Better Thinking

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Rob Brooks about the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence on reshaping human sexual perspectives and interactions and how it revolutionizes our understanding in the realm of human sexuality.

Rob Brooks, a Scientia Professor of Evolution at UNSW Sydney. He both founded and directed from 2007 to 2019 the Evolution and Ecology Research Centre. His research mostly considers the conflicting evolutionary interests that make sex sizzle and render reproduction complicated.

He has won Australia’s most prestigious award for science communication, the Eureka Prize, and is the author of Sex, Genes and Rock ’n’ Roll: How evolution has shaped the modern world, which won the Queensland Literary Award for Science Writing.

He has also written Artificial Intimacy: Virtual friends, digital lovers and algorithmic matchmakers which is the basis of todays conversation. This book considers humanity’s evolved capacities for friendship, love, and intimacy, and what happens when they encounter new technologies like AI, social media, online dating, and virtual reality sex.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/rob-brooks

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Susie Burke about the role that psychology can play in helping us understand the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change and other environmental threats.

Dr Susie Burke is a psychologist, Adjunct Associate Professor (University of Queensland), researcher, writer, and climate change campaigner with a background in conflict resolution, disaster psychology, parenting issues, and environmental issues.

In addition to working with individuals, couples and parents as a psychologist, Dr Burke also consults to councils, groups and organisations and runs workshops to help people cope with and come to terms with climate change and disasters.

For 17 years Dr Burke was a senior psychologist at the Australian Psychological Society and developed resources, training programs and workshops on a variety of social issues including: refugee issues, bullying, children's wellbeing after parental separation, homelessness, Indigenous issues, racism, climate change and disasters, LGBTI issues, violence and conflict, gambling, the future of work, and cyberpsychology.

As a researcher and writer, Dr Burke’s current interest are focused on the role that psychology plays in helping us understand the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change and other environmental threats, including natural disasters. Dr Burke have authored a number of resources including the Psychological First Aid Handbook, the Climate Change Empowerment Handbook, and other materials on coping with climate change, raising children for a climate altered world, and disaster preparedness and recovery.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/susie-burke

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Andrew Martin about the intricate dynamics of Student Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement. Together, they delve deep into the strategies and challenges of "Putting The Horse Before The Cart," shedding light on the crucial steps needed to ensure academic success and personal growth.

Andrew Martin, BA (Hons), MEd (Hons), PhD, is Scientia Professor, Professor of Educational Psychology, and Chair of the Educational Psychology Research Group in the School of Education at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

He is also Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and a Registered Psychologist (Psychology Board of Australia). Andrew is recognized for his research on student motivation, engagement, learning, and achievement. His research bridges other disciplines, investigating motivation and engagement in sport, music, and work.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/andrew-martin

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Andrew Amos about the complexities and concerns surrounding gender-affirming care. This discussion delves into the psychiatric perspective on this important and often debated topic.

Dr Andrew Amos is Director of Training – Psychiatry for North Queensland, Deputy Editor of Australasian Psychiatry, and Chairs the RANZCP’s Section of Rural Psychiatry (QLD), and the eLearning Advisory Group. With the North Queensland Regional Training Advisory Group, Dr Amos has been building a psychiatric training network leveraging contributions from the regional training hubs supported by James Cook University and University of Queensland, with a focus on effective videoconference based workshops.

Dr Amos has been deeply involved with the development of the RANZCP’s eLearning infrastructure, including podcasts, webinars, and online training materials for psychiatric consultants and psychiatrists in training. The suspension of in-person instruction with the onset of the covid pandemic led to the expansion of networked learning from regional/rural to metropolitan trainees, necessitating the development of a new framework for the delivery of high quality online instruction. Dr Amos is completing a PhD using data mining techniques to analyse the entire corpus of the published psychiatric literature and make it available in a form useful for curriculum design and maintenance.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/andrew-amos

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Genevieve Rayner about the intricate interplay of neurobiology and psychosocial factors contributing to mood and cognitive disorders in epilepsy and other neurological conditions.

Dr Genevieve Rayner is a practicing clinical neuropsychologist and lecturer in clinical neuropsychology at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. As a clinician-scientist, she balances her clinical and academic work with her role as a senior neuropsychology research fellow in a world-leading epilepsy research genetics group at the Epilepsy Genetics Research Program.

Her program of research aims to explore the neurobiological and psychosocial underpinnings of mood and cognitive disorders in epilepsy and other neurological conditions, using behavioural, neuroimaging, and genetics methodologies. Genevieve is a member of the Next Generation Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), a founding member and secretary of the ILAE's Young Epilepsy Section (YES), and a member of the Research and Training Subcommittee of the Epilepsy Society of Australia. She is also a YES representative for the 13th Asian and Oceanic Epilepsy Congress Organising Committee.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/genevieve-rayner

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr James Dunn about strategies that support superior face identification accuracy and contextual influences on face identification as well as his most interesting research on Super-recognisers which he has been studying using the UNSW Face Test.

James Dunn is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney. Current areas of interest include face and person recognition, forensic science and individual differences with both applied and theory-inspired research using behavioural methods, machine learning and eye-tracking.

Previous and current research projects: person-in-crowd identification, the strategies supporting superior face identification accuracy, and contextual influences on face identification.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/james-dunn

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Kelly Clemens about the intricate realms of addiction neuroscience, including behavioural neuroscience of nicotine dependence as well as the epigenetic consequences of drug addiction.

Kelly Clemens is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, and Associate Dean of Impact Partnerships for the Faculty of Science, UNSW.

Kelly has studied at the University of Otago and the University of Sydney, with post-doctoral experience at the University of Bordeaux, France, and Macquarie University, Sydney, before establishing her own laboratory at UNSW in 2012. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of drug addiction, spanning basic science through to translational and industry engagement.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/kelly-clemens

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Mark Horowitz about exploring expert strategies for tapering off SSRIs and managing withdrawal symptoms.

Dr Mark Horowitz MBBS PhD is a Clinical Research Fellow in Psychiatry in the National Health Service (NHS) in England and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London (UCL) and a trainee psychiatrist. He runs a deprescribing clinic in the NHS helping people to stop psychiatric medications.

He co-authored the Royal College of Psychiatry guidance on “Stopping Antidepressants”, and his work informed the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on safe discontinuation of psychiatric medications. He also published work on how to safely taper antipsychotics in JAMA Psychiatry and Schizophrenia Bulletin.

He has authored chapters of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines on how to stop mood stabilisers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, z-drugs and gabapentinoids. He is currently writing the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry which will be published in 2023. He is Co-Investigator on the RELEASE trial in Australia evaluating the effect of gradual, hyperbolic tapering of antidepressants compared to care as usual.

He has an interest in rational psychopharmacology and deprescribing psychiatric medication. He has experienced the difficulty of coming off psychiatric medications first-hand which has informed much of his work. His work can be found at https://markhorowitz.org/

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/mark-horowitz

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Suzy Green enhancing mental health outcomes in organizations and schools through positive psychology, emphasizing the promotion of mental wellbeing over solely addressing mental illness.

Dr Suzy Green is a Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience in the treatment of mental illness, Dr Green is on a mission to reduce the impact of mental illness in our workplaces, schools and communities and promote the value of improving mental wellness.

Dr Green is the CEO & Founder of The Positivity Institute, an organisation dedicated to the research and application of Positive Psychology in workplaces and schools.

Dr Green is an Honorary Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of East London and also holds honorary academic positions at the Centre for Positive Psychology, University of Melbourne and the Black Dog Institute. Dr Green is also an affiliate of the Institute for Wellbeing at Cambridge University.

Its a great pleasure to speak with Dr Green on the topic of enhancing MH outcomes in organisations and schools through positive psychology and focusing toward promoting mental wellbeing rather than mental illness alone.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/suzy-green

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In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Jayashri Kulkarni about her research on the connections between mental health, such as depression, with premenstrual cycles most notably premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and premenstrual exacerbation (PME).

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM graduated in Medicine from Monash University in 1981 and became a Fellow of the College of Psychiatrists in 1988. Jayashri commenced her appointment as Professor of Psychiatry at The Alfred and Monash University in 2002.

Professor Kulkarni founded and directs two research centres – HER Centre Australia and the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc). She is also Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University -Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences.

Jayashri has conducted ground-breaking clinical research and is internationally acknowledged as a leader and expert in the field of Women’s Mental Health, in particular, for her innovative work on reproductive hormones and mental illness. Her world-first research in hormones and mental health has led to the development of new treatments for women with mental ill health. She developed and launched Australia’s first women’s mental health hospital at Cabrini Health in September 2021. Jayashri received an Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 for her services to Medicine.

Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/jayashri-kulkarni

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