Better Thinking

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Renee Adair about End of Life Doulas and how their services provide support, options, and education assisting the needs of those who are facing death. Renee Adair is the founder and director of the Australian Doula College, the Groundwork Program and the ADC’s charity-arm Doula Heart Network. She first began working with women and babies in 1994 as a massage and Aromatherapist and Reiki Practitioner and in 1998 after the home births of her two biological children she began studying and working as a Doula and Childbirth and Early Parenting Educator. Renee then worked for the Australian Red Cross at a young women’s health program/refuge in Sydney’s East, setting up both the outreach and childbirth and early parenting education programs for that service. Working In collaboration, Renee helped produce the first research on Doulas in Australia which was published in the Journal of Perinatal Education in 2013. She has spoken on a variety of radio programmes, at conferences and seminars and is a regular contributor for a range of publications, websites and podcasts. Renee has worked to change the way we think about Doula support launching an End of Life Doula Training for the College in 2021 with a view for the wider community to see Doula support though a broader lens, supporting all major life transitions, not just in the birthing space. In 2019 Renee proudly partnered with Charles Darwin University to co facilitate Accredited Doula training for Indigenous women in the remote First Nations community of Galiwin’ku. She now sits on the official Galiwin’ku steering committee to restore Birthing on Country. Renee has sat on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Australian College of Midwives, trained thousands of Doulas and supported hundreds of women, their partners and families through pregnancy, birth, early parenting and end of life over the course of her career. A fierce advocate for human rights, the proud mother of three adult children and three grandkids, blends her life’s work, spending downtime with her family, friends and fur babies. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/renee-adairSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Michael Duhig about medicinal cannabis trials and research for treating various symptoms in children. Michael Duhig is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist who has completed post-graduate training in Psychology and Health Management. While completing his studies, Michael developed his clinical skills in government and non-government sectors specifically focused on Child and Youth Mental Health. Michael has experience in counselling children and adolescents experiencing a range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, emotional and behavioural regulation, trauma, and relationship issues. Being heavily involved in sport and a former international rugby union player, Michael is able to weave physical activity into therapy to engage and benefit clients. Michael is also proficient in academic and cognitive assessments. When not practising clinically, Michael is the Clinical Research Manager for the Centre for Clinical Trials in Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CCTRND) at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. Within this role Michael and the team work to provide novel therapies to clients with rare-genetic conditions. Outside of these roles, Michael is regularly invited to guest lecture at UQ where he holds an adjunct appointment and also QUT. Michael’s research interests have led to publishing several articles related to Autism, childhood trauma and readmission to inpatient units. Michael is also a panel member of the Mental Health Scholarships Scheme for Allied Health Professionals and serves as the Chair of the APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists for Queensland. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/michael-duhigSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Alex Haslam about identity leadership and its implications in social and organisational settings. Alex Haslam is Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology and Australian Laureate Fellow at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on the study of group and identity processes in organizational, social, and clinical contexts. Together with colleagues, Alex has written and edited 15 books and published over 300 peer-reviewed articles on these topics. His most recent books are The New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure (with Catherine Haslam, Jolanda Jetten, Tegan Cruwys and Genvieve Dingle, Routledge, 2018),The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power (2nd Ed. with Stephen Reicher & Michael Platow, Psychology Press, 2020), and Social Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies (2nd Ed. with Joanne Smith, Sage, 2017). Alex is a former Chief Editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology and currently Associate Editor of The Leadership Quarterly. In 2005 he won the European Association of Social Psychology's Kurt Lewin Medal for outstanding scientific contribution; in 2013 he won the International Leadership Association's Outstanding Leadership Book Award for The New Psychology of Leadership (with Steve Reicher and Michael Platow); in 2016 he won the British Psychology Society Presidents' Award for distinguished contributions to psychological knowledge; in 2017 he won the International Society for Political Psychology's Sanford Prize for distinguished contributions to political psychology, and the Australian Psychological Society's Workplace Excellence Award for Leadership Development (with Nik Steffens & Kim Peters); in 2018 he won the Australian Psychological Society's Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Science. In 2019 and 2020 Alex was recognised by Publons as a highly-cited cross field researcher. In 2022 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia "for significant service to higher education, particuarly psychology, through research and mentoring". Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/alex-haslamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Gwen Adshead about the psychological mechanisms that give rise to violence and life threatening behaviour toward others. Dr. Gwen Adshead is one of the UK’s leading forensic psychiatrists and psychotherapists. She has spent thirty years working in Broadmoor, England’s largest secure psychiatric hospital, with groups and individual patients convicted of serious violent offences, as well as with people in prisons and in the community. Gwen has a Master’s degree in medical law and ethics and has published several academic books and over one hundred papers and commissioned articles on forensic psychotherapy, moral reasoning and ethics, and attachment theory. She is a founder member of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy and has been a visiting professor at Yale University and Gresham College in the UK. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/gwen-adsheadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Alice Shires about the possible effects of mindfulness training on anger, grief, and chronic pain. Dr Alice Shires is a Clinical and Research Psychologist, Director of the UTS Psychology Clinic. She was Chair of the Australasian Psychology Clinic Directors association (AAPTC) for over a decade and is a member of the NSW Mental Health Tribunal and Health Professions Council Australia. She was an inaugural board member of ACPA. She has long been involved in research and development of teaching, supervision and training in clinical psychology. Particularly in the areas of ethical and professional practice, the process of supervision and assessment of competencies in clinical psychology, and the inclusion of mindfulness training in the Clinical Psychology training process. She has established the Mindfulness-integrated Research Clinic at UTS and her PhD research includes the efficacy of Mindfulness interventions in chronic pain. Alice is a training adviser at the Institute of MiCBT and a senior trainer of MiCBT. She has recently, co-development of the Equanimity scale 16 and co-authored The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness‐integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Wiley, 2018). She is a long standing Vipassana meditation practitioner and yoga teacher. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/alice-shiresSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Tanya Cole-Lesnick about why a group is powerful for the same reason that it's intimidating to join. Tanya Cole-Lesnick has been a licensed clinical social worker since 1995, after receiving her master’s degree in social work from New York University. She has extensive experience in both outpatient hospital mental health and private practice settings. Tanya’s role at the Lighthouse is both as Director of Client Programs and as psychotherapist. In her role as Director of Client Programs, she focuses on the vision of what the Lighthouse offers to clients—always striving for the most impactful, innovative, and effective offerings. With that intention in mind, she works to ensure that communication amongst the Lighthouse team and flow of work with clients goes as smoothly as possible. In her role as psychotherapist, Tanya helps people to address issues related to anxiety, depression, relationships, careers, self-esteem, life transitions, day-to-day habits, and life satisfaction. Her specialty is in creating a safe, shame-free environment for her clients to share the sacred, very personal, stories of their lives as they explore their own growth and healing. Her primary focus is in helping people to identify and move towards their best lives by getting clear about what does and does not serve them, where they’re stuck, what the lives they dream of look like, and making changes accordingly. Change, of course, can be challenging, and Tanya supports that process along the way with the various services she offers to help her clients achieve success with the transitions they long for. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/tanya-cole-lesnickSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Cassandra Chapman about the psychology of charitable giving, trust in nonprofits, and public responses to charity scandals. Dr Cassandra Chapman holds a PhD in the psychology of charitable giving (University of Queensland) and is now an Associate Professor of Marketing and ARC DECRA Fellow, specialised in donor psychology and fundraising. Having come to academia with a background in nonprofit marketing, Cassandra’s research focuses on the psychology of charitable giving, trust in nonprofits, and public responses to charity scandals. She uses diverse methods to understand when and why donors are more (or less) willing to give to particular causes and the implications such preferences have for how charities communicate. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/cassandra-chapmanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Michael Noetel about effective altruism, existential risk, and decision-making Michael Noetel is a psychologist and an academic trying to find the best way of helping others, and to then put them into practice. He’s an awarded educator, including awards from the Australian Awards for University Teaching. He’s a prolific early career researcher with over 30 publications in the last 4 years. He’s a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland and is the Chair of Effective Altruism Australia, a charity trying to help Australian donors to do the most good with their donations. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/michael-noetelSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Annabelle Neall about the effects of bullying and harassment in organisational settings. Dr Annabelle Neall is a Lecturer of Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland. Her research aims to tackle negative workplace behaviour through bystander intervention and psychosocial risk management. Her work has been translated into practical solutions designed to optimise the psychosocial hazard assessment and management in organisations such as SA Health, Correctional Services NSW, and the Department of Infrastructure and Transport. She has published a wide range of highly cited peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and reports, and collaborates with national and international research partners to solve theoretical and practical problems in the workplace safety and wellbeing space. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/annabelle-neallSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Jolanda Jetten about the consequences of economic inequality for the social and political vitality of society. Jolanda Jetten (PhD, University of Amsterdam, 1997) is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Queensland. She has been employed as an ARC Future Fellowship, UQ Development Fellowship and was recently awarded the 2018 Belgian Francqui fellowship and an ARC Laureate Fellowship (2019-2013). Her research is concerned with group processes, social identity and intergroup relations, as represented by her most recent books: Together apart: The psychology of COVID-19 (with S. Reicher, S.A. Haslam, and T. Cruwys; Sage, 2020), The wealth Paradox: Economic prosperity and the hardening of attitudes towards minorities (with Frank Mols; Cambridge University Press, 2017) and The New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure (with Catherine Haslam, Tegan Cruwys, Genevieve Dingle and Alex Haslam; Psychology Press, 2018). She has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, over 40 chapters and 10 books. Jolanda is the former co-Chief Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology and former co-Chief Editor of Social Issues and Policy Review. She was awarded the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal in 2004, the Kurt Lewin Medal from the European Association of Social Psychology in 2014, and the Life-time Achievement Award from the European Association of Social Psychology in 2020. Jolanda is the former President of the Society of Australasian Social Psychology (SASP), and the Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology (ASPP) and serves on the ARC College of Experts. She was elected as fellow of the Association of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) in 2015. She also serves as an expert on the BETA academic panel (Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government in Prime Minister & Cabinet). Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/jolanda-jettenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.