Counseling News from the Week of January 16,2026
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
Nuggets of Wisdom-Winter 2026 (compiled by Richard Simmons III)
“We do well to love that which, when we love it, makes us live well and virtuously. Only God meets that criteria.”
Augustine
“Better to learn from how others fell than to repeat their mistakes out of ignorance.”
Jim Collins
“When money really gets it grip on human society, it results in treating people like things.”
Andy Crouch
“I am not a product of my circumstances; I am a product of my decisions.”
Stephen Covey
“Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing you. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and outstanding friends.
Warren Buffett
“Some families don’t need to exchange gifts for Christmas. They need to exchange apologies, settle old disputes, make peace, forgive, and seek healing. That would be a truly blessed Christmas.”
Author Unknown
“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
Ronald Reagan
“Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
C. S. Lewis
“It’s easier to build a child than repair an adult.”
Author Unknown
“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people but care more about their opinions than our own.”
Marcus Aurelius
End of Richard Simmons’ compilation
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Fascinating Facts
Barbie Debuts Doll With Autism
Mattel has come out with a Barbie doll. “It is so important for young autistic people to see authentic, joyful representations of themselves, and that’s exactly what this doll is,” said Colin Killick, executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “Partnering with Barbie allowed us to share insights and guidance throughout the design process to ensure the doll fully represents and celebrates the autistic community, including the tools that help us be independent.”
“The new doll comes with a fidget spinner, pink noise-cancelling headphones and a tablet displaying a symbol-based augmentative and alternative communication app. Autistic Barbie is outfitted with a loose-fitting dress to account for sensory-sensitivity and has flat Mary Jane shoes to promote stability,” Mattel said.
Click here to read the full article
Counseling News
How Emotions Fuel Autoimmune Disease, and What You Can Do
This article about emotions and our autoimmune system has some details that many of us may not have been aware. It includes some useful information for counselors.
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Coaching vs. Counseling
Here is a good introductory booklet from Light University explaining the difference between coaching and counseling, and when one or the other is appropriate.
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Drug-driving causes more road deaths than alcohol
This article is from the Telegraph, so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription, but the headline captures the major point of the study. For Great Britain, traffic deaths from drugged driving were higher than deaths from drunk driving. Since we have similar populations, these statistics may also be true for the U.S. If you work with those who struggle with drug abuse, this may be helpful information to share with them.
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The Trellis: Transmitting Faith Through Community
We know the importance of parents raising children who will continue in their Christian faith. This article looks at another dimension—the importance of other adults and peers in staying connected to one’s Christian upbringing.
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Three Ways to Motivate a Middle School Boy to Do His Homework
Middle school boys have a reputation for not being motivated to do their homework (or all their homework). This author interviewed many mothers of middle-school boys about what worked to motivate their children to complete all their homework. She presents what she discovered in this article.
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The Sibling Effect: How Siblings Impact Child Outcomes
When couples are starting their families, one question they sometimes ask is how having multiple children will affect their children. This research says that there is not one answer to that question. Read the article for more details on the effects having siblings has on children.
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My Mother’s Last, Best Gift Was an Astonishing Secret
This is from the New York Times, so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription. But the story is so interesting that I will summarize it. Her father was raised by an abusive father and ran away from home at 17. He was handsome, funny, and very intelligent and her mother fell in love with him. She put down an ultimatum (marry me or lose me) and he told her he was gay. She said that was okay, and they proceeded to get married (they both wanted to have children). They seemed to have a happy, fun-filled marriage and were good parents to their children (one daughter and several boys). As her mother was entering the early stages of dementia she told her daughter that her father had been gay all his life, something the daughter had never known before that time. Her father would often go off on Saturday evenings and would occasionally go off on trips for a weekend without the family, which in retrospect she believes was when he went to gay bars. Her parents lived many happy years together.
When her father was dying, she asked him if he wanted to prolong his life, and he replied: “I have had a long and interesting life. I got more than I deserved out of the deal” and he let go. Her mother passed away of advanced Alzheimer’s shortly after.
I wanted to share these details of this family story with you because I found them so interesting.
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Grok AI scandal sparks global alarm over child safety
Correction: Last week I reported, based on early reports, that Grok AI only allowed women’s pictures to be manipulated so they appeared in bikinis or thongs, but apparently more recent investigations say that Grok allows women and children’s pictures to be manipulated so they appear fully unclothed. Even though precautions have been taken for children (this is definitely illegal everywhere for children, apparently for those X users who pay a premium, they can still access pictures of women fully undressed. Malasia and Indonesia are the first two countries to ban GrokAI because of this. Sorry for the earlier incorrect information.
This gives further support to the argument that governments need to take definitive action to provide safeguards for AI for everyone.
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I received a newsletter from Breitbart News on Thursday evening that GrokAI’s ability to modify images has been turned off for all users, including premium subscribers.
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'The answer cannot be nothing': The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
In the last five years, doctors in Canada have identified 500 cases of a neurological disorder resembling Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Symptoms include rapid dementia, weight loss, unsteadiness, jerking movements, facial twitches, spasms, hallucinations, insomnia, and Capgras Delusion. While doctors in Canada do not think it is CJD, they aren’t sure what it is. I’ve read no reports of it in the U.S. or other countries.
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Lifestyle Medicine’s Four Pillars: A Year-End Review
This review of what the medical research is saying about our lifestyle habits probably won’t tell you anything new but may motivate you to keep doing the healthy things you are already doing. The four pillars of good health, according to the best current medical research, are:
- 1. Consistent exercise
- 2. Healthy nutrition: avoiding ultra processed foods
- 3. Adequate sleep: there are significant risks to getting less than five (some studies say six or seven) hours of sleep per night
- 4. Avoiding stress (and one form of stress is social isolation
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The Simple Depression Treatment We Don’t Prescribe
Many studies indicate that exercise (such as walking each day) can be as effective as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression. (For those with severe depression, they may need antidepressants to lower their depression enough so they have the energy and motivation to exercise.) And those who continue to exercise (versus those who just receive counseling ro medication) are much less likely to relapse when their treatment ends. This article talks about the fact that many counseling programs do not teach anything about how to incorporate exercise into counseling, and some of the factors that may hinder counselors from sharing this option with clients.
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8 Fitness Myths That Could Be Sabotaging Your Stability
For people with bipolar disorder, getting regular exercise can also be helpful. This doctor identifies 8 fitness myths that keep people, not just those with bipolar disorder, from exercising.
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Stanford's small eye chip enables the blind to see again
Macular degeneration is a major cause of blindness in older adults. Stanford University researchers have found that a small lens implanted in the eye along with smart glasses restored partial vision to these patients.
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Beyond bedtime: Improving sleep and behavioral functioning in children with ADHD through targeted interventions
We know from previous research that children with ADHD have problems sleeping, and these sleep problems correlate with behavioral difficulties, poorer school performance, and difficulty transitioning to adulthood. Therefore, improving sleep hygiene could have major benefits in their (and their parents’) lives.
This research was done in Egypt, so it might not generalize to the U.S., but from its structure, I think it probably would. This was a controlled experiment where parents were given two 45-minute sessions on how to set up conditions for good sleep hygiene. 50 children were in the treatment group and 50 in the control group. Four months after mothers were exposed to the two training sessions, their children were tested on three tests measuring sleeping habits. The children in the treatment group showed significant improvements over those in the control group. The treatment group showed similar improvements on measures of behavioral disturbance. This study seems like it should be replicated here in the U.S. because of the significant improvements it produced.
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A Christian financial expert issues a warning
Dave Ramsey, a respected Christian financial counselor, warns about how addictive sports gambling can become. If you have clients whom you think might be tempted, you could pass along Ramsey’s caution.
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Their Bodies Were Irreversibly Damaged, Now These Former Transgender Teens Are Fighting for Justice
Many children who believed they were transgender have had irreversible surgeries (e.g., girls having their breasts removed) and then realized they made a mistake and detransitioned. Many are suing their counselors and surgeons, saying that as young people they did not understand the implications of what they were requesting. In past years many of their lawsuits have been dismissed on various grounds, but recently a number of these lawsuits have gone to trial.
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I Study Friendship. Here’s How You Make Lasting Friends.
This is from the New York Times, so I’ll summarize its major points. It’s written by a sociologist and is commenting on the fact that many people who try to start friendships feel like they go nowhere. He suggests that the best way to develop friendships is to find a group where you have some shared interests (e.g., such as a young mother’s group or a church), and that it is more likely that you will find lasting friendships there.
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What’s Next for the DSM: A More Holistic View of Patients
This is an interesting article into what the committees working on the DSM-6 are thinking and how it may change that version. From the article you may still be unclear about how that new version will look, but it certainly seems like it will be interesting when completed.
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Point/Counterpoint: Empowering Patients vs. ‘Do No Harm’ in the Age of AI
An interesting discussion by a psychiatrist on the fact that clients are demanding more autonomy and the right to seek out psychological and psychiatric information on their own; having to wait for appointments only enhances that demand. AI chatbots can sometimes provide empathy, even more so than their psychiatrist. But the Internet can also provide misinformation, so social media and AI are a mixed bag.
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Saving the American Family: Heritage Releases Landmark Report on Rebuilding and Strengthening U.S. Families
The Heritage Report suggests that government can support the American family in three ways. While these are things the government can do to encourage young people to get married and have families, I think helping young people think through their mindsets about marriage and having families is more important than simply offering government incentives. Counseling and churches (preaching and good Sunday school teaching) can do that.
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New study finds the reason why warm hugs feel so good. It could shape future mental health treatments
This research discovered why warm hugs feel so good to many people: it has to do with the warmth and what that triggers in the body and mind. While hugs are certainly important in marriages and parenting (and in some churches greeters also provide warm hugs), I think the possibility indicated in the article of hugs possibly being used in mental health treatments would need to be evaluated carefully before being implemented.
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Hope you have a good week!
Henry Virkler