Light in the darkness. Understood before treated.
Aurora Psychiatry is named for the northern lights, a reminder that hope can appear when life feels darkest. Dr. Julakanti offers comprehensive, individualized care for the whole person, not just a diagnosis. If your family is exhausted, scared, or stuck after years of worry, you do not have to carry it alone.
“The moment a family finally exhales because someone understands.”
Calm, unhurried care built on listening, careful thinking, therapy, and medication only when it truly helps.
When a child is struggling, the whole family feels it.
Many families arrive after months or years of trying everything. A child may be failing school, refusing to go, melting down at home, or pulling away. Teens may feel judged before anyone has really listened. Parents are often told their child is lazy, oppositional, or dramatic, when something deeper is happening underneath.
Aurora was built for that moment when care needs to slow down, connect the dots, and bring light back into a home that has felt dark for too long.
Understanding first. Treatment second.
Dr. Julakanti believes meaningful psychiatric care begins with understanding the whole person, not simply reducing symptoms. His approach is therapy-informed, careful, and built for the long view.
Understand first
Influenced by psychodynamic psychotherapy, care starts with listening and formulation, paying attention to how emotional life, development, relationships, neurobiology, and environment shape what is happening. Patterns are connected over time rather than forced into a quick label that may not fit.
Medication when it fits
Medication is used thoughtfully and collaboratively when appropriate, as part of a broader plan that includes therapy. Families who have already been through too many prescriptions can also get help simplifying care to what truly makes sense.
Family in the room
Children do better when parents feel supported and understood. Care strengthens connection at home, at school, and in the community, with practical shifts that help patients and families function more confidently in daily life.
Dr. Jatin Julakanti, MD
Warm, meticulous care backed by serious training.
Dr. Jatin Julakanti, MD founded Aurora Psychiatry to practice psychiatry the way he would want for his own family: thoughtful, unhurried, and deeply personalized. His approach is grounded in careful listening, emotional understanding, and a developmentally guided lens that seeks to understand the whole person behind the symptoms.
Trained at UT Southwestern in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Julakanti works with children, teens, adults, and families across a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental concerns. In session, he employs warmth, humor, and thoughtful conversation to help patients feel safe and understood.
He is especially skilled in working with children and adolescents who feel misunderstood, including many patients with ADHD, autism, emotional dysregulation, school conflict, or complex medication histories that never fully made sense.
Carrying forward a legacy of compassionate care
Aurora Psychiatry carries forward part of the legacy of Dr. Baer Ackerman, a deeply beloved child psychiatrist whose compassion, warmth, and devotion shaped the lives of countless children and families across the Dallas community.
Dr. Ackerman believed psychiatry was never only about treating symptoms. It was about helping children feel understood, supported, and hopeful, often during the hardest stretches of their lives. His care was deeply personal, family-centered, and rooted in genuine human connection.
Dr. Julakanti had the privilege of learning directly from Dr. Ackerman and remains influenced by his example. Children deserve patience, dignity, careful understanding, and a doctor who truly sees them as people rather than diagnoses.
For many former patients and families of Dr. Ackerman, Aurora Psychiatry hopes to continue that spirit of thoughtful, compassionate care while honoring the extraordinary legacy he left behind.
One doctor. One relationship. Depth over quick fixes.
Therapy and medication management happen together when you see Dr. Julakanti.
Comprehensive evaluation
A thorough first look at symptoms, development, family history, school or work life, prior treatment, strengths, and what your family needs most right now.
Therapy + medication, together
Longer visits with psychotherapy and medication management in the same relationship, so care stays continuous, personal, and coherent.
ADHD, autism & neurodivergence
Care for ADHD, executive functioning, and neurodivergent children and teens, including autism. Support for procrastination, impulsivity, school struggle, shame, and the perfectionism that often hides underneath.
PCIT & PMT
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Parent Management Training when strengthening the parent-child bond, coaching parents through play and daily structure, and building clearer responses to difficult behavior at home is the right fit.
Family-centered care
Guidance for parents who want to understand what is driving symptoms, not just change behavior on the surface.
School visits & advocacy
Meeting your child at school helps clarify what is happening academically, socially, and emotionally in the setting where they spend much of their week. Dr. Julakanti can observe in the classroom, collaborate with teachers, and help with accommodations and support plans.
For kids who see the same world through a different lens.
Some children experience life like they are inside a fishbowl. They are present in the same reality as everyone else, but seeing it from a different angle. ADHD may be called laziness. Autism may be read as defiance. Anxiety may look like irritability. Shame may look like avoidance.
Dr. Julakanti works with respect and curiosity. The aim is not to erase difference, but to help your child understand themselves, reduce suffering, rebuild confidence, and move forward with stronger support at home and at school.
Psychiatric care across many presentations.
Dr. Julakanti treats a wide range of psychiatric conditions in children, adolescents, and adults.
ADHD and executive functioning
Autism and neurodivergence
Anxiety disorders and panic
OCD and related conditions
Depression and mood disorders
Bipolar disorder
PTSD and trauma-related symptoms
Psychotic disorders
Emotional dysregulation and irritability
Oppositional and disruptive behavior
Conduct and behavioral concerns
School refusal and academic difficulties
Sleep difficulties
Tic disorders and Tourette syndrome
Substance use disorders
Adjustment disorders and stress-related difficulties
Grief and bereavement
Social anxiety disorder
Separation anxiety
Selective mutism
Specific phobias
Intellectual disability with co-occurring psychiatric symptoms
Complex medication histories and polypharmacy
Longer visits for deeper care.
Initial evaluation
Typically 75 minutes
A thorough first look at symptoms, development, family history, school or work life, prior treatment, strengths, and what your family needs most right now. Care begins with careful listening and formulation, then we discuss treatment options and next steps together.
Medication + psychotherapy follow-up
Typically 45 minutes
Ongoing visits with psychotherapy and medication management in the same relationship. Care stays continuous, personal, and coherent rather than split between a prescriber you barely know and a therapist somewhere else.
Service fees
Aurora Psychiatry is private-pay and out-of-network by design. That structure protects longer appointments, real psychotherapy in-session, and care that is not squeezed into insurance's medication-only model. Superbills are provided when appropriate, and Dr. Julakanti works with families to pursue the best out-of-network reimbursement possible under your plan. Medicaid and Medicare do not permit out-of-network claims.
All fees are due at the time of service. Aurora Psychiatry accepts credit card, FSA, and HSA payment, and a card will be kept on file for every patient. Discounted rates are offered for same-day payment via Zelle, check, or cash.
Through the No Surprises Act, you have a right to a good faith estimate explaining how much your care may cost. Visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1-877-696-6775 for more information.
Start with a thoughtful conversation.
Reach out to request an appointment or learn whether Aurora Psychiatry may be a good fit for your child, family, or yourself. Dr. Julakanti serves children, adolescents, adults, and families across DFW through in-person and secure telehealth care.
Aurora Psychiatry is a small, highly personalized practice designed to provide thoughtful and attentive care. Advance notice around scheduling changes and timely payment help keep the practice running smoothly and focused on patients and families. Please note that initial messages are intended for scheduling and fit-related questions rather than urgent or emergency concerns.
Request an Appointment
Share a little about what you are looking for. Dr. Julakanti will follow up to discuss next steps.
Please do not use this form for emergencies. Aurora Psychiatry is not a crisis service. If this is an emergency, call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or contact 988. Submitting this form does not establish a doctor-patient relationship.