QuickAssist so they can “repair” something for you. See article for more details.
Click here to read the full article
Polymorphous perversity in the heartland: The scandal of the Kinsey Institute and Indiana University
The Kinsey Institute is considered by some liberals quite positively because it, following Kinsey, tried to remove all moral constraints from sexuality. However, from its early conception evangelical Christians had concerns about Kinsey’s activities, and these concerns have continued in the last 75 years. This year the state of Indiana removed state funding from the Kinsey Institute, but due to faculty and student protests, the Institute will continue to exist at Indiana University. If you are interested in understanding the controversy, Albert Mohler’s article will give you helpful historical information.
Click here to read the full article
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Henry Virkler