Counseling News from the Week of

November 14, 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

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

Leo Tolstoy

"Talent is never enough. With few exceptions, the best players are the hardest workers."

Earvin "Magic" Johnson

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

Epictetus

“To love is to will the good of the other.”

Thomas Aquinas

“Practice justice in word and deed, and do not get in the habit of acting thoughtlessly about anything.”

Pythagoras

“Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”

George Washington

"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him."

Booker T. Washington

Fascinating Facts

‘People think Wi-Fi is a premium:’ Inuit youth brings free internet to Arctic community

A technologically gifted young man with a truly compassionate nature has set up a connection to Starlink, has offered free wi-fi to his neighbors, and has offered to help them set up their own satellite links.

Click here to read the full article

Listen as man with world's longest name reads it out - but be warned it takes ages

A man with the longest name (he has 2,000 middle names that takes 20 minutes to read out loud). He actually changed his birth name to his new name so he could appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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Largest Spider Web in the World Discovered

An enormous spider web spanning 1400 square feet and containing an estimated 110,000 spiders was discovered in an underground cave located between Albania and Greece. You probably weren’t interested in this article but if you were, it is from the New York Times.

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220 Feet

Mt. Everest is huge, and its base is located in five Asian countries. Its base camp has sunk 22o feet since the camp was founded. That’s because it is located on top of a melting glacier. You won’t be able to read this article without a subscription to the New York Times.

Click here to read the full article

Counseling Articles

A Few Personal Thoughts

Although I usually primarily include articles in this section that I think would be useful to counselors, I ran across some quotes this week that I wanted to share. Albert Einstein, one of the geniuses of our time, said in 1948 after studying the universe, “I meet (God) every day in the harmonious laws which govern the universe.” But later he said, “My God is too universal to concern himself with the intentions of every human being.” I think that although Einstein’s first comment was true that he was completely incorrect about his second comment, and the miracle is that we have not only the incredible God who created the entire universe (which is even more vast than Einstein knew, but who also lovingly cares for our every thought and concern. And even more amazingly, as Habakkuk tells us, He continues to love us even when we are rebelling against him!

9 Lessons From the Longest-Living Among Us

Some of these principles have been frequently cited before, such as getting 7 or more hours of sleep per night, maintaining a healthy weight, getting regular exercise, and being mentally and socially active. Three things super-agers cite that are less-frequently mentioned include becoming a forgiving person, finding purpose in one’s life, and accepting one’s aging and dying. Some people who lived long lives didn’t experience significant health problems until their 80s, although some lived with health problems for a number of years before they turned 80.

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Are A.I. Therapy Chatbots Safe to Use?

This is from the New York Times, so I’ll summarize its major points. AI chatbots have caused some people to hallucinate or become suicidal, and there are at least 8 lawsuits in process because people (or sometimes their parents or loved ones) claim they have been harmed by them. A few chatbots have been designed specifically as therapy bots (e.g. Woebot) It was used by up to 1.3 million people, but Woebot is being discontinued because of regulatory challenges. The AI bot that is the focus of this article, Ash, was developed over 6 years by psychologists. Although it has shown some benefit in treating depression, anxiety and eating disorders, its developers believe it is still not ready for widespread use. They will continue to work to refine it. Randy Bryan Moore, 35, a social worker in Richmond, Va., who has used the chatbot since the summer, said “It is not a replacement for human connection.”

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Microsoft launches 'superintelligence' team targeting medical diagnosis to start

Although AI may not be ready for widespread use in counseling there is still a lot of enthusiasm for its use in advancing medical research.

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This machine could keep a baby alive outside the womb. How will the world decide to use it?

Every year thousands of children are born prematurely, before their bodies have developed adequately to survive outside the womb. Some of these are kept alive in neonatal programs in hospitals, but some are too premature to even survive there. This article describes the efforts to develop Aquawomb, an artificial womb that will be able to keep even younger children alive who are born significantly prematurely.

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A New Generation of Gamblers Searches for Help

This is from the New York Times so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription. Here is a summary of some of the major points. This article highlights the fact that sports gambling has increased, especially among young males, and there are physiological reasons for this—the dopamine hit from taking chances and winning, testosterone, the new forms of sports betting that have developed, e.g., betting on individual players and plays, and the ubiquity of betting devices, e.g., smartphones. The article also recognizes that many of the treatments for addiction were for older men and in different settings, e.g., gambling parlors, whereas modern sports betting by young males often occurs in the privacy of a bedroom at home or on a college campus. So for those of you who have an interest in addiction treatment, this may be a new area in which to develop skills.

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Nonspeakers With Autism Find Voice, Freedom With Keyboards, Letterboards

About 30% of people with autism do not speak, and for many years they were considered cognitively impaired. It has now been found that some of them are very intelligent but never had a way to communicate with the outside world. In the last few years various devices have been developed to help them learn to communicate with others. The person featured in this article just graduated from Rollins College with a 4.0 GPA and was (with the aid of some of the new communication devices) the “speaker” for the school’s commencement address. Learn about the new world of possibilities that is opening up to such children, teens, and young adults.

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Why Non-Christians Oppose Transgender Ideology

There are some believers, including some Christian therapists, who believe we should accept transgender philosophy. However, there are a growing number of nonbelievers who are rejecting transgender philosophy, and they have objective reasons, not just prejudice for doing so. I think, whatever your views on this issue, it is worthwhile to hear the reasons they are rejecting this philosophy.

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More Time With Mom: How Remote Work Shapes Mothers’ Time 

This study looked at how many hours per week mothers spent with their children if they stayed home full-time, worked part-time, or worked full-time remotely or worked full time away from home. As might be expected, women who stayed home full-time spent the most time with their children, those who worked part-time spent the next largest amount of time, and those who worked remotely spent less time per week with their children. However, the difference in the amount of time spent by these four groups of mothers was only about 2 hours per week (e.g., full-time stay-at-home mothers spent an average of 6 more hours with children, those who worked part-time 4 hours more per week, and those who worked full-time remotely spent 2 hours more per week than those who worked full-time outside the home).

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Beyond Hashtags: What the Anti-Adoption Movement Gets Wrong

If you read certain blogs you may get the impression that there are many problems in adoptive families. This article recognizes that there are occasional situations that have challenges, but that for the majority of adoptions, adoption is a very positive experience that has healthy effects on the children involved.

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Introducing The Third Oikos: Homemaking Reimagined

In case you’re wondering about this title, oikos is the Greek word that refers to a household, and this is the beginning of a study of how technology is changing family life. Clearly technology can cause greater fragmentation among family members, but it also has the potential for greater time spent with children (see two above about mothers working remotely) and parents and children have access to more information than ever before. Therefore it seems like it is very important how we harness technology so it will help our families grow healthier.

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Bell-to-Bell Cellphone Bans Promise Better Well-Being for Boys

Many schools are experimenting with bell-to-bell cellphone bans. Most feedback from teachers and administrators has been positive for both boys and girls on both academic learning as well as engagement with classmates. But this study from Florida found that the improvement on both these dimensions was even higher for boys than for girls.

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Make Postpartum Psychosis a Distinct Disorder in the DSM, Expert Panel Says

Last week I included the first article I had read about this new proposed diagnosis, Postpartum Psychosis, but this week an article appeared that gives more diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

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ChatGPT Salt Advice Triggers Psychosis, Bromide Poisoning in 60-Year-Old

Last week’s news included an article recommending that even artificial intelligence bots designed by psychologists are not ready for general use as a follow-up to counseling. This week’s article about a client who ended up with psychosis and bromide poisoning as a result of advice from AI suggests you not use AI for nutritional advice either.

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LAIs Tied to Lower Relapse, Mortality Risk in Schizophrenia

This covers information I included a few weeks ago, but the fact that it is included in a second medical journal indicates its wide acceptance by psychiatric professionals. Long-acting Injectable (LAI) antipsychotics for schizophrenia were associated with a 29% lower incidence of relapse and a 77% lower risk for all-cause mortality than oral antipsychotic use. This study also reported second-generation LAIs were linked to a significantly lower risk for disease relapse than first-generation LAIs.

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Supershrinks: What's the Secret of Their Success?

This is a rerun of an article from a 2007 issue of the Psychotherapy Networker. Even though it’s long, I think you’ll find it interesting (and hopefully encouraging in terms of continuing to improve what you’re doing).

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8 Ways to Manage Noise Sensitivity With Bipolar

Here is another excellent article by Tanya Hvilitzky, a blogger who has bipolar disorder herself. Sometimes people with bipolar have significant noise sensitivity, particularly when in the manic phase of bipolar disorder. In this article she includes eight ways to manage such noise sensitivity when it occurs.

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A Good Name

This title may not inspire you to read this article, but I hope you’ll take a moment to read how our character can be an important factor in how we influence our world.

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Sweden Went All in on Screens in Childhood. Now It’s Pulling the Plug.

For the last few centuries Sweden has been a world leader in forward-thinking, with the development of the Nobel Peace Prize, Spotify and a host of other software programs, the acceptance of the digital revolution, etc. Also famed as the happiest country in the world, it has held that distinction for several years.

But interestingly, with the awareness of the detrimental effects of screen time on young people’s mental health and academic performance, Sweden has done an about-face on encouraging the amount of screen time recommended for young people in the home and allowed in schools. Read about the significant changes this country has made.

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Tucker Carlson draws scorn for new details over demonic attack: 'I'm not embarrassed'

Tucker Carlson has drawn quite a bit of scorn about his interview with Nick Fuentes, and then about his recent experience with a demonic attack. I’m not taking a position on either of these two issues, but here is a good interview from the Christian Post in which he explains the latter, so you can draw your own conclusion.

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Beyond the Crisis: Why Residential Treatment Matters in Bipolar Care

After a major mood episode that required hospitalization, one option besides returning home immediately is residential treatment. This article explains what happens in residential treatment and the benefits it may provide for patients.

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The Awkwardness of Aging With Bipolar Disorder

Another good article about living with bipolar disorder by a person who has bipolar. Middle age has its own challenges, and when a person has bipolar disorder and is also entering middle age, there are additional challenges. She offers some helpful perspectives.

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The availability of ADHD services on college campuses

This is an article from David Rabiner on the topic above. I am including the email that came to my personal email with the hope that you can access this excellent article through it.

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How older Americans are embracing independence and redefining what it means to age alone

As someone who has been happily married for 55 years, I had a difficult time accepting the possibility of the above title. However, some Americans are facing this situation either because of choice, bereavement, or divorce. This very in-depth article demonstrates that many older Americans who are single have found ways to create meaningful and fulfilling lives for themselves.

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The Problem of False Advertising by Christian Colleges

Some of you do career planning with young people, and one aspect of that could involve choosing a college to go to. Here Randy Alcorn puts his finger on one problem: colleges that claim to be Christian colleges when few of the teachers are strongly committed to the Christian faith. There are Christian colleges where most if not all of the faculty are firmly committed to their faith: if you do career counseling its important to be aware of this issue.

Click here to read the full article

I hope you enjoyed these articles and that you have a wonderful coming week!

Henry Virkler