Better Thinking

Nesh Nikolic

On every episode you will hear inspiring conversations with leading experts in the fields of psychology, sports, personal growth, nutrition and other fields in order to gain clarity and understanding on how to deal with life in these exciting, yet challenging times. Your host, Nesh Nikolic, is a Clinical Psychologist based in Canberra, Australia with over 15,000 hours of 1-on-1 therapy experience. He’s trained in a number of therapy modes including Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Schema Therapy. Every week, Nesh will bring raw, down-to-earth and nonchalant talks right into your ears that are designed to make you think smarter and better so you can deal with life as it is - no sugar-coating or playing “happy.”

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Avg 1 hr 18 min
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September 4 · 1 hr 10 min
#205 – Dr Ella Moeck on How Emotions Shape Memory, Future Thinking, and Uncertainty
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Ella Moeck about how emotions shape the way people remember the past, think about the future, and respond to uncertainty. Dr Ella Moeck is a Lecturer in Psychology at Adelaide University who researches the intersection between cognitive and social psychology. Ella completed her PhD in 2019 at Flinders University before spending a few years working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Melbourne. In 2024, Ella started a balanced teaching and research role at Adelaide University, where she directs the Emotion, Memory and Uncertainty lab. Ella’s research centres around the interactions between cognition and emotion. Broadly, she aims to understand how everyday stressful events shape people's emotions, and ability to manage their emotions. Recently, Ella has been focusing on emotional functioning during uncertain events, like waiting for medical test results, exam grades, or the outcomes of court proceedings. She has also been investigating the association between emotions and social media, with a focus on the occurrence and consequences of seeing negative content online. Ella’s research combines experimental and experience sampling methods, where people complete multiple smartphone surveys each day. This type of method means she researches people in the moments when they experience stressors in their day-to-day
August 12 · 1 hr 20 min
#204 – Stacey Parker on Designing Work for Wellbeing, Motivation, and Performance
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Stacey Parker about how jobs and careers can be designed to maximise wellbeing, motivation, and performance, and what psychological principles can help create healthier and more fulfilling working lives. Associate Professor Stacey Parker is an organisational psychologist and academic for the School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia. Her research aims to help organisations and their employees devise strategies for realising the dual concerns of feeling well and performing well. To this end, she examines how employees manage their energy during work, how employees recover from work stress in off-the-job time, and how jobs and careers can be designed to maximise well-being, motivation, and performance. She also explores the hidden costs of performance management systems. She studies these phenomena using controlled work simulations and field research in a range of high-performance settings (e.g., small business owners, professional musicians, elite athletes, and safety critical work in healthcare and transport industries). Her consulting and advisory work has included tackling issues with selection and recruitment, training and development, career management, work design, change management, and operational safety. She serves on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology. Her achievements have been recognised by the Australian Psychological Society, with a Doctoral Thesis Award in Occupational Health Psychology (2013) and Early Career Award in Organisational Psychology (2022).
July 15 · 1 hr 17 min
#203 – Professor Jen Hudson on Children's Emotional Health and Anxiety
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Jennifer Hudson about the factors that shape children’s emotional health and how we can improve support and services for children experiencing anxiety and other emotional disorders. Professor Jennifer Hudson has made distinguished contributions to the scientific understanding and clinical treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences (2018) and an NHMRC Investigator Fellow (Level 2, 2022-2027). She has delivered sustained and influential insights into the complex aetiology of anxiety, as well as developed and validated innovative, accessible interventions. She was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship (2013-2016), and a Visiting Fellowship, University of Oxford (2015-20), and is recognised as a world leader for her work on parent-child interactions and the development and treatment of anxiety. Professor Hudson also brings her expertise to government advisory panels, such as the Medical Research Future Fund’s Childhood Mental Health Research Plan Expert Advisory Panel, for which she was appointed Chair by the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care. She plays an influential role in Australian policy as a trusted expert in child mental health, and currently leads the Child Mental Health research program at the Black Dog Institute.
May 19 · 1 hr 17 min
#202 – Dr Eden Robertson on The Psychosocial Needs of Families Affected by Rare Disease
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Eden Robertson about the psychosocial needs of families affected by rare disease and how lived experience can drive better, more compassionate healthcare. Dr Eden Robertson is a Sydney‑based behavioural scientist specialising in understanding and addressing the psychosocial needs of children and families navigating complex, rare disease. For more than a decade, she has worked alongside families, clinicians and advocacy organisations to identify unmet needs and co‑design interventions that are both evidence‑based and genuinely usable in real‑world care. Her academic training spans a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), a Graduate Certificate in Adolescent and Young Adult Health and Wellbeing, and a PhD in Medicine. Eden has made significant contributions to her field, including developing the world’s first family decision‑making resource for childhood cancer clinical trials, designing and evaluating a new model of care for caregivers of children with genetic epilepsy, and more recently supporting people affected by inherited retinal diseases to better understand and engage with advanced therapeutics. Highlighting her leadership in the field, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 2020. Drawing on experience across academia, health services and the non‑profit sector, Eden brings a unique cross‑system perspective that strengthens her ability to translate evidence into meaningful, practical solutions for children, families and the teams who support them.
April 27 · 1 hr 18 min
#201 – Professor Simon Rosenbaum on the Intersection of Physical Activity and Mental Health
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Simon Rosenbaum about the intersection of physical activity and mental health, and how movement can play a powerful role in improving psychological wellbeing. Simon is an academic exercise physiologist with a focus on populations exposed to trauma and social disadvantage. Simon has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications and co- edited a textbook on exercise and mental illness. He is a past President of the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS) and was the inaugural co-chair of the Olympic Refuge Foundation’s Think Tank on sport and humanitarian settings. Simon is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for Mental Health and has delivered workshops in over 25 countries. He previously worked with the United Nations International Organisation for Migration as a community-based mental health and psychosocial support officer in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. Simon is currently supported by an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship. In Australia, Simon is the founder of ‘Addi Moves’, a free, trauma-informed, exercise facility for people experiencing trauma and social exclusion at the Addison Road Community Organisation in Marrickville, Sydney.
March 26 · 1 hr 47 min
#200 – Dr James Morandini on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr James Morandini about advancing research across gender identity, gender dysphoria, sexual orientation, and the mental health challenges connected to these areas. James Morandini is a clinical psychologist and researcher whose clinical and research work focuses on matters of gender dysphoria/identity and sexuality. James has published widely on sexuality/gender in academic journals, including more than 20 empirical articles on these topics, and maintains active involvement in clinically relevant research in sex and gender. James completed a Ph.D in Psychology at The University of Sydney under A/Prof Ilan Dar-Nimrod and Professor Alex Blaszczynski between 2011 and 2016, examining ontological beliefs about sexual orientation held by LGBTQ+ individuals and their implications for self-acceptance and mental health. He subsequently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with A/Prof Ilan Dar-Nimrod between 2016 and2020 funded by Australian Research Council and Templeton Grants. Dar-Nimrod and Morandini have created a hub for sexuality and gender research in the School of Psychology, at The University of Sydney, that is both socially minded and affirming while being scientifically rigorous and at the very cutting edge of sex research. James has pursued an “alternative” academic career since 2020 founding King Street Psychology Clinic. James lectures on gender/sexuality diversity in undergraduate and postgraduate clinical programs (including UTS, UWS, ACU, ACAP, USYD), is an Honorary Research Associate at The University of Western Sydney and University of Technology Sydney, as well as a Ph.D. and higher degree supervisor at The University of Sydney School of Psychology. He provides clinical supervision on these issues to clinical psychologists and other health professionals in Australia and abroad, including in his capacity as National Convenor of the Psychology of Diverse Bodies, Genders, Sexualities Interest Group of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
March 16 · 1 hr 25 min
#199 – Lou Lasprugato on ACT Within The Therapeutic Relationship
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Lou Lasprugato about ACT within the therapeutic relationship, including process-based functional assessment and shaping psychological flexibility. Lou Lasprugato is a psychotherapist and internationally recognized trainer in the field of psychology. He is a Peer-Reviewed Trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), for which he also served as Chair of the Training Committee from 2022-2025. In 2025, Lou was elected into the ACBS Fellowship for his contributions in ACT dissemination. Lou is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, with private practices in both California and Virginia (United States), working with both individuals, including college students, and couples. He also has extensive experience in facilitating skill-building and process-based groups. Lou specializes in therapy for intimate partners and the treatment of anxiety disorders, and is a member of the International OCD Foundation. He has worked as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings, including county-operated crisis intervention services with underserved populations; a mental health and substance abuse intensive outpatient program at Kaiser Permanente that he subsequently managed; and an integrative medicine program at Sutter Health. Lou has taught mindfulness meditation to health care practitioners and facilitated over one hundred training events on ACT, including InterACT for couples and clinically-applied relational frame theory (RFT), as well as co-created courses on nutritional psychology and integrative mental health treatment. Lou has also provided supervision to other behavioral/mental health professionals and students and continues to provide individual and group consultation on ACT and other contextual behavioral approaches. He earned his Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, with a specialization in Holistic Studies from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, following a career as a professional musician.
February 26 · 1 hr 19 min
#198 – Professor Philip Batterham on Preventing and Understanding Drivers of Suicidal Behaviour
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Philip Batterham about advancing more efficient and precise methods for assessing suicidality and mental disorders. Philip Batterham is a Professor and Co-Head at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Phil is a research leader in improving access to evidence-based support for mental ill health and suicidal thoughts. He has specific interests in the etiology of suicidal behaviour, assessment of suicidality and mental disorders, implementation of online prevention programs, and reducing barriers to help seeking. Phil has published 320 journal articles and received >$50M in research funding as a Chief Investigator. He has received national and international awards for his research, including the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, the Professor Vera Morgan Medal for Mental Health Epidemiology, and the inaugural NHMRC Peer Review Excellence Award. He currently leads a major longitudinal cohort study to better understand transitions into suicidal behaviour.
February 12 · 1 hr 20 min
#197 – Dr Donel Martin on Brain Stimulation For Improving Cognition
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Donel Martin about new and innovative approaches to improving cognition, with a focus on brain stimulation technologies. Dr Donel Martin is a clinical academic researcher based at the Black Dog Institute and University of New South Wales and practicing Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist. He has a Ph.D in psychology and a Masters in Clinical Neuropsychology. He is the Head of the Neurocognition team at the Black Dog Institute, which investigates the cognitive and emotional effects of interventional treatments for psychiatric disorders, including ketamine, psilocybin, non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation: tDCS; repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: rTMS) and ECT. He has been a researcher for over 18 years and published >150 peer reviewed papers and 13 book chapters, and has been cited over 5000 times. Dr Martin has won two internationally competitive early career researcher awards and attracted over $9.2Mil in competitive research funding as a Chief Investigator. In the field of Psychiatry/Psychology he is in the top 1% of highly cited authors.
January 26 · 1 hr 7 min
#196 – Dr Jerry Rosenbaum on How Psychedelics Change The Brain
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum anxiety disorders, depression, and how psychedelics change the brain — and what this could mean for the future of psychiatry. Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum is the Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and former Chair of the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Department, where he led one of the nation’s largest and most influential psychiatric programs for two decades. Dr. Rosenbaum has authored more than 400 scientific papers, edited 20 books, and has been recognized with numerous awards—including the C. Charles Burlingame Award for lifetime achievement in psychiatric research and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. His career spans pioneering longitudinal studies on anxiety and depression, major leadership roles across national mental health organisations, and groundbreaking work in neuroscience and psychopharmacology. He now directs the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, where his research focuses on how psychedelics change the brain and what this could mean for future treatments of psychiatric disorders.
Dec 11, 2025 · 1 hr 14 min
#195 – Robert Whitaker on Rethinking the Scientific Basis of the Disease Model
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Robert Whitaker about how the disease model of mental illness emerged, what evidence it was built on, and why it may not be as scientifically grounded as many believe. Robert Whitaker is an American journalist and author who has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His first book, Mad in America, was named by Discover magazine as one of the best science books of 2002. Anatomy of an Epidemic won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism. He is the publisher of madinamerica.com. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor (Adjunct) in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science.
Nov 25, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min
#194 – Professor Dianna Kenny on Understanding Gender Dysphoria
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Professor Dianna Kenny about understanding gender dysphoria in young people and the complexities surrounding their care and wellbeing. Dr Dianna T. Kenny is an experienced psychologist in Sydney who offers a range of services including individual adult psychotherapy, child, adolescent, couple, and family therapy, mediation and family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy. A former professor of psychology at The University of Sydney, Dianna is now a consulting, developmental and educational psychologist and psychotherapist who provides a range of psychological services to adults, children, adolescents, couples and families, including psychological assessment, psychotherapy, specialist treatment for music performance anxiety, mediation, family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy. She is also an expert court report writer, researcher, and author. She has authored bestselling books on child development, child sexual abuse, psychotherapy, gender dysphoria, and music performance anxiety. She has consulting rooms in Concord (Inner West), and Glebe (near Camperdown, Newtown, Ultimo, Darlington, and Annandale). Dr Kenny provides a range of services covering psychological assessment and therapy, parent management training, mediation, family dispute resolution, and medico-legal consultancy.
Nov 12, 2025 · 1 hr 12 min
#193 – Arthur Thomas Ware on Building Fulfillment and Purpose in Retirement
In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Arthur Thomas Ware about fostering long, happy, and purposeful years in retirement, and how psychology can help us create meaning beyond work. Arthur Thomas Ware (He prefers to be called, Tom) will be turning ninety in April next year. He was born in the U.K. and came to Australia as a “Ten Pound Pom” in 1951. From that year he had a variety of jobs: Post Office, Navy, Aviation, Electrical Power, Truck Driver, Foundry Laborer, Lab Assistant, NSW Police and even a year as an Antarctic Expeditioner. His final work was the usual 9 to 5 in a government office job. He worked for 44 years and took voluntary redundancy in 1995. Since that time, Tom has been engaged in a dozen or so different types of volunteer work. Mostly, though, he has stuck to his three main passions: Creative Writing, Speaking to Audiences, and pursuing Self-knowledge and greater Self-understanding. Thirty years retired, Tom’s current focus is on enabling upcoming retirees to find their “Why” so that they, too, can live long, happy, and meaningful retirements. Tom has been married to the same little lady for 65 years. He and his wife, Rita, are parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. They live in Sydney.
Oct 30, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
#192 – Professor Paul Rhodes on Psychology Beyond The Individual
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.
Oct 16, 2025 · 1 hr 42 min
#191 – Professor Zoltán Sarnyai on Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy
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.
Sep 30, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
#190 – Dr Lucy Johnstone on The Power Threat Meaning Framework
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.
Sep 12, 2025 · 1 hr 11 min
#189 – Professor Gordon Parker on How the Gut Shapes Mood and Mental Health
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.
Sep 4, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
#188 – Dr Matt Bernstein on The Relationship Between Metabolism and Mental Illness
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.
Aug 21, 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
#187 – Dr Joanna Moncrieff on her book: Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of The Serotonin Myth
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.
Aug 7, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
#186 – Jacqueline Anderson on Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries
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.

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