Life Cycles Counseling with Adina Silvestri

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.

01/22/2026

It’s not too late to join.

In Writing Bravely, we explore our inner worlds through prompts like this one:

Maps are usually meant to orient us in space. But today, we’re making a different kind of map—one guided by feeling rather than accuracy. A map that follows memory, association, and attachment. What matters here isn’t scale or distance, but resonance.

This six-week guided writing space begins soon.

🌿 Join us. Sneak in and grab your spot.

🔗 in bio.
CreativeJournaling

I grew up surrounded by images of "perfect" bodies.Superheroes. Supermodels. Magazine covers. TV shows with only one bod...
01/22/2026

I grew up surrounded by images of "perfect" bodies.
Superheroes. Supermodels. Magazine covers. TV shows with only one body type.

And even though no one said it out loud…

Somewhere along the way, I absorbed the message that that was what worthy looked like.
I know many of us can relate to absorbing those messages about body image – and still carrying those wounds today.

For some, it shows up as a complicated relationship with food – binge eating, restrictive eating, or both.

In IFS therapy, the parts driving these behaviors are our exiled parts.

These are the tender, vulnerable parts of us that carry shame, fear, and feelings of unworthiness.

When our exiled parts feel overwhelmed, protector parts step in to soothe the pain.

Oftentimes through food.

That's why binge eating isn't a failure of willpower. It's a coping strategy.

In IFS, we don't try to get rid of these exiled parts. Instead, we unburden them.

Exiles are often desperate to be seen, heard, and rescued from where they're stuck.

When you listen to them and understand them, they release the pain they've been carrying that was never theirs to begin with.

Then, you're open to realize your TRUE value – that you ARE worthy of love and compassion, no matter what you eat or how you look.

So, I'm curious…

What were the images or messages about "perfect" bodies that shaped you growing up?
Superheroes? Supermodels? Something else?

I'd love to talk about the ideals we unintentionally absorbed.

Share your thoughts in the comments below. 👇🏻

Your inner critic never seems to miss a moment.It’s ALWAYS there…Keeping score and reminding you of EVERY way you think ...
01/20/2026

Your inner critic never seems to miss a moment.
It’s ALWAYS there…
Keeping score and reminding you of EVERY way you think you failed.

Even though we all KNOW everyone makes mistakes, our inner critic makes ours feel unforgivable.

It shames us for our faults and makes us feel guilty over any weakness.

But here’s what most people don’t realize:

You have an inner protector, too. 🛡️

This part doesn’t deny what happened or pretend you’re perfect.

Instead, it puts things into perspective.

Your inner protector reminds you of your strengths and encourages you to get back on track.

AND it gently tells your inner critic that it’s doing too much.

With your inner protector’s support, you can see your faults more clearly WITHOUT spiraling into feeling awful about yourself.

It shows you that it’s okay to clean up whatever mess and MOVE ON.

Because guilt, shame, and remorse were never meant to be life sentences.

Their only real purpose? Learning. 💡

My newsletter this week includes a simple writing exercise to help you reconnect with your inner protector and soften the grip of your inner critic.

Subscribe here 🔗
https://adina-silvestri.kit.com/

01/16/2026

Years of pages. Messy truths. Ink-smeared. Fierce and honest.

Ever lie in bed with thoughts racing in an endless loop?Writing can quiet your mind and finally let you rest. 😴 Whether ...
01/15/2026

Ever lie in bed with thoughts racing in an endless loop?
Writing can quiet your mind and finally let you rest. 😴

Whether you’re journaling before bed, writing as part of recovery work, or sitting down to process a hard day on paper…

Writing gives your brain somewhere to put things. ✒️

Instead of holding every pivotal event that’s happened in your life – or even just the past day! - you move them onto the page.

You acknowledge them.

Organize your thoughts and emotions surrounding them.

Now, your brain can tick that event off its processing checklist and let you sleep.

WITHOUT having to replay what happened over and over again. 😴

If your mind feels loudest the moment your head hits the pillow, try writing out your thoughts before bed.

Don’t aim for perfect grammar and spelling.

Just get it all out of your head and onto the page.

Ready to make writing a part of your healing journey?

Join my Writing Bravely program and explore your thoughts and emotions with guided prompts in a safe, supportive writing community.

Enroll or learn more here 🔗
https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

01/14/2026

Writing about what happened during your day can feel productive.
But it often keeps you at arm’s length from yourself.

Event-based journaling holds you back from the things that really matter.

Even though it can feel comforting to recount your day, all you’re really doing is talking about the things that happened on the surface.

The meetings. Your coworkers. Conversations with your partner.

It lets you feel like you’re making progress while avoiding what’s really happening inside.

✒️ That’s where shifting to embodied journaling makes ALL the difference.

Through embodied journaling, the page stops reflecting only your day and starts reflecting you.

The REAL you.

It invites you to explore the tightness in your chest just before your meeting begins.

The heat of shame or embarrassment you felt while talking to your coworkers.

The hollowness in your stomach when your partner asks how you’re feeling.

Embodied journaling gives you the chance to dive deep into your center and moves you closer to discovering your truth.

In this week’s newsletter, I’ll be sharing my own journey with embodied journaling and the moment my writing shifted from record-keeping to reflection.

It will also include a simple journaling prompt so you can try embodied journaling for yourself.

🔗 Click the link in the bio to subscribe

01/14/2026

Writing about what happened during your day can feel productive.
But it often keeps you at arm’s length from yourself.

Event-based journaling holds you back from the things that really matter.

Even though it can feel comforting to recount your day, all you’re really doing is talking about the things that happened on the surface.

The meetings. Your coworkers. Conversations with your partner.

It lets you feel like you’re making progress while avoiding what’s really happening inside.

✒️ That’s where shifting to embodied journaling makes ALL the difference.

Through embodied journaling, the page stops reflecting only your day and starts reflecting you.

The REAL you.

It invites you to explore the tightness in your chest just before your meeting begins.

The heat of shame or embarrassment you felt while talking to your coworkers.

The hollowness in your stomach when your partner asks how you’re feeling.

Embodied journaling gives you the chance to dive deep into your center and moves you closer to discovering your truth.

In this week’s newsletter, I’ll be sharing my own journey with embodied journaling and the moment my writing shifted from record-keeping to reflection.

It will also include a simple journaling prompt so you can try embodied journaling for yourself.

🔗Subscribe here
https://adina-silvestri.kit.com/

Big life events don’t just live in our memories.They leave an imprint on our brain. 🐾🧠 Research suggests that trauma, st...
01/12/2026

Big life events don’t just live in our memories.
They leave an imprint on our brain. 🐾🧠

Research suggests that trauma, stressors, and other pivotal life events damage brain tissue.

That’s why after these events, we can feel emotionally overwhelmed, irritable, short-tempered or completely disengaged and numb.

✍️ This is where writing can become a powerful healing tool.

When you put an emotional experience into words, you’re not just venting.

You’re helping your brain organize what happened and translate that emotional experience into words.

You turn that chaos of emotion into something understandable with clear shape and meaning.

And the more you understand how these events shape and affect you, the more resilient and flexible your mind will become.

You’ll begin to understand your reactions instead of being ruled by them.

And notice patterns instead of feeling blindsided by them.

Through writing, you’re invited to make sense of what you’ve lived through one honest sentence at a time.

If you’re ready to explore this process with guidance and support, my Writing Bravely course is open for enrollment.

This 6-week journaling experience gives you structure, prompts, and a supportive community to process pivotal events through expressive writing.

✒️ Ready to build resilience through your words?

Learn more or enroll now here 🔗
https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

01/08/2026

I may be a therapist by trade…
But in the writing community I'm launching, my role looks different. ✍️

Writing Bravely is a 6-week writing course and community I designed to help others use writing to explore the deepest parts of themselves with curiosity and compassion.

Because most people know me only as a therapist, they often assume Writing Bravely is a kind of therapy group.

It isn’t.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁.

I’m here as your writing guide. 🤲🏻

Think of me as someone walking alongside you while you write.

Someone who offers structure, thoughtful prompts, and gentle direction so you’re not just staring at a blank page.

Writing Bravely is about giving your emotions, your thoughts, your pains a safe place to be explored.

You don’t need a clinical label to belong here.

All you need to do is show up ready to explore your parts that have been waiting to be heard.

And you won’t be doing it alone.

You’ll be supported by a community of other writers, each moving through their own process and learning to sit with their inner world with more curiosity, honesty, and compassion. 🫶🏻

This isn’t therapy.

It’s a guided writing practice for people who want clarity, connection, and a softer way back to their true selves.

✒️ If that sounds like a community you’ve been craving, my Writing Bravely program begins January 20, 2026.

Join here 🔗
https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

01/08/2026

I may be a therapist by trade…
But in the writing community I'm launching, my role looks different. ✍️

Writing Bravely is a 6-week writing course and community I designed to help others use writing to explore the deepest parts of themselves with curiosity and compassion.

Because most people know me only as a therapist, they often assume Writing Bravely is a kind of therapy group.

It isn’t.

In this space, I’m not here to diagnose, analyze, or treat.

I’m here as your writing guide. 🤲🏻

Think of me as someone walking alongside you while you write.

Someone who offers structure, thoughtful prompts, and gentle direction so you’re not just staring at a blank page.

Writing Bravely is about giving your emotions, your thoughts, your pains a safe place to be explored.

You don’t need a clinical label to belong here.

All you need to do is show up ready to explore your parts that have been waiting to be heard.

And you won’t be doing it alone.

You’ll be supported by a community of other writers, each moving through their own process and learning to sit with their inner world with more curiosity, honesty, and compassion. 🫶🏻

This isn’t therapy.

It’s a guided writing practice for people who want clarity, connection, and a softer way back to their true selves.

✒️ If that sounds like a community you’ve been craving, my Writing Bravely program begins January 20, 2026.

Join here 🔗
https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

Some experiences don’t soften with time. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.Expressive writing can help you d...
01/06/2026

Some experiences don’t soften with time.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.
Expressive writing can help you do that. ✍️

Expressive writing isn’t about pretty sentences or perfect grammar.

It’s about telling the truth on the page.

This kind of writing works best when it’s concrete, honest, and emotionally specific.

If you're looking at pivotal events in your life, the writing you create must contain concrete, authentic, and expressive detail.

Start by acknowledging what happened and asking yourself…

👉🏻 How is this event tied to other things in my life?

👉🏻 What emotions does it make me feel?

By doing this, you’ll create a complex and coherent story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The more you organize and structure your thoughts and feelings around these events through writing, the more you’ll see the ripple of healing move throughout your life.

Are you ready to write your way to healing?

✒️ Join my Writing Bravely group course!

In it, you’ll join a community of other writers and explore your complex thoughts and emotions together through guided, thoughtful writing prompts.

Want to learn more?

Get more information about my 6-week Writing Bravely course here: https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

We kick off January 20th, but today is the last day to get in at the early bird rate!

Writing can help you understand yourself.But being HEARD—truly heard— is what heals you.The easiest place for that? A wr...
01/05/2026

Writing can help you understand yourself.
But being HEARD—truly heard— is what heals you.
The easiest place for that? A writing community.

I’ve seen it again and again.

When people write together, it's not like talking to your spouse juggling a million other things.

Or your best friend who may be going through their own crisis.

When you’re writing in a community, you can be certain that these people are REALLY listening to you.

The focus finally gets to be on YOUR story.

You’re not all going to have the same story.

Every person has their own unique narrative.

However, there are going to be similar threads that flow through your story and others’.

Familiar emotions.

Overlapping experiences.

Moments that echo one another ever so slightly.

And as you listen to these stories being told, you can see others in the group laughing and crying alongside you – encouraging you to share more and empathizing with what you’ve written.

They’re showing you that they’re here to listen to YOU.

And that feeling of finally being heard is awesome. ❤️‍🩹

Then, when we hear other people share what they're going through, we feel brave.

First, because we feel their own bravery, but then because it puts us into the mindset of “If they are willing and able to share their story, then so can I.”

Vulnerability begets vulnerability.

If you’re craving that kind of space – one rooted in connection, safety, and the chance to finally be heard – my 6-week Writing Bravely community is enrolling now, and tomorrow is the last day to snag the early bird rate.

Sign up or learn more here: https://adinasilvestri.com/writing-bravely/

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

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