Child Psychiatry Core Faculty

After completing medical school at USC in Columbia, South Carolina, Dr. Dale Peeples continued his training at MCG in the Department of Psychiatry. He completed his internship, residency, and fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at MCG. Since joining faculty in 2006, Dr. Peeples has worked in inpatient, residential, telehealth, student health, and corrections settings.  He primarily works with a child and adolescent population, but does see some adults with ADHD. In terms of serving the school’s educational mission, most of his work focuses on training the child & adolescent psychiatry fellows and the post pediatric portals as the training director for the fellowship program, & the outpatient director as well.  He’s also involved in medical student education, serving as a career advisor and as the faculty liaison for the psychiatry student interest group.  Nationally, he’s a member of the AACAP media committee, & has served as a board examiner for the ABPN child & adolescent boards. 

Dr. Sandra Sexson is a professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, as well as Chief and Associate Training Director for the Post Pediatric Portal Program within the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.  Dr. Sexson graduated from the University of Mississippi College of Medicine and completed postgraduate training in Child Development and Pediatrics (University of Mississippi), General Psychiatry (University of Texas at San Antonio) and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Washington University in St. Louis). Prior to her present appointment, she has served as Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Training Director at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and for 20 years at Emory University.  She is board certified in Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Her primary professional focus has been in psychiatric education with a clinical and research focus in education and clinical areas of interest.
Dr. Sexson is an active leader in psychiatric education in the United States.  She has served in her career in leadership roles in many of the major psychiatric organizations.  Some of these positions include: President of  both the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Training and the American Association of Directors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Psychiatry ACGME Review Committee, including serving as both its Vice-Chair and Chair; and a team leader in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, as well as a member of various test development committees, and as a senior examiner in both Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Additionally, Dr. Sexson has been an active leader in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) as an officer and through extensive work with Education and Training, as well as Lifelong Learning. She has worked with the American College of Psychiatrists (ACPsych) where she has served on the Board and as both the former Editor-in-Chief of PRITE, the psychiatry in-training examination and the founding editor of the CHILD PRITE, the child psychiatry in-training examination and presently as the chair of the Board for the PIPE, the psychiatry in practice exam. Dr. Sexson also has served as the psychiatric consultant to medical education in Singapore with ACGME-International and as a part of a consultant medical specialty group, again representing psychiatry, to Qatar as their postgraduate medical education programs prepare to apply for accreditation to ACGME-International.  Presently she serves on the Medicine Based Specialties Review Committee for the ACGME-International. She has served on the international medical specialties review committee for the ACGME- International. She has published over 50 articles, 12 chapters and one book.

Dr. Sexson has been awarded many regional and national awards.  Some include Atlanta’s Black Psychiatrist of the Year (for her efforts in expanding the number of African American child and adolescent psychiatrists in Georgia), as well as numerous local and regional teaching awards. Within AACAP she has received the Mentorship Award, the most prestigious Catcher in the Rye Award three times, and most recently the Virginia Q Anthony Woman Leader of the Year in 2018.  Other education awards include the American College of Psychiatrists Bowis Award and in 2017 she was the Vestermark Award winner from the American Psychiatric Association which “recognizes excellence, leadership, and creativity in the field of psychiatric education.”   As an educator, she has trained well over 100 child and adolescent psychiatrists just here in Georgia, many of whom still practice here, including one who is presently the first African American woman to be president of the American Medical Association.  Her goal always has been to expand access to excellent mental health care to children and their families wherever they may live.  During her time at Emory she was the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Grady Memorial Hospital where she moved outpatient services into the community through a Medicaid waiver to provide psychiatric services within selected Atlanta City Schools.

Dr. Sexson’s focused clinical interests have been in the areas of infant psychiatry and emotional issues of children and adolescents with chronic medical illnesses, although her practice runs the full gamut of child and adolescent psychiatry. She has been named annually to the prestigious lists of America’s Top Doctors and Top Psychiatrists in America since 2005 and Best Doctors in America since 2008.  In 2018 she received the Castle Connolly Exceptional Woman in Medicine Award and, in 2019, she was named as one of the Top 1% of America’s Most Honored Professionals. In 2021 Dr. Sexson received the Marquis Who’s Who Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award along with their America’s Top Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Professionals.

Dr. Sameera Azeem is an assistant professor in the Division of Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. She grew up in Augusta, Georgia, spent her entire childhood in the area, and is proud to still call Augusta her home. She completed her undergraduate studies at Augusta University, after which she worked as an assistant in research labs at the Medical College of Georgia’s Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine as well as in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Following this, she left Augusta for two years to obtain her Masters of Public Health at Rollins School of Public Health in Emory University. She then returned to Augusta to complete medical school, internship, General Psychiatry residency, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Augusta University. She served as Chief Resident during her Child and Adolescent fellowship. Upon completing her fellowship, she remained with the department to join as faculty and also began serving as Associate Director for the Psychiatry Clerkship program for medical students. Her current clinical duties include providing inpatient care on both the acute and residential units at the Lighthouse Care Center of Augusta. She also provides outpatient care to children and adolescents at Transitional Family Services and at the Department of Behavioral Health at Augusta University. Her interests include mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and the influence of culture and spirituality in psychiatry.  

Dr. Richard F. Camino-Gaztambide is professor of Psychiatry and Health Behavior and training director of the General Psychiatry Residency program and associate training director of the Addiction Fellowship Program at the Medical College of Georgia. Previously, Dr. Camino served as clerkship director and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Mercer University. After finishing his Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico he graduated from the Universidad Central de Caribe School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. He completed his general psychiatry and child fellowship at the University Of Puerto Rico School Of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Camino obtained a Masters in Arts in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He holds board certification in General Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. He has been active in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, especially with their Religion and Spirituality Committee, where he is co-chair of the committee. Dr. Camino practiced for 17 years in Puerto Rico and was recognized by his peers for 10 consecutive years to the “Doctor Choice Awards” given annually by a Buena Vida Health magazine. As an educator, he has given presentations at national and international meeting, including Buenos Aires, Medellin, Havana, Caracas, Santo Domingo, Aberdeen, and Jerusalem. He has published book chapters on topics of cultural psychiatry, family therapy, and spirituality in clinical practice in English and Spanish. His interests have been in education, cultural psychiatry, religion and spirituality in clinical practice, ADHD in children and adults (where he has done research), and addiction disorders.

Christopher F. Drescher, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior and a licensed psychologist in the state of Georgia. He completed his predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship through the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Augusta University. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi and his BA in psychology from West Virginia University. Clinically, Dr. Drescher specializes in psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and young adults. He directs the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Adolescent Skills Group, and frequently implements Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for mood and anxiety disorders. He also serves as a mental health consultant for the Medical College of Georgia Cystic Fibrosis Center. He is a regular volunteer at the Equality Clinic of Augusta. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He teaches the Essential of Clinical Medicine Problem-Based Learning seminar for second year medical students. His publications span a range of topics; current research interests include positive youth development, clinician burnout, LGBT health, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and the effects of fitness/exercise on mental health and cognition.

Dr. Christian Lemmon received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi after receiving his MA in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas – El Paso and his BA in Psychology from Washington College.  Currently, he is a Professor and Associate Director of the Psychology Residency Program in the Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior at the Augusta University. He serves on the Psychology Residency Selection Committee, Psychiatry Residency Selection Committee, Psychology Residency Core Committee, Psychiatry Resident Education Committee, and the departmental Medical Students' Education Committee. Dr. Lemmon has served the Medical College of Georgia on the Medical Students' Admission Committee and is Chair of the Faculty Senate Student Promotions Committee. He serves as the Health Behavior Program Leader for the outpatient psychiatry clinic. Dr. Lemmon’s areas of teaching include eating disorders, obesity, the Psychotherapy Process Seminar and Essentials of Clinical Medicine I and II (ECM-I Small Group and ECM II-Problem-Based Learning).  His publications include articles and book chapters in the areas of eating disorders, the psychological implications of bariatric surgery and the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. He has made numerous presentations at national and international professional meetings on the aforementioned topics and he has been a reviewer for several professional journals. As the director of the Augusta University Eating Disorders Program, Dr. Lemmon’s clinical interests include the assessment, and individual, group and family treatment for patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other feeding disturbances. He is also involved in the assessment and treatment of bariatric surgery candidates.

Dr. Eric Lewkowiez is an assistant professor in the Division of Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry. He received his MD degree from the University of South Carolina and an MS in Microbiology and Immunology from the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed a General Psychiatry Residency and Child and Adolescent Fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Lewkowiez came to MCG in 2003, after 3 years of private practice in Columbia, S.C. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., in both adult and child and adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Lewkowiez was recently appointed Associate Dean in the Office of Student and Multicultural Affairs. He functions primarily as the rotation director of the Community Psychiatry Rotation in the second year. His teaching areas include Basic Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Advanced Pediatric Psychopathology, Development, and ADHD. Dr. Lewkowiez's clinical areas of interest include ADHD, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and Mood Disorders. He is also very interested in medical student and resident education and advocating for children. Dr. Lewkowiez is currently president of the Georgia Council for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and serves on the Committee on Residents and Students for the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association.

P. Alex Mabe received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Currently, he is professor, Director of Psychology Residency and Postdoctoral Training, and Chief of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Georgia Health Sciences University. Dr. Mabe is currently the principal investigator for the MCG-VAMC Consortium-Psychology Workforce Development program, Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Graduate Psychology Education Program, having successfully obtained grant awards on this project since 2002.

His publications include over 60 articles in the areas of clinical child and pediatric psychology as well as other mental health care issues. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and a Fellow of the Georgia Psychological Association. He has been a reviewer for 13 professional journals and has made numerous presentations at national and international professional meetings on topics related to children's mental health, family and parent management training, and the recovery model of mental health services. Dr. Mabe is licensed as a psychologist in Georgia and South Carolina and has been providing clinical psychology services to children and their families in the Central Savannah River Area for 30 years including extensive work with military families on assignment at Fort Gordon, Georgia. His current research interests include parenting and child treatment services. In addition he is the team leader of Project GREAT (Georgia Recovery-Based Educational Approach to Treatment) that has been developing innovative approaches to transforming an academic psychiatry department to a Recovery model of care. Project GREAT was the recipient of the American College of Psychiatrists' annual award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education in 2012.

Dr. Ryan Shuler is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.  He completed undergraduate studies at Baylor University and medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine.  Dr. Shuler continued his training as a resident in psychiatry with Palm Beach Consortium for Graduate Medical Education at University Hospital in Tamarac, FL. He completed his fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University where he served as the Chief Fellow. Dr. Shuler remains with the Department as faculty and serves as Associate Clerkship Director for the psychiatry clerkship. His clinical interests include ADHD and mood disorders.