Our Lynchburg, VA office is located at 301 Gristmill Drive in Forest, VA. Our team offers traditional face-to-face therapy in the office as well as walk-and-talk sessions at nearby trails, outdoor sessions at the park, or via Teletherapy. At this location, we have specialists who offer:
College Student/Young Adult Therapy
We also offer Psychological Assessment and the team collaborates closely with our Child and Adult Psychiatrists based in Charlottesville.
While our practice is new to Lynchburg, our Community Director, Dayna Kumar, LPC, has been a member of this community for the past five years. She and her husband are raising their two young boys in the Boonesboro neighborhood. Dayna and the VFT team support the Lynchburg community through work with the Motherhood Collective as well as the Virginia Community Response Network.
Dayna Kumar, LPC
Hi! I specialize in children, teens, families, and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and/or difficulties in their relationships. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) holding certification in attachment theory and am certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist. In the two last decades of my work, I have worked predominantly with mothers and children, those who have experienced physical and sexual abuse, and have survived a significant trauma. I have also worked extensively with parents who have adopted both domestically and internationally on establishing a secure attachment with their children.It’s always been a passion of mine to work alongside people through their journey towards healing and, while the journey is difficult, I believe that the outcome and relief is rewarding. I am honored to provide support through that work.
Kathleen Van Allen, LPC
Hello! I specialize in therapy for women from adolescence to middle age struggling with anxiety, depression, managing college, motherhood/parenting, relationship issues, and body image difficulties. I also specialize in couples/marital counseling. If you are one of the many couples struggling with stress, distance, imbalance, or communication through the pandemic, I can help. I develop strong relationships with my clients and, together, we work towards finding their roadmaps in life, improving self-worth, identifying goals/objectives, reducing hard feelings and behaviors, and feeling better.
Justin R. Smith
Dr. Justin Smith is a board-certified psychiatrist through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He specializes in treating individuals of all ages struggling with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, major psychiatric illnesses, and geriatric populations.
Justin’s experience includes serving as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), where he earned several awards, including Psychiatric Faculty Member of the Year. In general, Justin loves teaching and collaborating and, as such, he served as Chief Resident at EVMS and received the honor of Best Resident Teacher. He was also inducted as a resident member to the Gold Humanism Honor Society. In addition to teaching, Justin has significant experience in inpatient treatment, including work in an adult psychiatric unit as well as a geriatric psychiatric unit.
Emily Chuang
Hello! I am Emily, and I specialize in working with children and adults who are struggling with anxiety, depression, life transitions, stress, and cultural challenges. I have a particular interest in supporting families and individuals living cross-culturally, including intercultural/international couples, international students, third culture kids (TCKs)/missionary kids (MKs) and their families, expats, and immigrant and migrant communities. If you are concerned about your family’s or your own transitioning and relationships, I can help.
Fluently bilingual in English and Mandarin, I have worked with diverse populations from conducting educational and psychological research at UCLA and teaching at an international school in Taiwan. I also grew up cross-culturally between Taiwan and the US (Seattle, Los Angeles, and now Virginia). Having experienced various cultures, I believe in the need for family and relational therapy to bridge cultural gaps and tackling cultural challenges (age, gender, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, class, religion). Together, we can find the solutions and supports that you and your family need to have better relationships in your family and your local community.
I am currently a student intern in my last year of graduate school pursuing my master's in Marriage and Family Therapy. I am supervised by Dayna Kumar, LPC.I earned my BS from University of California, Los Angeles where I majored in Cognitive Science minored in education. I live with my husband who is a third culture/missionary kid in Charlottesville, and we often enjoy traveling to different states and hopefully different countries soon when the pandemic situation is more stable! In my free time, I enjoy watching Korean and Chinese dramas, listening to podcasts about different ethnic cultures, enjoying various cuisines, baking, and singing.
Currently, I work at the Lynchburg office, but I also offer telehealth when appropriate. You can reach me directly at echuang@virginiafamilytherapy.com.
(434) 202-4080 | hello@virginiafamilytherapy.com
Administrative hours 9am-5pm
Clinician Hours 8am-8pm depending on Clinician
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