Recent Publications*
*Dr. Silvestri has published over 100 articles and chapters.
October 2019
(Ongoing Column #13)
A common theme in my practice, as with many psychotherapists, is the presenting problem of not being satisfied with life, which in most cases leads to different degrees of “anxiety” and/or “depression.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201910/ditch-linear-thinking
September 2019
(Ongoing Column #12)
Reframing the meaning of yourself without doing it yourself.
August 2019
(Ongoing Column #11)
A lesson from my auto mechanic along the river's edge.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201907/walking-the-path-beginner-s-mind
July 2019
(Ongoing Column #10)
There is a mystical energy in our family systems!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201906/who-do-you-think-you-are
June 2019
(Ongoing Column #09)
“How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress”
— Niels Bohr
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201906/the-tao-self-fulfillment
May 2019
(Ongoing Column #08)
I recently read The Art of Is: Improvising As A Way Of Life by Stephen Nachmanovitch (New World Library: Novato, Calif., 2019).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201904/the-ecology-improvisation
April 2019
(Ongoing Column #07)
Revisit how to create new possibilities.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201903/change-is-always-changing
March 03, 2019
(Ongoing Column #06)
The benefits of managing stress through mindful breathing.
January 28, 2019
(Ongoing Column #05)
How can a loaf of bread help with understanding the complexity of relationships?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201901/love-the-word-is-not-the-thing
December 28, 2018
(Ongoing Column #04)
It may be more than you can imagine.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201812/yes-our-world-is-complex-what-does-mean
November 19, 2018
(Ongoing Column #03)
This holiday season, when rituals and celebrations are plentiful, take the opportunity to look at past hurts with a wider lens.
To begin with, it needs to be understood that forgiveness is not condoning or minimizing a hardship we have suffered. This is a major misconception.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201811/tis-the-season-forgiveness
October 28, 2018
(Ongoing Column #02)
There’s a large health food supermarket in my town determined to make its parking spaces much narrower. I am always amazed when I drive by and see fine-looking organic food seekers giving each other nasty gestures as they struggle to maneuver their cars into spaces.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201810/stress-and-the-organic-health-food-store
October 8, 2018
(Ongoing Column #01)
Let me share with you a question I ask people who seek help in my practice. You may like to try this yourself.
“What is it that you’re not getting in life that causes concern and stops you from making your life work the way you would like it to work?”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wider-lens/201810/how-have-wider-lens
July 28, 2018
Publication of Book
This book has evolved from my many years of practicing Systemic Psychotherapy and Homeopathy to help people create a wider lens through which they view their lives. I believe the integration of these two powerful disciplines, plus years of teaching, provides a large enough sample for a scientific qualitative study, the results of which inform this book. . . .
June / July 2018
(Ongoing Column #11)
How many times have you heard, “accentuate the positive,” from friends when you are down on
yourself. Well there is much to learn from that adage. In a University of Kentucky and University of Minnesota study of nuns over their life span . . .
April / May 2018
(Ongoing Column #10)
I am quite sure you have heard people say to you, “let’s be partners.” How successful have these partnerships been in your life? An alternative to being “partners” is to be “collaborators.” Collaboration is a shift in perspective; it allows for a process in which any two individuals in the universe can find their relationship by “tuning in to” and “being with” rather than “doing things to each other.”
Autumn / Winter 2017
A few years ago, I attended a seminar on Alternative and Complementary Healing. One of the presenters, who represented the American Medical Association (AMA) and was from a prominent university, discussed research covering over 20 alternative healing methods. Most of the healing methods were being rigorously and, in many cases, rightfully disputed.
February / March 2018
With Valentine's Day upon us, there are many visions of hearts and words of love. Dr. Mehmet Oz describes the heart as an organ that "doesn't empty blood like a balloon letting out air. That's a very bland view of how the heart functions. It's much more elegant than that.
Holiday 2017
Over the past thirty years, I have worked with many people looking to make changes and resolve problems. I have come to realize that it is all about Self-Fulfillment. How I go about facilitating those who seek my help is to encourage and stress the need to be in the present.
Winter 2018
The Paterson Literary Review was founded in 1979 by Maria Mazziotti Gillan and is based at The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College. Beginning as a mimeographed publication 38 years ago, it has evolved into one of the most well-respected resources for poetry in the country and includes
Allen Ginsberg, William Stafford, Ruth Stone, Sonia Sanchez, Jan Beatty, Laura Boss, Marge Piercy, Martín Espada, David Ray, and Diane di Prima among its published poets.
Autumn 2017
The label “Attention Deficit Disorder” or its newer name “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” is being thrown around way too much. Growing numbers of people are being diagnosed with it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 11% of U.S. children ages 4 to 11 had the diagnosis in 2011 – a 42% increase from years earlier—and 6% of all U.S. children were taking medication for it.
June 2017
This essay (submitted as part of a collection of papers for the Bateson Symposium in Poland,
June, 2017) is dedicated to all those who have taken up the challenge to work toward an ecology of respect that will make a difference that is a difference that mitigates within the contexts of our current socio-political and environmental patterns.
Spring 2017
The Paterson Literary Review was founded in 1979 by Maria Mazziotti Gillan and is based at The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College. Beginning as a mimeographed publication 38 years ago, it has evolved into one of the most well-respected resources for poetry in the country and includes
Allen Ginsberg, William Stafford, Ruth Stone, Sonia Sanchez, Jan Beatty, Laura Boss, Marge Piercy, Martín Espada, David Ray, and Diane di Prima among its published poets.
The Tuxedo Park Magazine
Spring 2017
The main tenet of being mindful is to pause and focus while viewing the world as a part-to-whole interconnected process. The consequence of not recognizing our mutual interdependence with nature and others can and has led to stress, which is linked to a compromised immune system and other health threats. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk who helped popularize Mindfulness, urges us “to be fully alive, to be mindful you need a beginner’s mind,” ...
June 2017
To share my savoring of Nora Bateson’s new book, Small Arcs of Larger Circles: framing through other patterns, I must begin with the contexts of my evolving perceptions regarding her topic. This makes sense if you follow Nora’s message that there is a merge between observer and who or what is being observed. During my doctoral studies at Columbia University . . .
Winter/Spring 2017
During the past several years I have incorporated two profoundly effective resources, coherent breathing and Qigong, into my practice of systemic psychotherapy and homeopathy. This has made a dramatic positive difference in closing the gap between a patient's expressed presenting problem and desired wellness outcomes.
January 2017
Proper breathing is one of the very few ways that we can make adjustments to our nervous systems ourselves. Given by the recognition of the AMA that stress is at the root of all chronic diseases, more than ever it may be worth paying attention to your breath.
Fall 2016
Are you interested in a safe alternative healing method? While modern medicine has made wonderful strides, at times it may be beneficial to try a nontoxic form of healing given the long list of unwanted side effects that accompany virtually all prescription drugs. Since I have started writing this column, I have received several inquiries about Homeopathy. . .
Summer 2016
Homeopathy is a safe example of healing. Founded by the German physician, Samuel Hahnemann in the 19th century, it is based on the “law of similars,” or “let likes be cured with likes.”
Most people are familiar with the homeopathic remedy Arnica, a poison if taken bruises. In its diluted homeopathic form Arnica heals contusions and bruises. Today, orthopedic surgeons use it regularly. . .
Spring 2016
Being a psychotherapist and homeopath, I often find myself having to resolve conflicts. Obviously, I encounter it in my own life. Here is a true story. I was driving to pick up my daughter form school. At a busy intersection, where I was trying to make a turn, a large pickup truck hesitated and stopped, blocking my way. I assumed the driver was going to let me pass when, all of a sudden he shot directly in front of me, preventing me from continuing. . .
