Better Thinking

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Philip Jean-Richard Dit Bressel about his research on neural circuitry using animal models to explore reward and punishment paradigms, their impact on decision-making processes, alongside a discussion on the gamification of research protocols in human studies. Dr Philip Jean-Richard Dit Bressel is a behavioural neuroscientist at UNSW School of Psychology. Currently investigating psychobiological mechanisms of motivated learning by combining precision neuroscience techniques (e.g fibre photometry, optogenetics) with behavioural paradigms and multi-pronged analysis approaches. His research endeavors to unveil the psychology and biology underlying the acquisition of associations between environmental cues, behavior, and outcomes, enabling adaptive behavioral modifications. His primary focus lies in unraveling the mechanisms of punishment learning, particularly how individuals discern actions leading to adverse outcomes. This investigation holds significance in comprehending and enhancing decision-making processes in daily life. Furthermore, it holds relevance in various conditions marked by deficiencies in punishment learning, including substance and behavioral addictions (such as drug addiction and gambling disorder), psychopathy (such as antisocial personality disorder), and depression. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/philip-jean-richard-dit-bresselSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Michael Kasumovic about how humans respond to status both percieved and actual and how this can moderate specific behaviour. Michael Matthew Kasumovic is an Associate Professor at University of New South Wales and Teacher & Director of Arludo. His research explores how the social environment shapes the evolution of individual traits and behaviours. In this broad research question, Michael has explored how access to resources in insects, animals and humans moderates evolutionary decisions. Interestingly, Michael has worked with insects such as spiders and crickets to explore how changes in the density of males and females affects developmental decisions, and the outcome this has for how individuals perform and age. Michael's research on humans explores how our evolutionary history can explain gender differences in the video games we choose to play and how this affects how we perceive ourselves and behave. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/michael-kasumovicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Tayla Degan about health literacy and how important it is to consider both as a clinican and as a consumer of health services. Dr Tayla Degan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales, Australia. She is also a registered Clinical Psychologist working in private practice at Beachside Physiotherapy and Psychology, Cronulla NSW. She has research expertise and interest in populations of people living with mental health and substance use disorders. Her PhD research focused on the health literacy of people accessing specialist mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Tayla has experience working across multiple research trials and projects, including the evaluation of treatment services, implementation of a telephone-based continuing care intervention for people discharged from residential treatment services, and is currently involved in a Phase-3 randomised controlled trial examining mirtazapine as a pharmacotherapy treatment option for methamphetamine dependence. Tayla also has a strong interest in online interventions for substance use disorders, health literacy interventions, and using co-design. Tayla has a passion for teaching and inspiring the next generation of psychologists and has lectured across multiple Australian universities. Finally, Tayla runs her own business (Our Mind Space Psychology), alongside colleague and Clinical Psychologist Kendall Allsop, running group therapy programs for adults with ADHD. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/tayla-deganSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Natalie Taylor about the complexity and importance of implementation scientists and the factors that go into behaviour change within systems. Natalie Taylor is an implementation scientist. She works both in a research and consulting capacity to help develop and apply optimal ways for organisations to adopt and rollout evidence based initiatives into practice with the goal of improving outcomes for patients and health-workers. Natalie’s work involves collaborating with academic, health, and non-profit organisations across NSW, Australia, and internationally. Natalie is pioneering a combination of implementation research with statistical modeling and health economics to test the cost-effectiveness of implementation interventions and explore ways to identify the active ingredients behind successful implementation of new treatments, technologies, policies, and guidelines. Natalie develops and delivers behaviour change workshops and toolkits for healthcare professionals to facilitate and test the impact of the transfer of research evidence into practice. Natalie currently leads a program of work focusing on implementation in genetics, genomics, and cancer care. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/natalie-taylorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, Cambodia, received the NTNU promising young researcher award and Steven Klimidis award for clinical psychology, and presented his research at a range of national and international conferences. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/conal-monaghanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Psychology, and the Association for Psychological Science. At his university Nick is a leader in the social psychology group and co-director of the Mental Health PhD program. In the past he has been Head of the School of Psychological Sciences, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate), a member of the ARC College of Experts, and President of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/nick-haslamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 chapters, 1 co-edited book, along with over 25 publications for professional audiences. Her research features regularly in print and online media articles and podcasts, and she has delivered invited/keynote presentations to academic, community, and educational organisations. Her work has been recognised with several honours including an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (2020-2023), the Richard E. Snow Award for Early Career Research Contributions from the American Psychological Association Division 15 (2021), and the Outstanding Early Career Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association Division C (2020). Prior to that, she was awarded the Young Scientist Award from the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (2018), and Outstanding Reviewer for the American Educational Research Journal (2016). She is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology, Consulting Editor of Educational Psychology, and an Editorial Board Member for Learning and Instruction, Teaching and Teacher Education, Social Psychology of Education, Educational and Developmental Psychologist, and Theory into Practice. She has held Visiting Research Fellowships at the University of Oxford, Université Laval, and the University of British Columbia. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada, and previously worked as a primary school teacher in Melbourne. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/rebecca-collieSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 several books, over 500 journal articles and been cited over 20,000 times. He has established multiple clinical rTMS services, founded several device and clinical service companies and the first rTMS training program in Australia. He led a national application to the Department of Health at the Federal Government level and this resulted in Medicare funding $283 million in year 1 of rTMS therapy for patients with depression in 2021. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/paul-fitzgeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 in Australia and parenting in China. Her work uses a population health perspective with a prevention focus. As an academic she has over >60 published peer-reviewed papers primarily in Q1 journals as well as invited chapters and a range of clinical resources including a number of clinical and research instruments including the Work and Family Conflict Scale and the Guilt About Parenting Scale and the Workplace Triple P Program. she has received $>1.7 million in external research funding. She has substantial experience in consulting with various governments (eg Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK) about the implementation of evidence-based parenting programs and more recently about the identification and prevention of child maltreatment and other childhood adversity. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/divna-haslamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.