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Life Cycles Counseling with Adina Silvestri

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Tuckahoe, VA
Life Cycles Counseling with Adina Silvestri

I am a licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia who works with children and families. I specialize in treating women with substance abuse issues.

I specialize in treating women with substance abuse issues and eating disorders. I help children who have experienced trauma lead full and healthy lives. I am Adina Silvestri EdD, LPC and I am a licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia, working with children and families. My clinical work also includes providing supervision to counselors-in-training. As an innovative counselor educator, I enjoy teaching aspiring counselors the skills needed to become empathetic, creative counselors. In addition to my clinical work and teaching, I take an active role in the community. I was the 2015 President for the Jaycees, and I work with the Drive for the Blind, raising money and coordinating volunteer projects. I also write a column called "The Counselor’s Corner" for them. Additionally I mentor students at South University. My hobbies include sailing and running.

01/02/2026

When traditional therapy and medications aren't working, you don't need to keep doing the same thing and hoping for different results.

You need a different approach.

For my clients dealing with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, or addiction, ketamine-assisted therapy has been that different approach.

Ketamine works differently from traditional medications.

It works on a completely different neurotransmitter than current antidepressants, which can take months to improve symptoms of depression.

Instead, ketamine can provide fast relief in hours or days.

And for many people, it makes therapy feel more accessible, less overwhelming, and more transformative.

Ketamine has been used safely in medicine for over 50 years. What's new is understanding how powerful it can be when traditional treatments haven't been enough.

Here are 7 ways ketamine therapy creates breakthroughs when other methods haven't worked. 👉🏻

Which of these benefits resonates with you most? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 👇🏻

01/01/2026

You don’t need to be a “good writer” to heal through writing.
The goal isn’t to create polished literature.
In fact, it’s not really about writing at all.

My goal in creating my Writing Bravely program – a 6-week writing course designed to lead you on a journey of self-reflection – was to make writing for healing incredibly accessible.

Even if you’ve never written anything before.

All you have to do is merely pick up a pen and begin. 📝

Writing Bravely was never meant to be intimidating.

No rules about structure.

No pressure to sound insightful, poetic, or put-together.

This is expressive writing. 🌟

Its only goal is to help process what you’ve been through and help you envision a path to move forward.

Write as much or as little as you want.

Some days, that will look like messy sentences.

Other days, just fragments.

Sometimes it’s a cloud of single words written all over the page.

Writing Bravely is a calm, supportive space to get curious about yourself and share your stories in a supportive, empathetic community.

It’s here to help you write our way through to your future self. 💚

✒️ If you’re interested in hearing more about Writing Bravely or want to enroll in the program, learn more here: https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

12/29/2025

Internal Family Systems introduces you to the inner family you never knew you had…
But who has been shaping your life all along.

In Internal Family Systems (IFS), the goal isn’t to fix you because you’re not broken.

Instead, it’s about learning to understand the different parts within you that are behind your emotions and behaviors.

📋 Your Manager parts work hard to keep you organized and in control.

👩🏻‍🚒 Your Firefighter parts are your scorch earth parts. The ones that will do what’s necessary to numb or distract you from pain.

👤 And your Exile parts are young parts of you that carry old burdens from your childhood.

Each part has a job and its own story to tell.

And each one is trying to protect you in the only way it knows how.

That’s why IFS can feel so grounding and relieving.

It’s not about treating YOU and fixing YOU.

It’s more about looking at the system of individuals inside you and learning to understand them and where they’re acting from.

And from that clarity, healing becomes gentler, less judgmental, and more compassionate.

👉🏻 Interested in exploring whether IFS could support your healing journey?

Book a free consultation here: https://calendly.com/adina-2/15min

12/26/2025

As much as you tried to avoid going back for seconds, thirds, maybe even fourths…
The Christmas buffet table was just too tempting.
And now you’re left coping with a holiday binge episode.

The days after a binge episode can feel heavy.

Shame creeps in.

Guilt takes over.

Suddenly, it feels like all the progress you’ve made has vanished. 💨

And you’re left wondering if you’ll EVER be able to stop binge eating.

But here’s the truth:

A setback is NOT the end of your healing.

It’s a moment in time. Not a sentencing.

Binge eating recovery is a day-by-day process.

ESPECIALLY around the holidays when food, emotions, and old family drama collide.

Slipping back into familiar coping strategies doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It means you’re human.

Instead of spiraling into self-blame, try pausing.

Offering yourself compassion.

And taking one small next step that supports your healing rather than punishes you for being imperfect.

You deserve gentleness in the aftermath, and you deserve support while you find your way forward again.

My inbox is always open. 💚

Feel free to DM me or comment below with your successes and struggles across your binge eating recovery.

12/23/2025

Family gatherings have a way of pulling up every unresolved wound you thought you'd dealt with.

Your uncle makes that comment. �
Your mom asks *that* question. �
Old family dynamics kick in, and suddenly you're reacting in ways you promised yourself you wouldn't.�

You DON’T have to white-knuckle your way through it.�

The S.T.O.P. method is a grounding tool that can help when you feel yourself getting activated—with family or anywhere else. 🛑

👉🏼 S – Stop. Pause whatever you're doing—speech, movement, or thought. Create a deliberate interruption in reactivity.

Example: Your mom makes a comment about your career choices. You feel your jaw tighten and the defensive response rising. Instead of snapping back, you pause.

👉🏼 T – Think. Ask yourself: Is this thought rooted in fact or distortion? Are you catastrophizing or jumping to conclusions?

"She thinks I'm a failure" vs. "She's worried and doesn't know how to express it. This is her pattern, not my truth."

👉🏼 O – Observe. Notice what's happening inside you and around you. Name your emotions, sense physical sensations—without judgment.

"My chest is tight. I feel unseen. My shoulders are up by my ears. We're both stuck in an old dynamic."

👉🏼 P – Proceed Mindfully. Choose your next move from a place of calm intention—not reactivity.

"I'm going to step outside for a few minutes" or "Thanks for sharing your thoughts" and redirect the conversation.

This doesn't mean you constantly have to stuff down your feelings or always be the one to "keep the peace." You're simply creating space between what happens and how you respond.

Remember: The pause is where your power lives.

Who else needs to bookmark this before the family gatherings start?

12/19/2025

A question that comes up a lot when people are considering an intensive: �"What if I run out of energy halfway through?"

I understand the hesitation. Whether it's a 3-hour session or a 20-hour intensive spread over multiple days, it makes sense to wonder if it'll be too much.�

But here's what actually happens. 👇🏼��We take as many breaks as we need. This isn't something you have to power through.

Sometimes we go slow in order to go fast. And that's usually when the biggest breakthroughs happen.

I can't tell you how many times a client steps away for a 30-minute break, comes back, and says: "I just put everything together. Here's what I'm seeing now."

Those breakthroughs energize you too, giving you the fuel to keep going.

I always tell my clients:

That space, the pause, is where integration happens. The work doesn't stop when you step away. Your system is still processing, connecting, making sense of it all.

The last hour of an intensive is often the most powerful precisely because you've given yourself room to breathe.

In an intensive, I'll never ask you to push through. We'll always go at the pace your system needs. 💚

Curious if an intensive might be right for you? Book a free consultation and we can talk through what it would look like.

https://calendly.com/adina-2/15min

12/18/2025

Big Announcement 📣✍🏽
I'm so excited to launch Writing Bravely this January - a space where writing meets healing.

I started writing as a way to make sense of my own experiences, to process what I couldn't always say out loud. Over time, I discovered the power of putting words to what we feel—how it can bring clarity, relief, and even transformation.

Writing Bravely was born from that journey. It’s for anyone ready to explore their inner world, reflect deeply, and grow boldly—one word at a time.

Thank you for being here. Let’s write bravely, together. 💛

Space is limited.

Head to: writingbravely.com

12/17/2025

Real men don’t cry. They are tough and stoic.
Anger is the only acceptable emotion.
And anything else should get pushed aside. 💪🏻

Although most men may not have heard those exact words, they absorbed them nonetheless.

They grew up watching their fathers and grandfathers shut down, stay tough, and power through anything that felt too vulnerable.

So, anger became their default. Whenever they disagreed with their partner or the kids were being too noisy, it felt safest to become angry instead of sad, overwhelmed, or upset.

Anger is the emotion that stayed true to the script they were given.

But… that script was built for a society that doesn’t exist anymore.

Gender roles in our society are becoming more fluid. And yet… men are still being raised by an outdated rulebook.

👉🏻 That’s where the shift needs to begin.

Men need to be given the permission and freedom to be intimate and vulnerable WITHOUT judgment.

Then, that definition of manhood passed down from father to son can begin to change.

And the emotional walls men were taught to construct won’t get passed down to the next generation. 💛

What were you taught “being a man” meant? What have you needed to unlearn to break the cycle?

Let me know in the comments below. ⬇️

12/16/2025

Reminder to anyone struggling with grief right now 👇🏼
It’s okay if it doesn’t feel like the “most wonderful time of the year” right now.

For someone grieving the loss of a loved one, this time of year can be especially painful.

It’s important to remind yourself that grief rarely matches the pace or expectations of the world around you.

And if your grief is fresh, the pressure to join in on the holiday cheer can weigh down your heart even more.

Just remember…

❄️ It’s okay not to feel up to certain gatherings.

❄️ Or to cancel plans at the last minute.

❄️ Or to feel torn between wanting connection and needing space.

Honor those emotions, and be honest with the people you love about what you can and can’t handle right now.

Be kind and gentle with yourself on the days when your grief feels the heaviest – when it feels like there’s no space left for joy and holiday cheer.

Grief can be life-long, but the pain will soften or change over time.

And the holidays won’t always feel this hard.

If you need some extra support in handling your grief, subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

In it, I share stories, tips, and simple practices for helping you navigate all of life’s toughest moments with compassion and care.

This week, I’ll be sharing easy, tangible ways to cope with grief this holiday season.

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here: https://adina-silvestri.kit.com/

12/12/2025

IFS therapy asks you to meet your parts with understanding.
But when those parts are loud, protective, and overwhelmed…
Finding your way back to your core Self can feel out of reach.

That’s why ketamine can be such a powerful partner in IFS work.

👉🏻 It softens and gently moves aside the parts that usually take over.

👉🏻 It gives you the space to finally connect with the deeper truth underneath the pain.

👉🏻 And allows you to face and process trauma and painful memories in a safe and supported environment without feeling overwhelmed.

Then, when your system settles, you’ll be better able to work through pent-up grief, anger, and unresolved emotions and develop a more cohesive and fluid sense of self. 💗

Curious how ketamine might support your IFS journey?

Book a free consultation here: https://calendly.com/adina-2/15min

12/11/2025

Disney Pixar's Inside Out movies may be meant for children…
But they're one of the best explanations of Internal Family Systems therapy I've ever seen.

If you've watched them, you've already seen IFS in action.

You know Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger, and Fear? They're parts of Riley's internal system – the same way we all have different parts inside us.

Some parts are protectors. Like Disgust "saving" baby Riley from danger when in reality, it was only broccoli. 😅

They're trying to keep us safe, even when the threat isn't real.

Other parts get exiled – pushed aside because they don't fit the image we're trying to maintain. Sadness gets sidelined so Riley can keep up her positive, happy-kid persona.

We do this too. We might exile the parts that don't fit the "high-achiever" or "I've got it all together" image.

This is what IFS teaches – and what the Inside Out movies show so beautifully: every part has a purpose.

Even the ones we've been taught to ignore or suppress.

When we actually stop and listen to these parts – really understand what they're trying to do for us – we start to heal. We move toward integration instead of inner conflict.

Have you seen the Inside Out movies?

I'm breaking down more connections between the films and IFS therapy in this week's newsletter – including what the movies get right (and what they miss).

Click below to subscribe and get my weekly insights on alternative healing, parts work, and tools to understand your emotions with more compassion and clarity.

https://adina-silvestri.kit.com/

12/09/2025

The holidays have a way of convincing us that more is better. 🎁
MORE events, MORE hosting, MORE saying yes…
Even when your body and mind are begging you to say no.

But peace doesn’t come from pushing yourself past your boundaries.

It comes from honoring them.

You’re allowed to choose the version of the holidays that feels good to you and your comfort level.

Even if it looks different from what others expect.

Skipping an event, setting a boundary, or letting go of that idea the “perfect” holiday doesn’t make you difficult or ungrateful.

It makes you human.

And it protects your peace. ❤️‍🩹

Because at the end of the day, your personal peace will always matter more than any tradition, expectation, or holiday script you were taught to follow. 🕊️

What’s one thing you’re choosing *not* to do this holiday season?

Drop it in the comments below. 👇🏻

Address

8100 Three Chopt Road, Ste 131
Tuckahoe, VA
23229

Opening Hours

Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm
Saturday	8am - 6pm

Telephone

+18045369143

Website

https://linktr.ee/lifecyclescounseling

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