At NorthWestern Private Clinic, we have a highly experienced team of mental health professionals which includes psychiatrists, psychologist, neuropsychologist, mental health nurse practitioner and occupational therapist.

Dr Neeraj Aggarwal

Psychiatrist
MBBS, MD (Psych), FRANZCP

Dr Neeraj Aggarwal is a general adult psychiatrist who has been working both in public and private sectors in North-Western suburbs for over 10 years and holds a consultant post in public sector.
He has more than 16 years of experience in Mental Health
He has worked as a consultant psychiatrist in various metropolitan and regional mental health services (Latrobe hospital, Warrnambool Base hospital, Albany MHS, Armadale Health Services, Perth Mental health service, Bendigo, Tasmania Mental Health Service) and also in various clinical settings (Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team, Acute Psychiatry, ED and community)
Dr Neeraj Aggarwal is the Principal consultant psychiatrist for inpatient admission at Essendon Private Clinic and he is accredited for providing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
SPECIAL INTERESTS
Diagnostic Assessment for Psychiatric Conditions and Management Plans. Psychosis, Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder ) OCD, Panic Disorder, PTSD, Treatment-resistant Psychiatric conditions.
Psychotropic Medications Review in Complex Psychiatric Conditions and Comorbid Medical Conditions.
TAC, Work Cover Cases and DVA patients.

Dr Ruwangi Malevenna

Psychiatrist
MBBS, MD (Psych), FRANZCP

Ruwangi is a female consultant psychiatrist with over 15 years of experience in clinical psychiatry. She works on part time basis for Mercy Health as a consultant psychiatrist at inpatient unit. She also works in private practice in several clinics in North Western suburbs.
She has worked as the authorized consultant psychiatrist for South West Health Service. She has gained vast experience while working as a consultant psychiatrist for various public mental health services namely, North West Mental Health, Northern Health, South West Mental Health and Mercy Health.
She also holds strong academic interest and has recently held a post of a Senior Lecture for medical school of Deakin University and has published research papers in peer review journals.
Her main areas of interest are anxiety and mood disorders, women’s’ mental health, youth mental health, trauma related mental health disorders and psychosis.
She is familiar with working closely with general practitioners and families of patients in order to deliver comprehensive care. She believes in importance of providing appropriate combination of biological treatments and psychological therapies to optimize the benefits to the patients.

Dr Meenal Aggarwal

Psychiatrist
MBBS, MPM, FRANZCP
Certificate of Advanced Training in Psychiatry of Old Age, Chair, Victorian Brach, Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry, RANZCP

Dr Meenal specializes in Older Person Mental Health conditions such as dementia, memory impairment, mood disorder, anxiety disorders and psychosis, cognitive assessment, dementia assessment and management of Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
She holds a consultant psychiatrist post in one of the largest metropolitan mental health services and also works in private sector. Dr Meenal also teaches medical students and provides supervision to the doctors. 
Dr. Meenal is fluent in Hindi and Punjabi languages
SPECIAL INTERESTS
Diagnostic Assessment for Older person Psychiatric conditions and treatment, cognitive assessment, diagnosis and assessment of other psychiatric conditions and Management Plans.

Dr Sachin Jindal  

Psychiatrist MBBS, MD, FRANZCP

Sachin is consultant  psychiatrist with over a decade of experience in mental health in Australia and overseas. He works in both public and private sector. He is fluent in Hindi.

Dr Thilini Jayasooriya

Psychiatrist
MBBS. MD (Psychiatry), FRANZCP

Dr. Thilini Jayasooriya is a Consultant Psychiatrist working in both public and private sectors at North Western suburbs of Melbourne. She is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists with 12 years of experience in Clinical Psychiatry in both Australia and overseas.
Her interests are mood, anxiety and trauma related disorders, ADHD, youth mental health, women’s mental health, comorbid addiction disorders and personality disorders.
She treats adults aged between 18-65 years, young people aged 16-24 years and older adults.
She is experienced in working with consumers of different cultural backgrounds and interpreters, and with families especially when working with young people.
She is also fluent in English and Sinhala.

Dr Rohan Mendonsa

MBBS, MD, FRANZCP

Dr Rohan Mendonsa is a Consultant Psychiatrist working in both Public and Private sectors in North Western suburbs of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He completed his MBBS in 2002, and MD in Psychiatry in 2007 in India. He was conferred as a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry in 2021.

Dr Mendonsa has more than 16 years of experience of working as a Psychiatrist. While in India, in addition to private practice he worked in various academic positions in clinical psychiatry, and has several scientific publications in the field of psychiatry. He was a Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Yenepoya University, India for 3 years before he migrated to Australia. Dr Mendonsa has been working in the public mental health system in Australia since early 2018, and is also into private practice since early 2022.

Dr Mendonsa is particularly interested in Treatment of Depression and Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety and trauma related disorders, and Adult ADHD. He treats young people (aged 16 years and above), adults and older adults.

Dr Mendonsa is experienced in working collaboratively with people of different backgrounds, and firmly believes in holistic care involving Biopsychosocial domains for better treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction. He is fluent in English, and several Indian languages including Hindi, Kannada and Konkani.

Neelu A Shukla

Clinical Psychologist
MPhil. ClinPsy, MA Counselling Registered with APHRA

Neelu is a Clinical Psychologist with thirteen years of experience which includes clinical work in public and private sectors, research work as coordinator and rater in international multicenter Phase III trials, teaching masters level psychology students in India and clinical
work in private sector in Melbourne.
Neelu’s area of interest in private practice is psychotherapy for adults. She works with high prevalence common mental disorders such as Anxiety disorders, Mild Depression, Stress and Trauma related presentations, and serious mental disorders like Bipolar Affective
Disorder.
Neelu also works with people diagnosed with Personality disorders. She uses an eclectic mix of Evidence based Structured therapies such as Supportive Therapy, Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to suit each individual’s unique needs.
With warmth and professionalism, Neelu works collaboratively with her clients and their treating professionals, to build better understanding, enhance their coping new skills, and progress towards one’s personal goals. She aims at empowering clients and helping them
gain greater life satisfaction.
Neelu is fluent in English as well as Hindi.

Mishelle Baji

Clinical Psychologist
Master of Clinical psychology and Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with Honours

Area of interest: Children and adolescent (12 years and above), adults, older adults and couples.

Mishelle is a dedicated Clinical Psychologist with an extensive career spanning over 15 years across Australia and Singapore. She has worked in many setting including Veterans, in academia, in the community, in Drug and Alcohol, as well as in private practice.

She works with many presentations, including but not limited to people with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, alcohol addictions and symptoms of ADHD. Her clientele ranges from adults and children to couples.

She uses evidence-based therapy such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

She believes in obtaining a thorough assessment, having a sound case formulation, and working together with the client on therapy goals and working towards change with validation. She is also a registered board-approved supervisor.

She can see NDIS, TAC, Work cover and DVA clients.

Karuna Thakur

Clinical Psychologist
Master of Clinical psychology

Special interest in Eating Disorders, Neurodevelopmental and Complex Personality Disorders.

Karuna Thakur is an experienced clinical psychologist with a specialisation in the assessment and treatment of complex eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and pre- and post-operative care for bariatric surgery patients. Her expertise extends to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as complex personality disorders. Dr. Thakur currently serves in the Orygen Eating Disorders Specialist Stream, part of the North Western Mental Health service, where she provides comprehensive care within Victoria’s largest tertiary care mental health service.  She provides compassionate, evidence-based care tailored for individuals and families.

In her practice, she can see Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, Adults, and Older Persons. 

Clinical Interests:

Karuna’s therapeutic approach is tailored to meet the unique needs of individuals and families, covering a wide range of mental health concerns. Her areas of focus include:

Eating Disorders: Diagnostic assessment and evidence-based treatment for eating disorders (CBT-E, MANTRA, SSCM)

Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Comprehensive management of Autism and ADHD across the lifespan

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Complex Personality Disorders

Couples Therapy: Certified in Gottman Couples Therapy (Level 1 and 2)

Grief and Loss Therapy

Qualifications:

Karuna holds a double Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, complemented by extensive supervised training in diverse therapeutic modalities, including:

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (USA)

Emotion-Focused Therapy

Complex Trauma Training

Gottman Couples Therapy 

AHPRA Registered Psychologist with Endorsement in Clinical Psychology (Reg. No. PSY0002498077)