Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists Sydney, Canberra and Australia
An Australian Telehealth Mental Health Service
Our Team
Dr Mimi Xu
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
MD MMed(Psych) FRANZCP, Adv Cert Child Adol. Psych
Dr Mimi Xu is a caring and experienced Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.
Dr Xu previously worked in multiple public hospitals and community settings across Sydney’s Inner West, South Western and Western Suburbs including NSW Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
Dr Xu provides assessment and treatment over telehealth to ensure her patients can access their mental health care whether they live in Sydney, Canberra, or more regional settings in NSW. She specialises in caring for children and teenagers with ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, Autism and Depression.
As a subspecialist psychiatrist, Dr Xu seeks to prepare her patients for adulthood. She believes in working closely with young people and their families as part of the treatment process and collaborating with carers to ensure the best possible outcome.
Dr Xu values the role of GPs, Paediatricians and other allied health professionals such as psychologists, school counsellors, speech therapists, occupational therapists, family therapists and social workers as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for a young person.
Dr Joanna Blades
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
B Sci (Hons), MD, FRANZCP, Adv Cert Child Adol. Psych
Dr Joanna Blades is a Child and Adolescent and Perinatal Psychiatrist.
She works primarily with young people and families to provide compassionate and holistic care during their experiences of mental health conditions such as anxiety, trauma, and depression. She has particular interest and experience in neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. In addition to her work with young people, Dr Blades works with women across all stages of life, particularly during and after pregnancy. She is committed to providing a warm, collaborative approach supporting women from pre-conception to the postpartum period.
Prior to studying medicine, Dr Blades completed her honours degree in psychology and worked in clinical research, which has given her a strong foundation of therapeutic skills as well as evidence based, person centred care. She has worked in rural and metropolitan settings across WA and NSW and is passionate about equitable access to healthcare.
Who we see
We want to ensure patients and their families receive the maximum benefit from our child and adolescent psychiatry service. Patients are accepted for initial and ongoing sessions on a case-by-case basis.
We specialise and focus on assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health in children and adolescents:
Aged 5-18 and attending school in Sydney, Canberra, Australia
ADHD
Anxiety and Depression
as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist - what makes us different to a Paediatrician
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Our approach as a Mental Health Service?
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At our child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health service, we understand how important it is to find the right support for your child or teenager.
We believe in providing personalised assessment, treatment and care for everyone that we see.
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Our psychiatrists take a holistic approach to understanding and treating each young person.
Whether your child is struggling with more common mental health conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, and/or other emotional or behavioural challenges, we aim to provide thoughtful, evidence-based care that is tailored to their needs.
We recognise how hard it can be to see your child in distress, and we’re here to help you navigate their mental health journey with confidence and compassion.
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Our clinic’s hope (and heart) is that every child, teenager, adolescent, their families and carers do not feel like just a number but valuable just the way they are.
We, like many of our parents, take a long term view of a child’s mental health journey and wrestle with questions like.
What is cost for a child or teenager if they don’t get timely care?
What if our patients don’t set up the systems and thinking needed to know
1) when they are doing okay
2) when they need assistance and
3) the practical side of how to manage behaviours and tasks like independently taking medication
Our hope and focus as a clinic is to work alongside children, their families and other support structures (e.g. psychologists, paediatricians, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other allied health) to build the thinking and habits necessary for adulthood.
Our Services: What do patients see us for?
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We offer thorough psychiatric assessments that take into account your child’s developmental history, emotional health, behaviour, and school functioning.
What you get from us is honesty and the rigorous independent clinical judgement of our clinical staff.
Using the information gained through the assessment, we create a personalised treatment plan that may include psychological strategies, support for parents, school collaboration, and where appropriate, medication.
We believe that clear communication, shared decision-making, and ongoing support are key to successful outcomes.
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We listen to our parents and carergivers know who sometimes feel that something is missing or something does not feel right.
We support children and teens experiencing anxiety disorders, social anxiety, problems with making friends, depression, school-related stress, sleep issues, ADHD, autism and more.
Why did we choose a Telehealth approach?
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We understand that with many children and adolescents that it may not be easy to leave their home for various reasons. Telehealth provides an opportunity for our patients to be seen in an environment where they feel safe, comfortable and protected.
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Whether you are in the more metropolitan areas:
like the Shire, Bondi or Eastern Suburbs, Hills District, Windsor or North Shore, Inner West
or live in places like Braddon, Deakin, Fyshwick, Queanbeyan, Kambah in Canberra
Melbourne
Hobart
Adelaide
Perth
finding a child and adolescent psychiatrist with open books can be challenging.
Telehealth means there are less geographic barriers for you to get access to the mental health care you and your family need.
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Traveling to the capital cities on a regular basis can take a toll both financial, emotionally and time-wise for families who live in more regional areas of Australia who may need periodical or regular psychiatric care or mental health support .
By offering our service via telehealth to regional areas, many of our patients can get access to timely early intervention.
It is for these reasons that we choose to prove provide personalised assessment and treatment for children and adolescents via telehealth to regional areas in NSW, Victoria, SA, NT, WA, Canberra and Tasmania.