Better Thinking

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Conal Monaghan about dimensional models of personality disorder as well as the limitations and merits in the current diagnostic method. Dr Conal Monaghan was conferred his PhD (Clinical Psychology) from the ANU in 2019. He also graduated with a degree in marketing with a major in international business - but we don’t speak of the “dark” years. Currently, Conal works as a clinical psychologist at headspace Canberra, with PARSA’s PhD bootcamps, and as a lecturer and researcher at the ANU Research School of Psychology. Conal is lecturing on clinical assessment and statistics in the Master of Professional Practice program, and on psychometrics in the clinical psychology program. He is passionate about clinical research and assessment, dimensional models of personality disorder, clinician well-being, and working to improve youth / adolescent mental health. While writing his PhD thesis, Conal lived and researched in Trondheim, Norway and Phom Penh, Cam

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Nick Haslam about “concept creep” in the field of psychology and how it has reshaped many aspects of modern society. Nick Haslam is Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He received his BA(Hons) from the University of Melbourne, his MA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City before returning to Australia in 2002. Nick's research interests are in personality, social and clinical psychology and he has published 11 books and about 300 articles or book chapters in these and related areas. In addition to his academic writing, Nick contributes regularly to The Conversation, Inside Story and Australian Book Review, and he has also written for TIME, The Monthly, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Australian and two Best Australian Science Writing anthologies. Nick is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Society for Personality and Social

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Janet Hall about user-friendly strategies offering practical solutions to sexual and relationship issues. Dr. Janet Hall is a retired psychologist of 40 years and still working as a, hypnotherapist, sex therapist, author, professional speaker, trainer, and media consultant. Dr Jan consults regularly with print media and is a frequent guest on talk-back radio and current affairs shows. Dr Jan was a regular for two years on the Sex Life television program in Australia. Dr Jan user-friendly strategies offer practical solutions to sexual and relationship issues making her knowledge accessible for all. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/janet-hallSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Rebecca Collie about promoting and understanding educational settings to help both teachers and student thrive. Rebecca Collie is a Scientia Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the UNSW School of Education. She conducts research in the areas of motivation, wellbeing, and social-emotional development using quantitative research methods. Her research also encompasses related factors such as adaptability, engagement, interpersonal relationships, and achievement. She examines predictors and outcomes of these different factors among children, youth, and adults in educational settings. Broadly speaking, her research aims to identify how to best support and promote social, emotional, and academic/occupational thriving among students and teachers. Rebecca has been awarded over $1M in national and international grants, and government and non-government research tenders. Her publications include 80+ peer reviewed journal articles and book chapter

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Paul Fitzgerald about the development of novel brain stimulation treatment options including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for patients with depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD, autism and Alzheimer’s disease. Paul Fitzgerald is the Head of the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University. He is a qualified psychiatrist, has a MBBS degree, Masters of Psychological Medicine and research PhD from Monash University. He has conducted an extensive range of more than 20 clinical trials, especially focussed on the development of novel brain stimulation treatment options including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for patients with depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD, autism and Alzheimer’s disease. He has had continual NHMRC grant support for over 20 years and over $10 million in research support in the last 5 years. He has published sev

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Divna Haslam about child maltreatment and the findings of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study, which conducted the first prevalence data of child maltreatment in Australia. Dr Divna Haslam is a clinical psychologist and family researcher based in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology, working in the area of childhood adversity. She holds an adjunct appointment at the Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland where she conducts parenting-related work and research supervision. The overarching theme of her research is how to best ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive and have safe, loving, non-violent childhoods. This has spanned clinical intervention development and evaluation of evidence-based behavioural family interventions (Triple P), specific work with families in different contexts (e.g., working parents, parents across different cultures), and epidemiological and population health i

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Helen Joyce about the transgender experience, exploring the complexities of identity, reality, and ideology. Helen Joyce is an Irish journalist and critic of the transgender rights movement. She studied as a mathematician and worked in academia before becoming a journalist. Joyce began working for The Economist as education correspondent for its Britain section in 2005 and has since held several senior positions, including finance editor and international editor. She is the author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, which was named as one of the books of the year in 2021 by the Observer, Spectator and Times. It analyses the recent trend towards sidelining biological sex in favour of self-declared “gender identity”. The Sunday Times praised it as a “searing and at times devastating analysis”, and the New York Times as an “intelligent, thorough rejoinder to an idea that has swept across much of the liberal world seemingly overnight”. Episode link a

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Jodie Fleming about understanding chronic illness management to finding values during difficult times. Dr Jodie Fleming is a Clinical and Health Psychologist; Positive Psychology Practitioner; Australia’s only certified Run Walk Talk Therapist; author, and wellness retreat leader. Jodie has an extensive history of working in the areas of mental health and chronic illness, but currently enjoys working as a School Psychologist in Warrnambool, and running her private practice, The Psychology of It.  Her latest venture as co-director of Being Well Collective is where Jodie truly thrives, having turned a career into a calling, helping humans flourish, in collaboration with one of her favourite humans, Eve Drew.  Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/jodie-fleming Links: Dr Jodie Fleming of The Psychology of It (website)Being Well CollectiveA Hole in My Genes (book)@drjodiefleming (social media)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Ilan Dar-Nimrod about the effects of perceived genetic aetiology for various phenomena. Dr. Ilan Dar-Nimrod is an Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Sydney. Ilan has completed his BA with a double major at Haifa University and his MA and PhD (social psychology) at the University of British Columbia. Ilan’s main research focus is social cognition – the manner in which our social world affects our cognition. Within this focus, he concentrates on understanding how a deeply rooted psychological mechanism – Psychological Essentialism – is involved in categorising people into groups, leading to a host of effects on people’s beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. In addition to this main line of research, he maintains ongoing research foci on a number of topics, such as existential social and clinical psychology, sexuality, gender psychology, and the psychology of religion. His research on this topic appeared in myriad of prestigiou

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Kristie Miller about the nature of time, perspectives of time, and temporal experience. Professor Kristie Miller took up an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Queensland in Jan of 2006. In July of that 2006 Prof Miller moved to Sydney with the grant and in January of 2009 she was awarded a University of Sydney DVC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Since 2011, Prof Miller has been a Senior ARC Research Fellow and is currently joint Director of the Centre for Time. Prof Miller joins me today to discuss the nature of time, perspectives of time, how we make decisions and some fascinating empirical finding she has worked on. I really enjoyed this discussion as it stretched my mind and raised lots of questions for me to continue considering in my therapy and also in myself. Hope you enjoy the conversation. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/kristie-millerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Alexander Holcombe about the replication crisis, trust in science, and the causes of the replication crisis. Alex Holcombe is a professor at the University of Sydney, who received his PhD in psychology from Harvard University in 2000. He has a strong interest in improving scientific practices and has been involved in the Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-research and Open Science, the Free Journal Network, PLoS ONE, the WikiJournal of Science, and the creation of the tenzing.club web app to promote scientific collaboration. As well as doing meta-science, Alex conducts psychology experiments on topics such as how humans keep track of moving objects. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/alexander-holcombeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr. Celine van Golde about the reliability of children as eyewitnesses and how that research has informed memory for repeated crimes (such as domestic violence) in adults. Dr. Celine van Golde is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on the reliability of eyewitness memory in children and adults, both for one-off and repeated events. Specifically, how interviewing techniques in forensic settings, such as those used by police, lawyers and judges can affect memory accuracy. She gives annual guest lectures within the NSW Police Force Child Abuse Training Program, as well as advising judges and lawyers on issues related to eyewitness memory. She is further the founder and director of Not Guilty; the Sydney exoneration project, which assesses cases of potential wrongful convictions. While applying her work in in a legal context, her expertise lies within psychology. Episode link at https://neshnik

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Fiona Kumfor about social cognition in clinical syndromes with a focus on dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Fiona Kumfor holds a Masters of Clinical Neuropsychology from Macquarie University and a PhD in Neuroscience from University of New South Wales. She is currently an NHMRC Career Development Fellow, Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and registered Clinical Neuropsychologist with AHPRA. Combining her clinical training in neuropsychology and research expertise in cognitive neuroscience her work investigates social cognition in clinical syndromes with a focus on dementia, and aims to improve diagnosis and prognosis of dementia, while also informing neurobiological models of complex human behaviours. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/fiona-kumforSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Micah Goldwater about understanding the psychology of pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Dr Micah Goldwater received his BA in Linguistics from the University of Rochester in 2003, completed his PhD in Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009, and then held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern University until joining the University of Sydney in 2013. Dr. Goldwater's research investigates the nature, acquisition, and use of knowledge. This work focuses on how children and adults can look past the superficial to recognize when disparate situations, problems, or ideas share deep structural commonalities. He examines both basic processes of cognition and development, their underlying neural mechanisms, and develops applications to improve education and public health. To achieve these broad research goals, Dr. Goldwater investigates a number of interrelated topics such understanding the psychology of pseudoscience and conspira

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Stephen Hinshaw about his work on developmental psychopathology, clinical interventions with young people and addressing mental illness stigma in the community. Stephen Hinshaw is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was Department Chair from 2004-2011. He is also Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his B.A. from Harvard (summa cum laude) and, after directing school programs and residential summer camps, his doctorate in clinical psychology from UCLA, before performing a post-doctoral fellowship at the Langley Porter Institute of UC San Francisco.   His work focuses on developmental psychopathology, clinical interventions with children and adolescents (particularly mechanisms underlying therapeutic change), and mental illness stigma. He has directed research programs and conducted clinical trials and longitudinal stu

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Christopher Hunt about gambling addiction, gambling treatment, and clinical phenomena observed in gambling clients. Dr Christopher John Hunt is the Senior Clinical Supervisor at the University of Sydney'sGambleAware clinics, which are responsible for co-ordinating government-funded gambling treatment throughout Central, Western and South-Western Sydney, operating out of the University's Brain and Mind Centre. Dr Hunt first began work at the University in the then-titled Gambling Treatment Clinic in early 2007. Since then, he has gained wide recognition for his work with problem gamblers. He has published work on clinical phenomena observed in gambling clients, has been asked to testify before both federal and state parliamentary committees on gambling, has been extensively quoted on gambling in local, national and international media, and has written several pieces on gambling for lay audiences. He is also responsible for co-ordinating clinical s

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Alina Morawska about promoting positive family relationships as an early intervention tool to promote lifelong health and wellbeing. Alina Morawska is the Deputy Director (Research) at the Parenting and Family Support Centre, The University of Queensland. Her research focuses on behavioural family intervention as a means for promoting positive family relationships, and the prevention and early intervention for young children at risk of developing behavioural and emotional problems. In particular, her focus is on improving the health and overall wellbeing of children and families. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Queensland in 2004, for which she received the Australian Psychological Society’s Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology Award. She has published extensively in the field of parenting and family intervention and has received numerous grants to support her research. She is a Director of the Australian Association

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Blake McKimmie about the influence of gender-based stereotypes and the influence of different modes of evidence presentation in jury decision-making. Blake McKimmie joined the School of Psychology at UQ in 2007 having previously been a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. Blake won a Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2010 and a University of Queensland Teaching Excellence Award in 2016. He led a team that won the AAUT Higher Education Teacher of the Year award in 2019, and received the edX Prize in 2018. He currently teaches a second year elective about psychology and law. His research focuses on jury decision-making including the influence of gender-based stereotypes and the influence of different modes of evidence presentation. He is also interested in group membership and attitude-behaviour relations and how group membership influences thinking about the self. He is a leading instructor of the award-winning course: CRIME101x and th

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Fiona White about the development of effective strategies to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. Fiona White was awarded her PhD in 1997 by the University of Sydney. She is now a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Sydney, and the Director of the Sydney University Psychology of Intergroup Relations (SUPIR) Lab. She is recognized internationally for advancing new and effective strategies such as cooperative contact, dual identity recategorization and perspective tacking to promote positive intergroup relations in the short- and long-term. Across her career, Fiona has published over 90 peer-reviewed publications and her work has been cited over 4000 times. One of Fiona’s most significant research contributions has been the development of the E-contact intervention, a synchronous online tool that has been found to reduce anxiety, prejudice and stigma. E-contact has been shown to successfully improve intergroup relations between: M

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Frankie Fong about overimitation and the role of social learning in the development of scientific and religious beliefs and behaviours. Dr Frankie Fong is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Psychology at UQ. His research interests lie broadly in social learning and overimitation, with a particular focus on factors that modulate children's conformity vs eschewal of normative approaches. Frankie is actively involved in cross-cultural research and has established a fieldsite for developmental psychology research in East Malaysia. His current research focuses on the role of social learning in the development of scientific and religious beliefs and behaviours. He is also developing a series of studies that compares children's learning and perception of information conveyed across different presentation mediums (e.g., digital-screens, books and in-person). Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/frankie-fongSee omnystudio.com/listener f