Patients, families and carers
Medication is only as effective as the weakest part of the plan.
The dose. What is happening in this body. The interactions. The monitoring. The supply. Remembering to take it. Any one of these can make the right medication feel like the wrong one. Penny works with you and your treating team to navigate the system, translate the science, educate you on your options, and find where the chain is under strain.
No referral needed. Contact us directly – or ask your doctor to refer you.
Who this is for
You have followed the advice. You have done what was recommended. And something still is not right – or not as right as it should be. Maybe you have been through a lot of medication changes and no one has ever looked at the whole picture. Maybe you are about to start treatment and you want to understand what you are agreeing to. Maybe you are a parent who is exhausted and confused and needs someone to sit with them and explain without adding more noise.
This service is for people with ADHD, autism and mental health conditions – and their families and carers. You do not need a referral. You can come directly.
Navigation · Translation · Education · Collaboration
“The decision still sits with us – but now we actually understand what we’re deciding.”
A parent – shared with permission
About this service
01 – Who is this for? ADHD, autism and mental health – patients, families, carers
If you or someone you care for has ADHD, autism or a mental health condition and medication is part of the picture – or might be – this service is for you.
You might be at the start of a medication journey and want to understand your options. You might have been through a lot of changes and want someone to look at the whole picture. You might have questions your doctor hasn’t had time to answer properly. You might want support for a family member, or need help getting everyone on the same page.
No referral needed. No hospital system. No waiting for the right appointment to come around.
02 – What does Penny actually do? The work – in plain language
Penny is a specialist consultant pharmacist. She does not prescribe or diagnose – that stays with your treating team. What she does is look at everything around the medication: how it moves through your body, what else is affecting it, what the evidence actually says, what is missing from the current plan, and whether the whole thing fits your life.
Before sessions, she does the work behind the scenes – reviewing records, applying her clinical framework, identifying where the chain is under strain. In sessions, she translates what she finds into language that makes sense, works through your questions, and helps you understand what you are actually deciding.
She works alongside your treating team, not instead of them. Everything she does is documented and shared back.
Depending on the work, you may receive:
Legacy Report – A full documented account of everything that has been tried – when, by whom, the doses, the responses, what the records say and what you remember. Written so that any future clinician can read it and understand what actually happened.
Medication Portrait™ – A forward-facing document designed to travel with you. It captures who you are in the context of your medication care – your history, what you have been taught, what to watch for, and a guide for any clinician who treats you in the future.
03 – Why Penny? Experience, recognition, independence
Experience: 23 years in frontline specialist multidisciplinary teams – working with the most complex medication situations in the country.
Specialist recognition: FANZCAP (Mental Health and Paediatrics) – the highest clinical recognition available to pharmacists in these specialties, and one of the first in Australia to hold both. View recognition →
Independent: No hospital system. No pharmaceutical ties. No outcome-linked funding. Penny’s recommendations are shaped only by your situation and the evidence.
04 – Lily’s story What this looks like in practice
About this illustration. Lily is a composite illustration. Quotes from real people are used with permission and describe the process only – not clinical outcomes. All prescribing decisions remain with the treating clinician.
Lily’s story content will be embedded here when the approved version is available.
How to get started
Start with one conversation. Everything else follows from there – and is tailored to what you actually need.
Initial consultation
$250
20 minutes – in person or online – no referral needed – written summary included
It might answer your question outright. It might be a chance to brainstorm your situation, work out what you actually need, or just get your head straight before the next appointment with your doctor.
It’s also a chance to get to know how Penny works – before locking into anything. For many people it’s the start and finish. For others it’s where the work begins – and because it targets everything that follows, it often saves money overall.
First time self-referring? Start here – required. Referred by your doctor, or returning? Often still recommended, but not required. Get in touch and Penny will confirm the right starting point.
After that, three paths – and you choose. You don’t need to know which one before you book – the initial consultation is where Penny will talk you through what options might best suit your needs and budget.
Path 1All done (for now)Sometimes the initial consultation is enoughNo further cost
You have clarity, you have the information you wanted, you have a next step, and you know what to do. Come back any time things change.
Path 2Problem-solving and supportSessions, behind-the-scenes work, or both – tailored to you$440/hr
For specific questions, situations that have changed, or ongoing support. Tailored to each person. Every step agreed in advance – nothing happening without your knowledge.
Sessions – 60 or 90 minutes – in person or online
- Understanding what has been recommended and why – translating what your treating team is thinking
- Talking through your fears and worries about medication – honestly, without being rushed
- Understanding the risks of treating – and the risks of not treating
- How the medication is actually meant to work in your body and your life
- Making sense of a complicated history – what was tried before, and why
- Problem-solving when something is not working
- Meeting with people important to you – a partner, parent, carer, family member, or a group
- Any question. Nothing too weird.
Behind-the-scenes work – billed in 15-minute increments
- Reviewing your records, clinical letters and reports
- Applying the MEDWISE™ framework – seven dimensions, every patient, every time
- Writing clinical reports and summaries
- Coordinating with your prescriber, GP, treating team or school
- Supply navigation – PBS, Special Access Scheme, medication shortages
If having those conversations with your doctor feels hard right now, Penny can help you work out what to say and how to say it – and work with you over time to feel more confident having them yourself.
Path 3Maxwell Minds™ PlansStructured end-to-end support through a chapter of your journeyFrom $880
Structured end-to-end support through a chapter of your medication journey. Fully documented, written to share with your treating team.
- Untangling what is happening now and why
- Clarifying your goals and priorities
- Exploring all available options – including when you are beyond the standard guidelines
- Getting everything in place to start or change treatment
- Planned check-ins after starting
- Getting the people around you on the same page
Plans are in development and will be available soon. Get in touch to register your interest.
Final pricing depends on complexity, agreed before work begins. Second-round plans are generally less. Simplicity refund applies.
WorkshopsComing soonTell us what would be useful
Your child has just been diagnosed with ADHD – now what? Further workshops on topics relevant to patients, families and carers.
Get in touch to register your interest or suggest a topic.
Maxwell Minds is a private service. Not currently funded by Medicare or the NDIS. All fees agreed before any work begins. Simplicity refund applies.
Some of the reasons people come
Every situation is different. Here are some of the things people bring to Penny.
SammiWorking out why meds feel hit and miss
Takes double when he remembers, skips entirely when he doesn’t. The medication might be right but the plan around it isn’t working. Wants help figuring out why.
PriyaJust had her child diagnosed. Recognising herself.
Perimenopause, long to-do list, just had her child diagnosed with ADHD and ASD. Something in the assessment report keeps sounding familiar. Wants to understand what treatment means – without adding more noise.
TysonMultiple conditions, multiple prescribers
Complex medical picture. No single clinician holds the whole story. Wants someone to look at everything together and explain what might be interacting with what.
ShanaStarting lithium and wants to understand it
Starting lithium and wants to actually understand it. What it does, how it works, what the monitoring means, what to watch for.
KendrickSent by his partner to understand his daughter’s treatment
Sent by his partner. Their daughter is on treatment and he has questions that didn’t get answered at home. Comes in a bit sceptical, leaves with a much clearer picture.
SalomeExploring all the options for anxiety
Wants a proper conversation about what the treatments actually are, what the evidence says, and what might suit her situation.
BecSupplements and prescriptions – what is doing what
Takes a bag of supplements and a prescription and wants someone to go through all of it. Interactions, what is doing what, what might be redundant.
KimmyWants a proper written record of her medication history
Long history across multiple prescribers, some of it poorly documented. Wants a Legacy Review™ – everything in language she can take to any future clinician.
DaveOverwhelmed – is there a better way
Has been managing for years and is tired. Wants someone to look at the current plan and tell him honestly whether there is a better way.
ShibiRegular check-ins as things change
Takes the medication, life keeps changing, comes back to brainstorm and problem-solve as things shift. Uses Penny as a thinking partner.
PeluWants someone to come to the appointment with him
Has a meeting with his psychiatrist and doesn’t want to go alone. Wants someone who understands the clinical language beside him.
SrakWants to sit outside and talk about her medications
Doesn’t do well in offices. Wants to sit outside, walk slowly, and just talk through what her medications do and why.
JoNewly diagnosed at 67 – where to even start
Just diagnosed with ADHD at 67. A lifetime of making sense of things the hard way. Wants to understand what the medication options actually mean for someone her age.
Zac16 and wants to understand what he is taking
16 years old, on medication for a year, has never had it explained to him directly. Wants to understand in plain language, just for him.
How I think – the MEDWISE framework
Seven dimensions, applied to every engagement, every time. This is the clinical framework Penny brings to the work behind the scenes.
M – E – D – W – I – S – E | Seven dimensions. Every patient. Every time.
M Movement – how this medication moves through your specific body. What is changing absorption, metabolism and excretion for you.
E Evidence – what the research actually says – including where it is uncertain or does not apply to the person in front of her.
D Drug interactions – with other medications, conditions, genes and lifestyle factors.
W What’s missing – the monitoring not in place. The coordination gap. The practical support you are not getting.
I Individual fit – treatment shaped around your body, your history, your values, your practical life.
S Safety – how to start, what to watch for, when and how to adjust, and how to stop or change safely.
E Efficiency – the most elegant solution for this situation. Reducing wasted time and unnecessary complexity.
MEDWISE is Penny’s clinical framework. Read the patient factsheet →
Patient FAQ
Questions about what to expect, how sessions work, what behind-the-scenes work means, and more.
When you are ready, the first step is a 20-minute introductory session. No referral needed. No pressure.