I was delighted to host Di at the MindSkiller Headquarters in Sydney last Friday to workshop about enhancing ADHD healthcare.

Di has extensive experience developing outpatient services, clinical care pathways, advocacy (e.g. co-founder of the Victorian Adult ADHD Interest Group), GP training BeyondGP and consumer education for ADHD ReflectHealth. I’ve developed early intervention inpatient services and founded an innovation consultancy startup to enhance mental health literacy for consumers and clinicians, and worked to improve access to new technologies that enhance mental health care. 

 I also gave her a tour of the Uspace Young Adult mental health service at St Vincent’s Private Hospital where the new VR exposure therapy prototype for OCD was demonstrated by members of the inpatient team. 



We also hope to utilise Di’s extensive clinical networks and my longstanding advocacy work at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) via the Section of Private Practice Psychiatry, and its Clinical Indicators Working Group chaired by Dr Bill Pring, to improve clinical care, CPD and to prevent corporations introducing managed care into Australia.On Saturday, I enjoyed watching Di present at the My Spirited Child ADHD Conference in Penrith, where I appreciated the introduction to the self-help group headed by Rebecca Challoner who convened the event. Clinicians, consumers and educators can join forces to make a massive difference for this cohort as ADHD not only can cause distress, underperformance and low self-esteem, but it is a risk factor for many other mental disorders and is often co-existing with disorders or disability that can be associated with neurodiversity.