| The following text is temporary text for Dr. Billows to provide news information.
Shortly
after he earned his Master of Science Degree in Applied
Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr.
Andrew "Jack" Billups accepted a position with
a rural Community Mental Health Center in the Chesapeake
Bay country of Tidewater, Virginia. Four years later,
he began doctoral study at the College of William and
Mary with an interest in communications theory and family
therapy. He interned at Eastern Virginia Graduate School
of Medicine and worked primarily with pain patients and
persons with sexual difficulties. He completed an additional
year-long concentration in behavioral medicine and received
his doctorate in 1984. After
achieving partner at one of Tidewater’s largest
private practice ventures, Dr. Billups left to establish
his own business and has worked independently since 1990.
He has taught on a part-time basis at several colleges
and universities and has sought to integrate academic
psychology, clinical psychology, and personal development. "During
graduate studies, I became particularly interested in
how best to turn up the 'watts of influence' in a therapeutic
relationship and increase the potency of language to accelerate
change. My research interests include the construction
and strategic use of metaphor, analogy, and hypnotic language
to facilitate cost-effective progress toward established
goals." This interest found application in forensic
work and professional coaching. "From
the earliest days of my practice, I have enjoyed the challenges
of working with adolescent males described as being 'conduct
disordered.' Because these individuals sometimes face
serious legal charges, I have often provided assessment,
intervention, and consultative services for defense attorneys
and judges. The relationship between psychiatry and criminal
culpability has also been a growing interest since the
completion of my doctoral studies and the resumption of
my clinical work following graduation and licensure." Dr. Billups
has completed various postdoctoral training experiences
at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore and at the Institute for
Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy at the University of
Virginia. He has qualified as an expert witness at the
circuit court level in most jurisdictions in Tidewater
Virginia, and he has served as the defense expert in four
capital murder cases. He has provided testimony that led
to a successful insanity defense. Factors regarding mitigation,
competency, and sanity at time of the offense, constitute
the bulk of his forensic work. Forensic
psychology and coaching are the two primary specializations at Oyster Point Psychological
and operate as two subdivisions of the larger practice. He currently
resides in Gloucester, Virginia, and enjoys flying, sailing,
and all aspects of Chesapeake Bay living. He has been
active in Rotary and is a Paul Harris Fellow. |