In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Paul Rhodes about moving beyond individual psychology to explore systemic thinking, family therapy, eco-psychology, and affect theory.
Professor Paul Rhodes is a clinical psychology academic and at The University of Sydney where he teaches family therapy, community-based approaches to mental health and a new lived experience co-designed course exploring insider knowledge of recovery. His current research is diverse including eco-psychology, liberation psychology, the decolonisation of the field and innovations in qualitative methods. He is currently writing a book from Thames and Hudson called Liberating Psychology: Anti-Fascism in a Post-Human World. He also works as a clinician at Mind Plasticity in Ultimo, Sydney.
In his private time on weekends he is a fine artist at Lennox St Studios in Newtown and currently has an exhibition at The Dax Centre called Troubled/&beyond about the life of the therapist. Last month he released a travel book about Italy called A Psychogeography of Florence, blending psychology with poetry, art and history.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Zoltán Sarnyai about his recent randomized controlled trial on ketogenic metabolic therapy for serious mental illness and the broader implications of this emerging field for the future of psychiatric treatment.Professor Zoltán Sarnyai, Director of the Margaret Roderick Centre for Mental health Research at James Cook University, is a medically trained neuroscientist with an internationally recognised expertise in the neurobiology of stress and mental health disorders. Before moving to Australia, he was University Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Pembroke College, where he was Director of Studies for Medicine. He trained at McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School and at The Rockefeller University, supported by the DuPont-Warren Award and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award, respectively. His group described the role of stress neuropeptides oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing factor in addiction, for which he was awarded the Richter Prize by the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology. More recently, he discovered the efficacy of ketogenic metabolic therapy in preclinical models of schizophrenia and is currently conducting the world’s first randomised controlled clinical trial to investigate this in clinical populations. Zoltán was appointed Lady Davis Visiting Professor at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to study the neuro- metabolic aspects of schizophrenia. Zoltan has published over 150 original research papers, reviews and book chapters, his works have been cited over 10,000 time, with an H index of 50. He is Associate Editor for Nutritional Neuroscience and Frontiers in Neuroscience, and editorial board member of Nutritional Psychiatry and Stress.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Lucy Johnstone about the Power Threat Meaning Framework and how it offers an alternative to traditional psychiatric diagnoses by focusing on power, threat, and meaning in people’s lives.
Dr Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical psychologist, author of 'Users and abusers of psychiatry' (3rd edition Routledge 2021) and ‘A straight-talking guide to psychiatric diagnosis’ (PCCS Books, 2nd edition 2022); co-editor of 'Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy: making sense of people's problems' (Routledge, 2nd edition 2013); and co-author of ‘A straight talking introduction to the Power Threat Meaning Framework’, 2020, PCCS Books) along with a number of other chapters and articles taking a critical perspective on mental health theory and practice.
She is the former Director of the Bristol Clinical Psychology Doctorate in the UK and has worked in Adult Mental Health settings for many years, most recently in a service in South Wales. She is Visiting Professor at London South Bank University, an Honorary Fellow of the BPS, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Lucy was lead author, along with Professor Mary Boyle, for the ‘Power Threat Meaning Framework’ (2018), a British Psychological Society publication co-produced with service users, which outlines a conceptual alternative to psychiatric diagnosis and has attracted national and international attention. Lucy is an experienced conference speaker and lecturer, and currently works as an independent trainer. She lives in Bristol, UK.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Gordon Parker AO about the gut–brain connection and how it could transform our understanding and treatment of mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
Professor Gordon Parker AO is Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW, was Founder of the Black Dog Institute, Head of the UNSW School of Psychiatry, Director of the Division of Psychiatry at Prince of Wales Hospital and Area Director of Psychiatry in the South- Eastern area. His positions with the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists include having been Editor of its Journal and initiating its Quality Assurance Committee.
In 2018 he was a finalist for the NSW Senior Australian of the Year and in 2020 was recipient of the Australian Mental Health Prize. His research and clinical practice have focussed on the mood disorders. His 25 th book on a radical new therapy for bipolar disorder (faecal microbiota transplantation) was published in March 2025 – “A Gut Brain Solution” and published by Allen and Unwin.
His first novel was published in 1966 and his second in 2017. In the 60’s, he wrote for The Mavis Bramston Show and OZ Magazine, was an ABC Science broadcaster in Sydney and London, and in 2004 he had a play (“Personality Games”) produced by La Mama in Melbourne.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Matt Bernstein about the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry and how metabolism, nutrition, and lifestyle factors influence mental health.
Dr. Matt Bernstein is a respected clinical psychiatrist for more than 20 years. He is also Accord’s chief executive officer and one of the leading voices in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. After graduating summa cum laude from Columbia University in New York, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, he received his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Bernstein then trained at the MGH McLean Psychiatry Residency Program in Belmont, Mass., where he served as chief resident. He remained at McLean Hospital after residency as a psychiatrist-in-charge and later served as assistant medical director of its schizophrenia and bipolar inpatient program. Dr. Bernstein has developed his passion for community-based care as the chief medical officer at Ellenhorn, a sister program of Accord, where he has pursued alternative ways (such as a focus on metabolism, nutrition, circadian-rhythm biology and exercise) to help individuals achieve their best levels of functioning without relying solely on traditional psychiatric approaches. In addition to serving on the clinical advisory board at Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bernstein is known for organizing the first-ever public conference on metabolic psychiatry in 2023.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Joanna Moncrieff about her latest book: Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of The Serotonin Myth.
Dr Joanna Moncrieff is a practising psychiatrist, part-time academic, and author with a deep interest in the history, philosophy, and politics of psychiatry. Her work focuses particularly on the use, misuse, and misrepresentation of psychiatric drugs.
She became interested in drug treatment because of its dominance in contemporary approaches to managing the suffering and disturbances labeled as mental disorders. She recognised that embedded in the understanding of drugs such as ‘antipsychotics’ and ‘antidepressants’ was an unexamined assumption: that these drugs ‘work’ by correcting a hypothetical abnormality or ‘chemical imbalance.’ Moncrieff has termed this the ‘disease-centred’ model of drug action and has developed an alternative ‘drug-centred’ model, which highlights the ways psychiatric drugs alter brain and body function, modify feelings and behaviour, and interact with the difficulties associated with mental disorders.
Alongside colleagues from around the world, Moncrieff has worked to expose the misconceptions that arise from the disease-centred model, clarify the effects psychiatric drugs produce, and question the narratives that sustain current prescribing practices.
She also emphasises that psychiatry is a profoundly political enterprise, shaped by social and political imperatives to neutralise distress and manage disturbing behaviour. Beyond her work on psychiatric drugs, she is interested in how emotional and behavioural problems might be conceptualised differently, as well as the broader politics of healthcare.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Associate Professor Jacqueline Anderson about the long-term impact of traumatic brain injuries and how they affect cognition, identity, and daily life.
Jacqueline Anderson, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Clinical Neuropsychology in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. She is also the Convenor of the School’s flagship postgraduate training program in Clinical Neuropsychology. As well as undertaking research in the area of clinical neuropsychology, she has more 25 years of experience working as a Clinical Neuropsychologist in both the public and private health sectors; for most of this time she has also provided training to postgraduate clinical neuropsychology students. Clinical work roles have primarily been in acute tertiary referral public hospitals, but have also included roles in rehabilitation settings; she has worked in private practice for many years, including undertaking medico-legal work.
A/Prof. Anderson’s research program specialises in abnormal cognitive functioning. She and her lab members use a combination of clinical and laboratory-based tools to investigate adult patient populations with neuropsychological disorders. Her research interests primarily relate to outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in community-based adults. In particular, she is focused on investigating the neuropsychological (cognitive, behavioural, psychological) and neuropathological aetiologies of individual patient variation in outcome after mTBI as well as developing interventions for individuals who experience poor recovery. She has a further specific interest in abnormalities of attention and memory, executive function and subcortical cognitive networks in the context of neuropsychological disorders.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr. David Healy about how psychotropic drugs and clinical trials have influenced the way we understand mental health and the broader impact these developments have had on society.
David Healy, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine in McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, is a doctor, psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, scientist and author. His main areas of research are the contribution of antidepressants to suicide, conflict of interest between pharmaceutical companies and academic medicine, and the history of pharmacology. Healy has written more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, 200 other articles, and 24 books, including The Antidepressant Era, The Creation of Psychopharmacology, The Psychopharmacologists Volumes 1–3, Let Them Eat Prozac, and Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder.
He has been involved as an expert witness in homicide and suicide trials involving psychotropic drugs. He has brought concerns about some medications to the attention of drug regulators. He has also said that pharmaceutical companies sell drugs by marketing diseases and co-opting academic opinion-leaders. In his 2012 book Pharmageddon, he argues that pharmaceutical companies have dominated healthcare in America, often with life-threatening results for patients. Healy is a founder and chief executive officer of Data Based Medicine Limited, which aims to make medicines safer through RxISK - Prescription Drug Side Effects an “online direct patient reporting of drug effects” platform.
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Jae Jung about how to better understand and support gifted students, the importance of differentiated education, and the future of high-ability learning.
Jae Yup Jung, PhD is a Professor in the School of Education and the Director of the Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre (GERRIC) at The University of New South Wales, Australia. His research program, which incorporates various topics relating to gifted adolescents (with a particular focus on their education and career-related decisions) has been published or presented on more than 100 occasions in the form of journal articles, book chapters, editorials, conference presentations or books in international outlets including Gifted Child Quarterly, British Journal of Educational Psychology, Research in Higher Education, Instructional Science, Journal of Career Assessment, Exceptional Children, and the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education.
His research has been recognized with awards from the American Educational Research Association (including the 2023 Path Breaker Award), the U.S. Mensa Education and Research Foundation (including Awards for Excellence in Research in 2015, 2022, 2023 and 2024), and the Society for Vocational Psychology, and research grants from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the New South Wales Department of Education. He is the current editor of the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Federation on Giftedness, and President of the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/jae-jung
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Lisa Anne Williams about how our emotions are shaped by social experiences and the powerful, adaptive functions of positive social emotions like pride and gratitude.
Dr. Lisa A. Williams is a social psychologist whose research examines the dynamics between emotional experience and social interaction. Much of her research focuses on how positive emotions that arise in the context of social interactions function at the interpersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, and societal levels.
Lisa is currently Professor in the School of Psychology and Associate Dean, Equity Diversity and Inclusion, Faculty of Science, at UNSW Sydney.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/lisa-williams
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Nik Steffens about how identity, connection, and purpose shape not only individual outcomes but also drive collective success within organizations.
Niklas Steffens is Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology (CBOP) in UQ's School of Psychology. He lived, worked, and studied psychology in Germany and Spain and completed his PhD in the UK before working at The University of Queensland (Australia).
Nik conducts fundamental and applied research to uncover psychological drivers that make groups and organisations fairer, more motivating, more effective, and healthier. His expertise lies in social identity and team work processes in social and organisational contexts including leadership and followership, motivation and creativity, and health and well-being.
He uses diverse methods to understand people and organisations including experimental and intervention studies, field and survey research, archival methods, psychometric scale development, and systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/nik-steffens
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr. Zhi Yi Ong about the neurobiology of food intake, exploring how gut-brain interactions shape eating behavior and its connection to addiction.
Zhi Yi Ong is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow at the UNSW School of Psychology. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Science at the University of South Australia and later undertook postdoctoral training in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Zhi Yi's research focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms of feeding behaviors. Using multiple neuroscience approaches in animal models, she investigates how gut signals interact with brain circuits to regulate these behaviors. Additionally, she also examines how environmental factors and current treatments influence the neural systems that control appetite.
Episode link at
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Lana Tikhomirov about the intersection of AI and human decision-making, exploring its ethical concerns, cognitive challenges, and growing role in high-stakes fields like healthcare.
Lana Tikhomirov is an AI safety researcher at the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, where she focuses on developing ethical, human-centered artificial intelligence systems for medical decision-making. Her interdisciplinary PhD bridges cognitive science, bioethics, and AI safety, examining a core question: How do humans make decisions using AI algorithms—and where should we draw the ethical line when replacing human judgment with machine logic?
Lana’s work addresses the nuanced challenges that emerge when advanced deep learning systems—often opaque and difficult to interpret—are integrated into high-risk, real-world environments. As these technologies become increasingly common in critical domains, understanding their influence on human cognition and decision-making has never been more urgent.
She is committed to advancing responsible and safe AI, and her research contributes to national policy and ethical guidelines for AI development and implementation in Australia.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/lana-tikhomirov
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Simon Byrne about evolving approaches to anxiety treatment—including CBT and ACT—and how evidence-based models can better support children’s mental health.
Dr Simon Byrne is a Lecturer at the University of Queensland (UQ) since 2021. He completed a PhD/Masters of Clinical Psychology in child anxiety at Macquarie University. He has held postdoctoral positions at Yale Child Study Centre, as well as Westmead Hospital Psychiatry Department and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
His research has focused on 1) the unconventional use of psychiatric drugs to treat mental disorders in children, and 2) treatments for anxiety. He has a particular interest in the use of exposure therapy (“facing your fears”) to treat anxiety. He also teaches into UQ’s clinical psychology program and has conducted research into the use of simulations to teach ethics.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/simon-byrne
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Poppy Watson about compulsive reward-seeking behavior, commonly seen in drug or gambling addiction, but also in more subtle forms that influence our everyday actions and habits.
The research interests of Dr Poppy Watson lie at the intersection of motivation, attention and choice behaviour. A fundamental question in human psychology is whether we are totally in control of the choices we make and the extent to which we rely on environmental cues to guide our decisions. She is interested in the conflict that arises between our ‘good intentions’ (for example to eat healthily or avoid alcohol) and our innate tendency to be attracted by things that signal reward such as the McDonald’s golden M or the beer logo.
She uses methods such as eye tracking and neuroimaging to examine this interplay between biased cognitions and habits on the one hand and explicit motivation on the other. She tries to understand the mechanisms that contribute to unwanted patterns of behaviour in both healthy and clinical populations.
She is also involved in intervention projects (to improve treatment outcomes for patients and measuring the efficacy of these interventions) and is interested more generally in health psychology and behaviour change.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/poppy-watson
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Amy Peden about the global drowning crisis, the key risk factors involved, and what can be done to reduce these tragic incidents.
Dr Amy Peden is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney Australia, where she is also the co-founder of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group. She maintains an honorary Senior Research Fellow position with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and an adjunct Senior Lecturer role with James Cook University in Queensland.
As a drowning prevention researcher and advocate, Dr Peden provides technical expertise to the World Health Organization, collaborates on research with government, industry and the community and regularly appears in the media.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/amy-peden
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr. Robyn Walser about using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help individuals navigate and heal from trauma.
Robyn D Walser, PhD is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist, educator, and author. She is the Director of Trauma and Life Consultation and Psychology Services, Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of Research at Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinical Services. Dr. Walser has contributed significantly to the dissemination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and holds a pivotal role in implementing ACT in one of the US’s largest national healthcare system. She also works at the National Center for PTSD, where her work focus is on trauma recovery, depression, and moral injury.
A writer and scholar, Dr. Walser has co-authored nine influential books on ACT, including the widely respected The Heart of ACT: Developing a Flexible, Process-Based, and Client-Centered Practice Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Her research and clinical expertise have made her a sought-after voice in advancing the application of ACT to address a variety of complex psychological challenges. Since 1997, Dr. Walser has led ACT workshops worldwide, bringing her deep understanding and passion for process-based, experiential learning to therapists and clinicians.
Known for her compassionate and client-centered approach, Dr. Walser’s teaching emphasizes the integration of evidence-based practices with human connection and flexibility. Whether through her books, articles, or live training, Dr. Walser continues to influence the evolution of ACT and inspire professionals in their pursuit of effective, transformative therapy.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/robyn-walser
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Ahu Kocak about her experience in developing suicide assessment and prevention strategies in correctional settings.
Ahu Kocak is endorsed in Forensic Psychology with over 14 years experience in prison, court and private practice settings. She holds a Bachelor of Science Psychology, Masters of Psychology (Forensic), Graduate Certificate in Law and Masters of Terrorism and Security Studies.
She is a full member of the Australian Psychology Society (APS) and Fellow of the College of Forensic Psychologists. Outside of her expertise in the assessment and treatment of high risk offenders, Ahu often uses Schema Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Applied Behavioural Analysis, Exposure Therapy for a range of disorders.
Ahu has developed group programs for Schema Therapy in correctional settings. Ahu is an AHPRA Board approved clinical supervisor and is available to supervise 4 +2, 5+1 and Masters programme pathways. She is also endorsed to supervise forensic registrars and secondary supervision of other registrar pathways. She is fluent in both English and Turkish.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/ahu-kocak
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Ben Newell about the power of behavioral science and the role that psychology can play in motivating individuals and societies to take meaningful action on climate change.
Ben Newell is Professor of Behavioural Science in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR). His research focuses on the cognitive processes underlying judgment, choice and decision-making and the application of this knowledge to environmental, medical, financial and forensic contexts.
His role in the new Institute is to drive an interdisciplinary research agenda bringing together expertise from behavioural science, climate science, economics and governance to address the risks and opportunities of climate change. He has published multiple articles on the psychology of human judgment and decision making, including those that lie at the intersection of psychology and climate change, with particular focus on the understanding of uncertainty and risk.
Ben is lead author of the books Straight Choices: The Psychology of Decision Making, and Open Minded: A Search for Truth about the Unconscious Mind. Ben is a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA), and the Chief Medical Officer’s advisory group for the National Health and Climate Strategy.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/ben-newell
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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Kim Delbaere about understanding physical, psychological and cognitive factors causing falls as well as topics about promoting healthy ageing.
Professor Kim Delbaere is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and Director of Innovation & Translation at the Falls, Balance & Injury Research Centre at Neuroscience Research Australia. Kim has made major contributions to identifying risk factors for falls and sub-optimal ageing.
Her overarching vision is for older Australians to understand and navigate better health trajectories through self-management.
Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/kim-delbaere
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