Counseling News from the Week of September 26,2025
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
“Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.”
René Descartes
"Reputation is what others think about you. What’s far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself."
Billie Jean King
Some therapists have paws.
Author unknown
“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Age imprints more wrinkles in the mind than it does on the face.”
Michel de Montaigne, "Essays"
"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
Christopher Reeve
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."
Albert Einstein
Fascinating Facts
Potential For Tropical Storm Imelda Increases As Tropical Storm Humberto Strives For Hurricane Strength
Tropical Storm Humberto may become a hurricane but is not expected to threaten the U.S. Tropical Storm Imelda is still forming and it is uncertain where it will go, but there is the possibility that it could affect us. There is also the interesting possibility that the two systems could become intertwined and one might “swallow” the other. Right now there is much uncertainty, especially about Imelda and what it will do next week, or if it will dissipate.
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Counseling Articles
A Brief Mindset Intervention Reduces Depression and Inflammation
I encourage you to read this article. It contains many important facts not alluded to in the title. I think you’ll find the article reinforces several helpful principles you can use in counseling.
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Three Lies About Charlie Kirk
In the secular media we often hear criticisms that Charlie Kirk was hateful, was a Nazi, and was a divisive person. This commentator shows clearly that these three accusations were far from the truth.
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Medical Org Defies Trump Admin, Teaches Transgenderism and DEI
Although I knew many in the professional medical organizations here in the U.S. (e.g. the AMA) aren’t listening to the several European countries that were once promoting transgender philosophy and have now changed and are encouraging counseling instead. Before reading the article I wasn’t aware how much the AMA is financially and in other ways supporting the transgender movement. Fortunately there are many doctors here in the U.S. who agree there are only two genders, but they are not in leadership positions in most of these professional organizations yet.
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Pregnant Women Should Not Use Cannabis, New Medical Guidelines Say
This is from the New York Times so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription, so I’ll summarize its gist. Many young people use cannabis recreationally, and some use it to treat medical problems without going to a doctor. And during pregnancy the rate of use increases, often in an attempt to deal with nausea and other pregnancy symptoms. However, the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has come out with a strong recommendation that women who are pregnant or nursing should not use marijuana. They say that evidence says that its use does not help with pregnancy symptoms and is linked with low birth weights and a greater need for neonatal intensive care, as well as neurocognitive and behavioral problems in children. One of the researchers, Dr. Poland was quoted as saying: ““We know that THC crosses the placenta and concentrates in fetal tissue, especially the brain. That means even small amounts may carry a risk today that is greater than previously.” Others quoted in the study cautioned that there was no amount of cannabis that was found to be safe for the baby. See also the following study on today’s marijuana. Though some of these results have been alluded to before, this meta-analysis of nearly ¼ million young people is some of the strongest data we have about the dangers of marijuana.
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High-THC Cannabis Products Linked to Immediate Psychosis and Addiction
A meta-analysis of 99 studies involving 220,000 people found further evidence that use of today’s cannabis, which has higher concentrations of THC than earlier forms of marijuana, can induce psychotic episodes, schizophrenia and addiction. Some people use cannabis to relieve depression and anxiety. However, those who use it recreationally may find it produces depression or anxiety in them.
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The Cowboy Code: 10 Principles to Live By
Much of what we think of cowboys is due to Hollywood dramatizations. In reality, although cowboys were not saints (e.g., they drank, they swore, etc.), according to James Owens, who studied their history for many years and wrote the book “Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West,” cowboys generally lived by a strict moral code that we would be wise to emulate. Read these 10 principles and see if you agree. (Personal note: I grew up in rural Upstate New York and most of the neighbors were Mennonite farmers, and although their philosophy of life came from their Christian faith, it seemed that their ethics were very similar to the ones described in this article.)
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Dry Begging' Is A Form Of Emotional Manipulation That Sounds All Too Familiar
In case you haven’t heard this term, it refers to a form of request that’s disguised as a statement such as “It must be nice to have a husband who sometimes cooks for you.” If you have clients who do this, or who do this to their partner, it may be due to insecurity about voicing their requests more directly. Helping them learn to work through their insecurities and making their requests more directly may help the relationship become healthier for both of them.
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Good News for Those Who Prefer to Get their News from Neutral or Conservative-Leaning Sources.
As you are probably aware, most news sources, e.g., CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, The New York Times, and the Washington Post¸ have strong liberal leanings, so you are not likely to receive objective reporting of the news as people once did when listening to Walter Chronkite. In recent years Rupert Murdoch has tried to produce a balance by offering things like Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, and large numbers of the consuming public have moved to one of these news sources. However, Rupert Murdoch is in his 90s, and three out of his four children have indicated they will move these news sources in more liberal directions when he passes. His one conservative heir would undoubtedly be outvoted in any decisions by the other three. Since it is nearly impossible to change an irrevocable trust, he has decided to buy out the other three and leave control of these more neutral or conservative leaning news sources under the control of his conservative-leaning heir.
Top 5 moments from Charlie Kirk memorial
I’ve never attended a five-hour funeral/memorial service before, but this was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I was amazed to find a number of news commentators, whom I’ve respected for their intelligent and probing questions and seemingly fair treatment of both sides of an issue, are also born-again Christians with a deep personal faith. And many of our Cabinet officials spoke openly of their personal Christian faith. One other thing that was seen is that many of the speakers said that Charlie Kirk has encouraged them to speak more openly about their Christian faith (e.g., Vice-President J.D. Vance). And several of the speakers mentioned that they believe Charlie Kirk’s life and death is having an important impact in turning young people back to God on campuses and also among those who are not going to college. And from some of the responses on college campuses this past week there is hope that this may be happening.
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Christianity Isn’t Western
This is not a counseling article, but I think it is important to know that historically early Christianity had its roots in Middle Eastern countries and Asia and wasn’t initially Western religion.
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Long-winded apologies seem more sincere, study suggests
When you have a client who needs to make an apology and wants it to be accepted, this research from the British Journal of Psychology may be helpful. It found that longer apologies, that used words carefully chosen and seemed to cost their speaker something, were more likely to be received with acceptance.
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Research doesn’t show using Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism. Here are 5 things to know
Since the recent national statements on Tylenol statements and autism you may have clients coming to you asking whether they should take Tylenol during pregnancy. This article presents a balanced picture of both sides of the controversy. There are some studies that appear to show an association between Tylenol use during pregnancy and development of some neurological problems such as autism and there are other studies that show no association. The article clarifies that finding an association does not prove causation. And untreated fever during pregnancy can cause more harm to the baby than occasional use of Tylenol to treat it. So conservative doctors are encouraging mothers to take acetaminophen sparingly during pregnancy, but to use it when there is serious pain or fever that cannot be treated in other ways.
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There is a sad story of one pregnant woman, trying to debunk Trump, who overdosed on Tylenol, and now is on life-support.
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Autism Experts Rebuff HHS Report on Tylenol-Autism Link, New Indication for Leucovorin
Here is a second article about the autism-Tylenol debate. Although this second title might suggest that medical experts are disagreeing with what the revised FDA statement on Tylenol-Autism is, I think if you read both articles they seem to be agreeing on much, rather than giving radically different recommendations. The one difference is that the second article says that the evidence for Leucovorin as a treatment for autism is not justified at this time.
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Leucovorin Could Be a Promising New Treatment for Autism–Here’s Why
While some medical experts are downplaying the benefits of Leucovorin for autism, here is an article that explains, from a biochemical standpoint, why leucovorin can benefit at least some children with autism. All experts agree that the causes of autism are multiple, so it stands to reason that leucoverin, even though it benefits some children with autism, does not benefit all of them.
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Hypomania: Why It’s Misunderstood and How I Stay Balanced
People with bipolar disorder are sometimes dismissed when they’re in a hypomanic episode, even though they’re rational and want to be respected. This writer, who has bipolar disorder, talks about what she does to stay centered and trying to prevent a full-blown manic episode.
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Why Is It So Hard to Motivate Kids with ADHD?
Typical rewards and punishments don’t motivate kids with ADHD. This article explains why and gives parents an alternative method for motivating these young people.
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Research Showing How Stress Vulnerability Differs in Males and Females Reveals a Circuit That Might Be Targeted to Protect Against Stress, Especially in Females
This article is just discussing some early research attempting to understand how stress vulnerability differs in males and females, but probably any clinical application to counseling is several years away.
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How My Dad Helped Me Master My Autism
Back in the 1980s people did not know that autism was a spectrum disorder. The author, Leland Vittert was born with what we would now probably diagnose as Asperger’s Disorder. His father coached him to learn basic social skills, and for the last several years he has been working for major news organizations. His story could be instructive to parents to help their children grow in the skills that could help them be successful in adult relationships and careers.
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AI Scheming:’ Researchers Are Puzzled by Chatbots Purposefully Lying to Human Users
We know that artificial intelligence has enormous potential for good, but there’s still some things that need to be worked out. Recently researchers found that AI was purposely lying to human interactants, and even more concerning, was scheming in how to do so. So let’s regard with some caution the results of AI.
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Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails
An interesting article by a psychologist on why psychotherapy works (much of the time) and why it sometimes fails.
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The Rapture Didn’t Happen Yesterday
Joshua Mhlakela, a South African pastor, had prophesied that the Rapture, when Christians reportedly will be taken to heaven before the Tribulation occurs, was supposed to occur yesterday. Some believers had apparently sold all their earthly possessions in preparation. Mhlakela’s teaching had been spread through TikTok and other ways.
Some evangelicals do believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture but believe we cannot predict the exact date. Other evangelicals believe in a post-tribulation Rapture, where believers will go through the Tribulation but God will be there with them during that time.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed these articles. Incidentally, I don’t consider myself a medical expert, and that is why I’ve tried to include both sides on some of these controversial issues.
Henry Virkler