ADHD assessment and treatment

Rob is an Australian-trained psychiatrist specialising in adult psychiatry, and assesses and treats ADHD in adults by telehealth.

ADHD is rarely the only thing present. Anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive difficulties, sleep disturbance and substance use either sit alongside it or account for the symptoms outright, and separating them is the substance of the assessment. At Pandion these are screened as standard rather than treated as an optional extra. Where ADHD is not the right answer, Rob will say so and set out what he thinks is going on instead.

His experience in substance use disorders and eating disorders is directly relevant here rather than separate from it. Both are more common in adults with ADHD than in the general population, both can mimic it, and both change what treatment is appropriate. A psychiatrist who works with all three is better placed to hold them together than one who works with ADHD alone.

How he works

Rob provides client-centred assessments that take each person’s biographical history seriously, which matters in adult ADHD more than in most presentations: the diagnosis rests almost entirely on a life history that nobody has previously asked about in enough detail.

He works with patients to develop management plans that reflect their preferences while staying within evidence-based treatment, and pays attention to a person’s existing strengths rather than only what is going wrong.

Background and training

Rob earned his medical degree from the University of Sydney and completed his medical and psychiatric training at some of Sydney’s leading hospitals and health services, including Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Concord Centre for Mental Health.

He has extensive experience in community mental health, substance use disorders and eating disorders.

Outside the clinic

Rob values time with family and friends above all. He stays active walking his dog and playing basketball several times a week, and spends time outdoors hiking through Sydney’s national and state parks or snorkelling along the coast.