Dr Aaron Fernandez has worked in mental health for more than two decades, including over 15 years as a consultant psychiatrist across public hospital and private telehealth settings in Malaysia and Australia. He is currently a Staff Specialist at the Nepean Hospital Mental Health Centre, working in the acute inpatient unit, and previously spent close to a decade as a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer at a university teaching hospital in Malaysia. He has also published fifteen peer-reviewed papers on subjects including schizophrenia care, mental health stigma, and the role of psychological support in chronic illness.
Dr Fernandez sees adults and older adults with a broad range of presentations. He has a particular interest in the assessment and management of ADHD in adults, taking a neurodiversity-affirming approach that helps people understand how their mind works, recognise their strengths, and build practical strategies for day to day life. He also works with complex and long-standing mental illness, and supports people through changes to their medication.
He views good psychiatric care as sound medical treatment delivered through a working relationship, not a plan handed to a patient. That means explaining what is going on in plain terms, discussing the options and the trade-offs, and making decisions together, so that people leave a consultation understanding their own mental health rather than just their prescription. He aims to provide a safe, non-judgmental space where people are encouraged to take an active part in their care, and he places a high value on building trust over time.
He also looks beyond symptoms to the practical things that affect how someone is coping, including sleep, work, relationships, and physical health. Where talking therapy would help, he will refer, and he stays in regular contact with GPs, psychologists, and other treating clinicians so that care remains coordinated.
