Psychiatry at LifeWise
Dr Rajshree Hariharan
M.B.B.S. M.D. (India), FRANZCP
Dr Hariharan has 20 years experience in Psychiatry working in many different settings and treating a wide variety of conditions prior to completing her advanced training in General Audit Psychiatry and becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australia and New Zealand college of Psychiatry in 2014.
Rajshree is very passionate about providing interventions that include a combination of medication along with an array of non-pharmalogical interventions. Rajshree uses the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She also provides psychotherapy using the framework of Mentalisation Based Therapy.
Dr Hariharan especially enjoys working with women and young adults who are struggling with life challenges and are keen to have support to make long term changes.
Dr Hariharan undertakes medication reviews and develops management plans for people with a wide variety of common mental health problems.
Dr Hariharan is available at The LifeWise Centre Maitland clinic only.
To request an initial appointment please:
Ask your GP to send through a referral addressed to Dr Hariharan outlining the reasons for your appointment, listing your current medical situation and any previous diagnosis and including any background reports.
The above referral is received and reviewed by Dr Hariharan who will then advise if she is able to see you, this process can take up to 7 days.
The LifeWise Centre Clinic will notify you about whether we are able to proceed with an appointment.
Please note: The doctor is often booked out for new patients, 9-12 months in advance.
The following services are not available through Dr Hariharan:
WorkCover related appointments
Driver’s Licence reviews including commercial licence reviews
Firearms reviews
If you are seeking assessment and medication for ADHD, Please read the steps in that process which are outlined in the section below.
Current Patients:
If you need an out of session script, please complete the form by clicking here. Please note in order for doctor to comply with the Department of Health she can only provide an out of appointment script if you have attended regular follow-up appointments.
Please note out of session scripts can take up to 5 working days to receive.
It is the patient’s responsibility to monitor and ensure that they have a current GP referral in place in order to access Medicare rebates. You can call the office to check on the date of your last referral or you can liaise with your GP office to keep track.
ADHD Medication Process
Assessment for suitability of ADHD Medications involves an extensive process that includes:
A minimum of 2-3 sessions for assessment. Upon completion of these sessions there will be a discussion about appropriateness and usefulness of medications and if required, alternate options.
Previous doctor’s assessments where diagnosis have been previously determined.
Information about your childhood from someone who has know you as a child (parent, older brother etc). This could be a phone conversation if they are not local.
Provision of school reports.
Basic physical health check including screening questions for physical health during the session, a blood test and an ECG. Where required other tests may be requested for further evaluation of suitability of medications.
In certain situations, there may be a need for a second opinion from another Psychiatrist prior to medications being prescribed. This would be discussed with you in session.
Where appropriate specific approval may be required from the Department of Health to prescribe certain stimulants. This process can take up to three weeks to occur and prescriptions can be delayed until approval is received