Frequently Asked Questions

You can expect a focused conversation about your medication situation. The aim is to understand what is not working, what might be missing and what needs attention. The topics are around what might impact medications or what might be impacted by treatment or medications.

It’s okay to be unsure. You don’t need to have the answers yet. We can work through your concerns step by step. My role is to give you accurate, independent information about your options, what the evidence supports, where it is limited and what the next steps could look like.

I explain what the evidence says in clear, practical language. You will know what to look for, how long to give it and what the next steps are when the evidence is uncertain.

Confidentiality and privacy are explained clearly at the first session.

Your doctor holds your overall care and many aspects of your care. What I add is specialist independent expertise, unhurried time, focused only on the medication questions and how it relates to you. Because I sit outside the prescribing relationship, people often find it easier to voice concerns that are hard to raise in usual appointments. The aim is to strengthen your relationship with your doctor, not complicate it. I don’t diagnose or prescribe.

Often, they do. The challenge is applying that knowledge to complex situations with the time and clarity they deserve. Some cases sit in areas where evidence is thin or guidelines don’t quite fit. This is where specialist support adds value.

You can still come. I can help you understand the pathway to appropriate care and outline your medication history in a way that will support you when you do establish a prescriber.

We look at how medication moves through bodies, including absorption, metabolism and individual biology. Treatment should fit the person, not the average.

Yes, and we look closely at this. Interactions can occur between medications, conditions, genes and lifestyle factors. Understanding these helps identify safer or more effective combinations.

Sometimes the missing piece is a clearer dose, a better option, a monitoring plan or a path forward when the current approach is not working. We help coordinate care, so you are not navigating this alone.

We look at whether the treatment fits your goals, values, body and life. The aim is a plan that makes sense for you.

We focus on starting well, understanding side effects, monitoring carefully, adjusting thoughtfully and changing medications safely when needed. The goal is clarity, not fear.

If I believe this service will not meet your needs, I will tell you clearly and kindly and guide you toward something more useful to your situation.

You can come exactly as you are. You don’t need to be organised or prepared. If the timing is not right, that is okay. The service will be here when it is.

Our fees reflect over twenty years of specialist training in ADHD, autism and mental health medications. More importantly, the most expensive treatment is often the wrong one or the missing one. It is costly to not get the most out of treatment, or to feel unsure about treatment. Poorly optimised medication has real costs in time, wellbeing and opportunity. You will always get honest guidance about whether this service is the right fit. I will always try and get the best value for you with the service, and to find ways to save money, worry and suffering.

Maxwell Minds is not yet funded by Medicare or the NDIS. This kind of specialist, independent service is new in Australia, and the funding systems haven’t caught up. We’re working on that. What matters more is this: the most expensive treatment is usually the wrong one, or the missing one. You’ll always get an honest view of whether this service is likely to help. A simplicity refund applies if your situation turns out to be more straightforward than expected.

You’re not overreacting, and you’re not alone. Deciding whether to start medication, or questioning whether the current plan is right is a major decision. Many families feel unsure, overwhelmed or divided. I work with the whole system around a child so that everyone understands the plan and feels confident in it. You don’t need to have the answers before you come. That is what the appointment is for.

Your experience is valid. Many adults reach diagnosis late or after years of being misunderstood. Mixed feelings about medications are normal. My role is not to steer you toward or away from treatment. My role is to offer clear expertise about your options and what a careful, honest path forward could look like.

Uncertainty is a reasonable place to be. The evidence is real and often strong, but it is also incomplete. We explore all options with openness and clarity.

Maxwell Minds provides specialist, independent psychopharmacology support for complex cases in ADHD, autism and mental health. The work focuses on a careful review of the full medication picture, a structured report with clear options and reasoning, and direct work with the patient and family to address the human factors that shape treatment. No prescribing, diagnosing or independent changes. All decisions remain with you.

It adds time, depth and specialist expertise to your multidisciplinary care. It gives patients space to speak openly and provides you with a clear, structured report that supports your clinical reasoning and documentation.

Complex cases where something is not right, medication pictures that have grown beyond what one clinician should carry, families who are not aligned, situations with thin evidence or significant comorbidity, large inherited medication histories and multi specialist cases needing unified direction.

No. It is for specific patients who genuinely need this level of depth.

Structured, clear and ready to use. It includes brief clinical context, a medication-by-medication review, a summary of the clinical picture and a clear options section with reasoning.

Send a brief clinical summary, a current medication list and any specific questions or constraints. I offer flexible involvement, from MDT style collaboration to discrete advisory episodes. Clinical risk is always escalated promptly.

Yes. No obligation and no referral required. Sometimes thinking out loud with a medication specialist is exactly what is needed.

No. I assume your decisions have been made thoughtfully. My role is to clarify the picture and make options visible. If something needs attention, I say so carefully and respectfully.

No. I reinforce that you hold their overall care and all decisions remain with you. Patients usually return more settled, more informed and more workable.

In practice, it strengthens it. Patients return more aligned and more able to work with you. Referral signals clinical strength and care.

Yes. No hospital system, no pharmaceutical relationships, no outcome linked funding. Advice is guided only by ethics, legal obligations and the patient’s best interests.

I draw on adjacent evidence, expert consensus and structured monitoring frameworks. I am transparent about the type and quality of evidence used and support your medicolegal position.

I don’t use AI to answer clinical questions or source evidence. I may use it for transcription summaries or clarity edits and always disclose when I do.