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Charlottesville Psychiatry
Charlottesville Psychiatry
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About Me

Andrew Chambers, MD

My Background

Education

Medical License

Education

BA, University of Virginia


MD, Vanderbilt University Medical School

Training

Medical License

Education

University of Virginia Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences

Medical License

Medical License

Board Certification

Virginia Board of Medicine

Board Certification

Board Certification

Board Certification

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Affiliation

Board Certification

Affiliation

American Psychiatric Association


Psychiatric Society of Virginia


Albemarle County Medical Society

Experience

Board Certification

Affiliation

I have experience in private practice, hospital consultation, community mental health, veterans mental health, and college mental health services.

My Expertise

Trauma-Related Disorders

I have significant experience treating PTSD, Complex PTSD, and other trauma-related disorders.

Anxiety Disorders

I have significant experience treating Anxiety Disorders, including generalized anxiety, health anxiety, panic, and other forms of anxiety.

Psychosomatic Disorders

Psychosomatic Disorders

I have significant experience treating Psychosomatic (Mind-Body) Disorders, including Conversion Disorder, Somatic Symptom Disorder, and other physical manifestations of emotions.

My Approach

Medication and Therapy

I encourage psychotherapy in addition to medication management.  My approach is geared toward trauma therapy and psychodynamic therapy.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy focuses on emotional safety, grounding, grief, and healing.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy explores the emotional drives underlying our thoughts, behaviors, and relationship patterns. 

Complex PTSD Approach

Complex PTSD

Complex PTSD is a term used to describe the emotional dysregulation, relationship dysfunction, and other trauma responses that arise from emotional trauma, relationship trauma, and other chronic trauma.

Attachment Bonds

In therapy, we explore the origins of trauma responses from neglect, abuse, and insecure attachment to caregivers and others.

Emotional Regression

In therapy, we gain insight about patterns of emotional regression to childhood dynamics when triggered by fears of rejection, abandonment, and shame. We work toward grounding to an adult sense of self.

Boundaries

In therapy, we learn to establish healthy adult boundaries when faced with interpersonal conflict, rather than re-enact childhood patterns of "fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or flop."

My Philosophy

The Power of Insight

I believe in the power of insight.  What drives our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors?  Below our conscious awareness, we have subconscious drives.  In therapy, we gain insight into our drives.  When we know what drives us, we begin to be empowered to do something about it.

The Functions of Emotions

I believe that each emotion has a core function.  Sadness tells us there is loss.  We need to grieve.  Anger tells us we have been wronged.  We need justice.  Anxiety tells us there is a problem.  We need to prevent, predict, or solve.  Panic tells us there is danger.  We need to run, hide, or fight.  In therapy, we hone in on the function of what we feeling.

Listen to Emotions

I believe we should listen to our emotions.  They have have something to tell us.  The message may be "irrational" on the surface, but there is a deeper truth.  When we feel panicked, there may not be an actual life-threatening danger.  But something feels life-threatening, whether that might be rejection, abandonment, shame, or some other emotional danger.

Vulnerability

I believe in the healing power of vulnerability.  Psychological defenses keep us safe from emotions that feel too vulnerable and unbearable.  In therapy, we gain the safety and courage to lower our defenses and be vulnerable with our emotions.  We let them flow.  We give them a voice.  We learn that, ultimately, not even the heights of terror or the depths of despair are unbearable when we are not alone with them.

Humility

I believe in the healing power of humility.  A mental health diagnosis can trigger a shameful sense of humiliation, as being defective, damaged, and abnormal.  In therapy, we access humility rather than humiliation.  We find a redemptive sense of humility, as a human being who is hurting and who needs to heal.  We find that we all share in the humility of the human condition, to grieve what we must and to be grateful for what we can.

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