In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Martin Fisk about helping young guys reach their full potential and become the great adult men they want to be through mentoring and counselling. Martin Fisk is the Chief Executive of Menslink and joined in March 2011 after a twenty-five year career in both the private and public sectors, including nearly ten years running his own business. Since joining Menslink, he has significantly expanded the reach of Menslink’s support programs, ...
Sep 03, 2020•53 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Steve Zolezzi about outdoor learnings, spirituality, symbolism, and nature as a therapeutic aid. Steve Zolezzi is a Registered Psychologist with 25 years experience in education and psychology and is a leading expert on school well-being and positive psychology practice. He consults widely both nationally and internationally in helping schools move to integrated academic and well-being excellence. Steve has been a School Psychologist s...
Aug 27, 2020•1 hr 23 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Prof David Sloan Wilson about how human attempts to solve problems from an evolution perspective can have unintended consequences. David Sloan Wilson is an evolutionary biologist with a wide range of interests, including natural selection as a hierarchical process, the nature of intraspecific variation, the evolution of ecological communities and human evolutionary biology. He is also SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthrop...
Aug 20, 2020•1 hr 33 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Shaun O’Gorman about living a life with strength, tenacity, resilience, optimism, nurturing & generosity. Shaun O’Gorman has seen his fair share of violence and depravity throughout his life. In fact, more like many lives worth. But it has not defined the man he has become today, despite it trying its very best. Despite his parents' divorce, a violent 13-year Police career, a diagnosis of PTSD & depression, an extended battle w...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr 35 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Will Henshall about personalized music that can help you focus, reduce distractions, and maintain productivity when working and studying. Will Henshall has achieved notable global success both as a musical/visual artist and as a technical inventor. In 1987, he founded the British pop soul band Londonbeat and had two Billboard #1 hit records, “I’ve Been Thinking About You” (91) and “Come Back” (95). He founded Rocket Network, a Paul All...
Aug 04, 2020•53 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Hugh van Cuylenburg about finding happiness through gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness. Hugh van Cuylenburg has been working in education for more than 17 years, teaching both primary and secondary in a range of educational settings. He has completed postgraduate studies looking at resilience and wellbeing, and has developed and facilitated programs for more than a thousand schools Australia-wide. In 2015, the National Rugby League as...
Jul 27, 2020•55 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Rick Hanson about overcoming the brain's negativity bias and finding more happiness, self-worth, love, and peace in life. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. , is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books are available in 29 languages and include Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture – with 900,000 copie...
Jul 20, 2020•58 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Mary Andreadis about career paths, selecting an organisation, finding a supervisor, and other pieces of advice for early career psychologists. Nesh Nikolic is a Canberra-based clinical psychologist with over 15,000 hours of one-on-one therapy experience. He has trained in a number of therapy modes including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy and he is also recognised by Medic...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 21 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Gemma Sharp about the tremendous increase in demand for cosmetic surgery like labiaplasty, butt lifts, boob jobs, etc., and its impacts concerning body image. Dr Gemma Sharp is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Research Fellow and Clinical Psychologist. She leads the Body Image Research Group at the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc) at Monash University in Melbourne. Her research broa...
May 20, 2020•53 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Carla Ferrari about Forensic Assessments & Reports. Carla Ferrari is the Director and Principal Forensic Psychologist of Ferrari Consulting Group and established the practice due to the growing demand for services for forensic clients, and to satisfy her interest in exploring the interface between law and psychology. Carla holds full registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia and endorsement as a Forensic...
May 19, 2020•1 hr 18 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Michael Sugrue on issues that prevent law enforcement professionals from seeking mental health services. Michael Sugrue is a retired police sergeant with the City of Walnut Creek with over 14 years of service including specialized assignments as a Field Training Officer, SIU Detective and Undercover Special Agent assigned to California Department of Justice Drug Task Force. Before becoming a police officer, Michael served 6 years in th...
Apr 21, 2020•1 hr 26 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Isaac Baker about using data to improve individual, team and organisational decision-making. Isaac Baker is an Applied Behavioural Scientist with a focus on understanding and creating strategies to nudge and influence organisational behaviour and improve organisational performance. He works across Mapien’s suite of services adopting a data-driven approach to inform culture diagnostics, behaviour change and improve individual, team and ...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr 14 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks about why bulk billed Telehealth is unsustainable and will do harm to psychology practices in Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian Government expanded it’s Medicare-subsidised telehealth services to general practitioners and other health practitioners. Their 29 March 2020 media release states: “We are making telehealth a key weapon in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanding the consultation services available b...
Apr 01, 2020•41 min
To my psychology friends and colleagues, Australia is at the beginning of Coronavirus and there is an unprecedented amount of uncertainty. Job losses, industry shutdowns, potential lockdown, and the domino effect of all these leads to possibly the hardest time for many Australians. I urge all psychologists to share the benefits of maintaining good mental health and make themselves available for support in these times. The reality is that in the current climate, stress, anxiety and depression wil...
Mar 28, 2020•44 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Kath Koschel about her mission to achieve one million acts of kindness. Kath Koschel is a remarkable young woman who has taught herself to walk on three separate occasions, defying her medical prognosis of paralysis. An ex-professional athlete, she has broken her back twice; once while playing cricket for New South Wales and once while riding her bike training for an Iron Man after recovering from her first broken back. Kath’s life is ...
Mar 24, 2020•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Mary Andreadis about perfectionism and imposter syndrome. Nesh Nikolic is a Canberra-based clinical psychologist with over 15,000 hours of one-on-one therapy experience. He has trained in a number of therapy modes including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy and he is also recognised by Medicare Australia as a qualified provider of specialist clinical psychology services. His...
Mar 17, 2020•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Stefan Hofmann about process-based therapy and high-density individual data. Welcome to the future of psychology. Dr Stefan Hofmann is a clinical psychologist at the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. He is one of the foremost experts in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, especially for anxiety disorders. In collaboration with Steven C. Hayes, he has been identifying the processes that underlie ef...
Mar 15, 2020•1 hr 9 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Alyssa Godesky about overcoming the physical and mental limits in endurance sports. Alyssa Godesky is an endurance sports coach, professional triathlete and ultrarunner. After 6 years in the corporate world, Alyssa made the leap to pursue triathlon full-time, and hasn’t looked back. An endurance athlete since 2006, Alyssa takes pride in pushing her limits. You can sometimes find her racing Ironmans on back-to-back weekends, or jumping ...
Mar 10, 2020•1 hr 43 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with social psychologist Dr Brock Bastian on the value of pain. Dr Brock Bastian is a social psychologist whose research focuses on pain, happiness, and morality. In his search for a new perspective on what makes for the good life, Brock has studied why promoting happiness may have paradoxical effects and why we need negative and painful experiences to build meaning, purpose, resilience, and ultimately greater fulfilment in life. Brock's fi...
Mar 05, 2020•1 hr 27 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Paul Atkins about building effective prosocial groups. Dr Paul Atkins co-developed the Prosocial process which draws upon the psychology of behavior change as well as political, economic and evolutionary science to improve cooperation within and between groups. Paul’s work has been published in the world’s leading management and psychology journals. His latest book “Prosocial: Using Evolutionary Science to Build Productive, Equitabl...
Feb 25, 2020•1 hr 23 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Mary Andreadis about identity, awareness of the self and coping with complex identity issues. Nesh Nikolic is a Canberra-based clinical psychologist with over 15,000 hours of one-on-one therapy experience. He has trained in a number of therapy modes including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy and he is also recognised by Medicare Australia as a qualified provider of speciali...
Feb 03, 2020•1 hr
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Australian Psychological Society’s CEO, Frances Mirabelli, about the role of the APS and plans for the future of psychology in Australia. Frances Mirabelli is the chief executive officer of the Australian Psychological Society, the leading body representing psychologists in Australia. A former CEO of AMA Victoria, Ms Mirabelli has extensive experience in the health and not-for-profit sectors. Following an education in business administ...
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 20 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Louise Hayes about using a developmental approach of ACT when working with young persons. Dr Louise Hayes is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training for young people. She is the co-author of the best selling book Get Out of Your Mind and Into your Life for Teenagers and The Thriving Adolescent. Louise divides her time between training and clinical work in acceptance, mind...
Jan 15, 2020•1 hr 19 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Warren Farrell about his book, The Boy Crisis, and the impact fathers have on young men. Dr Warren Farrell has been chosen by the Financial Times as one of the world’s top 100 thought leaders, and by the Center for World Spirituality as one of the world’s spiritual leaders. Dr Farrell’s books are published in over 50 countries, and in 15 languages. They include award-winning international best-sellers, Why Men Are The Way They Are, ...
Dec 25, 2019•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with clinical psychologist Marcela Lapertosa about what we can learn through our awareness, understanding and respect of different cultures. Marcela Lapertosa is a clinical psychologist and Senior Manager of Education and Development at AFS Intercultural Programs Australia. AFS Intercultural Programs is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people de...
Dec 17, 2019•1 hr 15 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Mary Andreadis about the psychological and contextual aspects of loneliness and isolation. Nesh Nikolic is a Canberra-based clinical psychologist with over 15,000 hours of one-on-one therapy experience. He has trained in a number of therapy modes including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy and he is also recognised by Medicare Australia as a qualified provider of specialist ...
Dec 12, 2019•57 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Devon Polaschek about research and treatment of high-risk violent offenders in prisons and on parole. Devon Polaschek is a forensic clinical psychologist, professor of psychology, and Joint Director of the New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science at the University of Waikato. She studies high-risk violent offenders in prisons and on parole and has done research that found intensive psychological treatment and earl...
Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 32 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Janelle Colquhoun about her incredible life before and after blindness. Her “I'm Blind, Whatever!” attitude is contagious and inspiring! At age 10, Janelle Colquhoun was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which she ignored as she pursued her passion to be on stage. During school she took music, dance and drama lessons, performed in choirs, stage shows, dance revues and played trumpet in concert and jazz bands before winning a scholarship ...
Dec 04, 2019•1 hr 9 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Edward Watkins on his research in effective treatment of mood disorders, depression and rumination. Edward Watkins is Professor of Experimental and Applied Clinical Psychology and Director of Research for Professional Doctorates at the University of Exeter, UK. He is a clinical psychologist currently working as a researcher, teacher and clinical practitioner within the Mood Disorders Centre in the UK, which is a partnership b...
Dec 01, 2019•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Kevin Polk about the the ACT Matrix and its application in both individual and clinical settings. Kevin Polk, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and creator of the ACT Matrix. He spent approximately 17,000 hours simplifying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy down to the two lines of the matrix, which is now used across the United States and internationally. Individuals, therapists and hospitals use the ACT Matrix to improve communicatio...
Nov 27, 2019•1 hr 15 min
