Dr. Alexa Bagnell is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at IWK Health and a nationally recognized leader in child and youth mental health. She joined IWK Health in 2003 after completing her medical training at Dalhousie University and postgraduate training in psychiatry and child psychiatry at Harvard University. She is also a Professor in Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University.
In summer 2026, Dr. Bagnell completed her two terms as Chief of Psychiatry and Division Head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a role she held for more than a decade. During her tenure, she provided clinical and system leadership focused on improving access, quality and responsiveness of mental health and addictions care for children, youth and families across Nova Scotia and the Maritimes.
Dr. Bagnell’s clinical and research interests include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, early intervention, mental health literacy and help-seeking. She co-founded IWK’s Treatment of Anxiety Group and established the IWK OCD Clinic, the first of its kind in Eastern Canada.
Dr. Bagnell will continue as psychiatry lead for the OCD Specific Care Clinic and take on new leadership roles as physician co-lead of Integrated Youth Services and clinical leadership support for the Intensive Services Transformation.
