Holistic Psychiatry for Children, Teens, and Adults
Most psychiatric care follows a familiar pattern. You describe your symptoms, you get a diagnosis, and you leave with a prescription. For a lot of people that works. For others it does not, and they end up cycling through medications for years without anyone asking why the symptoms are there in the first place.
Dr. Amar Chakra practices differently. He is a double board-certified psychiatrist who works with children, teens and adults. He looks at the whole picture before deciding what to recommend, and he builds each plan around what is best for the individual patient.
Who is Dr. Amar Chakra?
Dr. Amar Chakra is a psychiatrist who works with children as young as 6, along with adolescents and adults. He is double board certified in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, and he is licensed to practice medicine in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.
He grew up in Oklahoma City and came to Atlanta for his undergraduate education at Emory University, with a period of study at King's College London. He returned to Oklahoma for medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, completed his residency in general psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine in Tulsa, and finished his fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, Davis.
He stayed on at UC Davis with a teaching appointment, helping train new child psychiatry fellows. He has co-authored a number of publications and presented at national psychiatry conferences. His clinical work has spanned psychiatric emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric units, adult partial hospitalization, and the California state correctional system, and he served as program director of an adolescent intensive outpatient program in Sacramento before returning to Atlanta.
His clinical interests include ADHD across the lifespan, child and adolescent sports psychiatry, cross-cultural psychiatry, and early-onset psychosis. Learn more about sports psychiatry
What does holistic psychiatry actually mean?
Holistic is a word that gets used loosely, so here is what it means in practice.
A conventional psychiatric appointment tends to focus on symptoms and medication. A holistic evaluation starts wider. Dr. Chakra wants to understand what is happening in the rest of your life before he decides what to do about what is happening in your head. That means asking about sleep, nutrition, physical health, stress, family, school or work, and history, because all of those affect how a brain functions and any one of them can be driving symptoms that look psychiatric on the surface.
The second difference is the range of tools. Dr. Chakra works with medicinal herbs and roots, natural amino acids, and medication, choosing among them based on what is best for each individual patient. Some patients are hoping to avoid medication if there is a reasonable alternative. Others have already tried the alternatives and want to talk about medication. The right plan depends on the person, and it comes out of a real conversation rather than a default.
The third difference is that you are part of the decision. Nothing gets started because it is standard. It gets started because it makes sense for you, and you understand why.
What services does Dr. Amar Chakra offer?
Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. A full assessment that covers symptoms and history along with the physical, lifestyle, and environmental factors that may be contributing to them.
Medication management. When medication is the right tool, Dr. Chakra prescribes it, monitors how it is working, and adjusts as needed.
Supplement and amino acid protocols. For patients working with nutritional and targeted supplement approaches, either on their own or alongside medication.
Treatment planning built around the individual. A plan shaped by your goals and your situation, revisited as things change.
Brain SPECT imaging, as an option. An optional tool used with some patients as one source of information. Learn more about SPECT imaging
Coordinated care with your therapist. Because Dr. Chakra practices alongside the DK Counseling team, psychiatric care and therapy can work from the same understanding of what is going on rather than in separate silos.
Who does Dr. Amar Chakra work with?
He works with children as young as 6, adolescents, and adults.
People come to him for:
- ADHD in children, teens, and adults
- Anxiety
- Depression and mood concerns
- Challenges related to neurodivergence
- Early-onset psychosis
- Complex or treatment-resistant cases where previous approaches have not worked
- Mental health support for young athletes
He also works with families who are trying to make sense of a diagnosis someone else gave them, and who want a second look before committing to a plan.
What happens at a first appointment?
The first visit is focused on Dr. Chakra getting to know the patient and developing a plan.
He will ask about what brought you in, and also about sleep, eating, physical health, family history, stress, and what daily life actually looks like. If you are bringing your child, expect questions about school, friendships, screens, routines, and what you have already tried.
The goal is a clear picture of the person in front of him before any decisions get made about what comes next.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to talk?
Schedule a psychiatric evaluation with Dr. Amar Chakra. If you are not sure whether psychiatry or therapy is the right starting point, reach out and we will help you figure it out.
DK Counseling Services serves families in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Johns Creek, and the surrounding North Fulton area.