Psych Attack

In this episode, I catch up with Dominique Barker (CIO) for a deep dive on project management and leadership. We discuss:Dom's professional experience and project management origin storyImplementing real change and making it stickQuantum thinkingFailing fast and forwardHarnessing executive sponsorshipProviding just-in-time informationGiving back to stakeholdersDoing project management in your personal life.About Dominique BarkerDominique Barker is a CIO (Chief Information Officer) with deep experience in IT strategy, enterprise leadership, AI, and organisation‑wide digital transformation across complex public‑sector and university environments. In this episode Dom shares experience gleaned from leading organisation‑wide adoption of new ways of working, delivering large and small‑scale generative and agentic AI implementations, and driving major technology uplift programs. Dom is known for bringing people along on the journey. She partners closely with business executives and delivery teams to ensure technology investments achieve measurable outcomes, hit strategic targets, and deliver lasting organisational change.More from DomDominique Barker on quantum thinking in the age of AI (Online article, Public Spectrum, March 2026)Coding, kids, and the invisible double shift of tech mums (Online article, ChannelLife, February 2026)Australia's AI outlook (Featured contributor, Moxie Insights, December 2025)Rewriting Your Career Mid-Flight – Dominique Barker on the Joyful Upsides of Tech Leadership (Podcast episode, Tech to Exec, September 2025)Books recommended by Dom #noprojects: A culture of continuous value. By Evan Leybourn and Shane Hastie The #noprojects online communityBad change: 50 ways why change doesn't work and 266 tips to make it better. By Peter Phan and Gilbert KruidenierBook websiteThe intangibles of leadership: The 10 qualities of superior executive performance. By Richard A. Davis Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Barker, D. (2026, April 29). Project management and leadership (No. 31) [Podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comTranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. It may contain errors. AcknowledgementsPsych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jaz MacDonald. The video and audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae and Dr Jaz MacDonald. Special thanks to Dominique Barker for sharing your time and expertise.Related Psych Attack EpisodesSelf-advocacy and professional relationshipsWriting and publishing a non-fiction bookAcademic mental healthRelated blog postsSelf-advocacy and professional relationships. By Max Loomes.Book recommendation: ‘The checklist manifesto’ by Atul Gawande. By Dr Jaz MacDonald.

Snack Attacks are short segments taken from a full episode, so you can have a quick topic taster.This Snack Attack comes from episode 30 'Apple Cider Vinegar: Panel discussion about the Australian TV drama'I describe what parasocial relationships are and some interesting related research findings. I also share some of my own parasocial relationships. Dr Erica McIntyre and I discuss examples of parasocial relationships in 'Apple Cider Vinegar'.For links to related research articles and books mentioned in this Snack Attack, go to the full episode show notes.

Are you a true crime enthusiast but an even bigger research methods nerd? I see you. If you have watched Mindhunters, read Silence of the Lambs, or are an old school Criminal Minds fan then you already know this study and this team of researchers. In the 1980s a team of FBI agents and researchers teamed up to advance what we knew about serial sexual offenders (serial killers).In this episode, Dr Monsurul Hoq and I nerd out on the research methods and statistical analysis used in the first peer-reviewed research article that compared crime scene characteristics for organised and disorganised serial killers.The beauty of this episode is the practical application of statistical methods. We talk about statistical power, alpha inflation, p-hacking, the obsession with p = .05 (conventions in determining statistical significance), and the importance of subject matter expertise and clinical / practical significance.The paper this episode focuses onRessler, R.K., Burgess, A.W., Douglas, J.E., Hartman, C.R., & D’Agostino, R.B. (1986). Sexual Killers and Their Victims: Identifying patterns through crime scene analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1(3), 288-308. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626086001003003 [not open access]About Dr Monsurul HoqDr Monsurul Hoq has 10 years’ experience as a Biostatistician in medical and health research (in prevention and cure of common childhood illness, transgender health, vaccine uptake, paediatric reference intervals, disability, and mental health), leading, consulting, and performing statistical analysis of data, interpreting findings and reporting results. Prior to working in academia, Monsurul Hoq worked in non-government organisations in Bangladesh and South Sudan, monitoring and evaluating integrated community-based projects in education and child health sector.Monsurul completed his PhD in Biostatistics at the University of Melbourne. His research established continuous age-specific reference intervals for blood biomarkers in children using a novel statistical method. You can find a list of Monsurul's publications here.Jaz is writing a bookThis interview was conducted in preparation for a book I am writing. If you'd like to be notified when the book is finished, please email me and I will store your email and only contact you when the book is ready for you to read. [hello@jasminebmacdonald.com.au]Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Hoq, M. (2025, December 29). Organised / disorganised typology of serial killers: A statistics deep dive of the 1986 study (No. 29) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com TranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy. AcknowledgementsPsych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The video and audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae. Special thanks to Dr Monsurul Hoq for sharing your time and expertise.Serial killer related blog postsSerial killers of ‘Mindhunter’: Childhood experiencesThe original research report behind ‘Mindhunter’Comparing the brains of successful and unsuccessful psychopathsThe Crime Classification ManualThe first offender profileForensic psychology related episodesMacDonald, J. B. & Ashton, S. (2024, June 5). Sex therapy, kink and paraphilias (No. 18) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comMacDonald, J. B. & Malloy, L. (2024, March 2). Developmental insights for investigative interviewing about maltreatment (No. 17) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comMacDonald, J. B. & March, E. (2022, June 5). An evolutionary perspective of online behaviour (Part 2: Cyber dating abuse)(No. 11) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comResearch methods related episodesMacDonald, J. B. & Braund, T. A. (2024, Oct 1). Digital phenotyping: Using smartphone metadata to predict mental health symptoms (No. 22) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comMacDonald, J. B. & Sugden, N. (2021, September 30). Psychometrics and psychological assessment tools (No. 6) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comMacDonald, J. B. & Tillman, G. (2021, June 22). Mathematical models of how people make decisions (No. 2) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. https://www.psychattack.comResearch methods related blog postsThe pragmatic researcherWhat international literature is useful in the Australian context?Interpretivism in qualitative researchExperiences are socially constructed, but by whom? Constructivism vs constructionismInterested in going deeper of p-values?Amrhein, V., Greenland, S., & McShane, B. (2019). Retire statistical significance. Nature, 567, 305-307.Gelman, A. & Stern, H. (2006). The Difference Between “Significant” and “Not Significant” is not Itself Statistically Significant. The American Statistician, 60(4), 328-331.Greenland, S., Senn, S.J., Rothman, K...

In this episode, I catch up with Rahim Thawer about his book The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys, which is currently on presale and is being released 1 June, 2025.The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys offers a safe, inclusive space to examine, understand, and heal from systemic and interpersonal threats to your mental well-being. Based on proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this book provides proven-effective tools and exercises to help you reflect on, confront, and manage difficult emotions; improve self-image and self-esteem; and develop healthy coping skills. This guidebook will help you:Cultivate greater self-awarenessMove past negative thinking habitsHeal emotional wounds and build resilienceChallenge heteronormativity and gender role rigidityCare for your sexual health.Rahim is a racialized, queer social worker who works as an instructor, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, consultant, public speaker, podcast host, and writer. He calls Toronto home and currently teaches at The University of Alabama. His work explores the intersection of mental health and systemic oppression. He has a particular interest in examining innovation in queer relationships and exploring how anti-racist, queer-affirming psychoanalytic frameworks can support social workers, training therapists, and organizational leaders.Pre-order The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer GuysAmazon US Amazon AustraliaWorks mentioned in this episodeThawer, R. (2025). The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys: Skills to Cope and Thrive as Your Authentic Self. Publisher: New Harbinger Publications. [Pre-Order]To see more of Rahim's work, check out ladyativan.comCite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Thawer, R. (2025, May 13). The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys (No. 27) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com TranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy. AcknowledgementsPsych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The video and audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae. Special thanks to Rahim Thawer for sharing your time and expertise.

In this episode, I catch up again with Dr Will Dobud about his latest book called 'Kids These Days', which is currently on presale.'Kids These Days' is essentially a protest for protecting the heroism and spirit of youth. Will co-authored 'Kids These Days' with Professor Nevin Harper from the University of Victoria in Canada. This anticipated book offers a frank exploration of the rising rates of youth mental illness and the ways in which increased interference, intervention, and ideology have influenced these trends. To develop the book, Will and Nevin consulted with experts in therapeutic interventions, parenting, education, outdoor play, social media, and environmental toxins. They examined how mainstream media may, in fact, incite heightened moral panic without representing the best available evidence.Will Dobud, PhD, MSW, is a Senior Social Work Lecturer at Charles Sturt University and an award-winning practitioner, educator, and researcher. He is recognised as a practitioner with international experience working with children, adolescents, and families. Will’s research focuses on improving young people’s experiences in therapeutic interventions and outdoor therapies and how clinicians can become more evidence-informed in their decision-making. Will also advocates for youth affected by unethical treatments and interventions, highlighted by the Troubled Teen Industry in the United States. He is a sought-after speaker and trainer for youth-serving organisations, travelling internationally to help organisations enhance their services for those they serve. Will and I collaborate on a wide range of topics and create practice resources together. Connect with Will Dobud and Nevin Harper on various social media platforms:Will: Facebook, X / Twitter, LinkedIn, InstagramNevin: LinkedIn, Substack, InstagramExperiential Practice SymposiumWill is also the co-convenor for the first Experiential Practice Symposium held from 21-23 November on CSU’s Port Macquarie Campus. This is an affordable and accessible event with the theme of “Conversation as Experiential Learning.” Everyone is welcome to attend and facilitate an experiential workshop on learning, mental health, or the philosophy of experience. Learn more here: https://experientialpractice.csu.domains/Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Dobud, W. (2025, March 27). Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental (No. 25) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com TranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be some errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy. AcknowledgementsPsych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The video and audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae. Special thanks to Dr Will Dobud for sharing your time and expertise.

To round out 2024, I have created this highlights episode.This year, the 6 guests (from Australia, Finland and the U.S.) and I have covered:investigative interviewing for disclosures of maltreatment (Episode 17)what sex therapy is, kink and paraphilias (Episode 18)academic mental health (Episode 19)self-advocacy and professional development and relationships (Episode 20)human-dog relationships (Episode 21)adolescent mental health and the use of digital phenotyping (Episode 22).Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. (2024, December 20). Psych Attack highlights 2024 (No. 23) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comTranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be some errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy.

In this episode, I catch up with Dr Miiamaaria Kujala to hear about her research on human-dog relationships. Miiamaaria studies how humans understand dog communication, how dogs understand humans, and the factors affecting the interaction between the two species such as culture, human personality and dog behaviour.We discuss:- Her personal journey from philosophy to neuroscience and eventually to studying both ends of the leash- The cultural differences in dog ownership between countries like Finland and Australia- The impact of human personality traits on dog behaviour and the human-dog relationship- How emotional closeness and perceived costs of dog ownership vary among different personalities- The methods used to measure dog cognition and behaviour, including the fascinating "impossible task" experiment. Dr. Miiamaaria Kujala is Academy Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology at University of Jyväskylä, Finland. To see more of Miiamaaria’s work you can access her research group’s web page. Papers mentioned in this episodeBender, Y., Bräuer, J., & Schweinberger, S. R. (2023). What makes a good dog-owner team? – A systematic review about compatibility in personality and attachment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 260. (Behind a pay wall) Dwyer, F., Bennett, P. C., & Coleman, G. J. (2006). Development of the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS). Anthrozoös, 19(3), 243-256. (Behind a pay wall) Kujala, M. V., Imponen, N., Pirkkala, A., Silfverberg, T., Parviainen, T., Tiira, K., & Kiuru, N. (2023). Modulation of dog-owner relationship and dog social and cognitive behavior by owner temperament and dog breed group. Scientific reports, 13(1), 14739. (Open access!) Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Kujala, M. V. (2024, September 2). Factors that affect human-dog relationships (No. 21) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com Transcript The transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be some errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy. AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to Dr Miiamaaria Kujala for sharing your time and expertise. Psych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae.

In this episode, I catch up with Dr Marissa Edwards to hear about her journey advocating for better academic mental health and lessons she has learned along the way.We discuss:What academic mental health advocacy is and why it is importantOur own personal challenges working in academiaThe difference between individual characteristics and systemic issues when it comes to academic mental healthThe importance of sharing success and failuresWays to safeguard your time and wellbeing as an academic. Dr Marissa Edwards is Senior Lecturer in the School of Business, University of Queensland, Australia. To see more about Marissa's work, you can follow her on X/Twitter (@DrMarissaKate) or connect on LinkedIn. Resources mentioned in this episodeVoices of academia blog The Australian University Staff: Work, Digital Stress and Wellbeing Survey report Research Handbook of Academic Mental Health Emotions and failure in academic life: Normalising the experience and building resilience Sensitive content warningIn this episode, we talk about the mental health challenges that academics face. We speak briefly about an example of an academic who experienced suicidal ideation when faced with perceived failure. Please take care while listening and if you are feeling discomfort and think you would benefit from some support, please reach out to your GP or contact a service like Lifeline. If you are based in Australia, this resource links to helplines, telephone and online counselling services for children, young people and adults. Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Edwards, M. (2024, July 3). Academic mental health (No. 19) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com Transcript The transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be some errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy. AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to Dr Marissa Edwards for sharing your time and expertise. Psych Attack is created and hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The audio for this episode was edited by Morgan McRae.

In this episode, I catch up with Associate Professor Lindsay Malloy to hear about her research in developmental psychology and the law. In particular, ways to improve investigative interviewing with people who have experienced maltreatment and. In this discussion, Lindsay explains some developmental differences when interviewing children, adolescents and older adults. Much of the conversation focuses on reasons why children might recant disclosures of maltreatment.Dr Lindsay Malloy is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, Canada. To follow Lindsay's work, you can visit the Development, Context, and Communication Lab website or reach out on Twitter (@LMalloy).Research papers discussed in this episodeMalloy, L. C. & Mugno, A. P. (2016). Children’s recantation of adult wrongdoing: An experimental investigation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 145, 11-21.Wyman, J. & Malloy, L. C. (2023). Increasing disclosures of older adult maltreatment: A review of best practices for interviewing older adult eyewitnesses and victims. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2023.2192260 Sensitive content warningThis episode refers to maltreatment experienced by children, adolescents and older adults. The episode focuses predominantly on barriers to disclosure and issues in investigative interviewing. Specific case examples and lived experience are not discussed. Please take care while listening and if you are feeling discomfort and think you would benefit from some support, please reach out to your GP or contact a service like Lifeline. Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B. & Malloy, L. (2024, March 2). Developmental insights for investigative interviewing about maltreatment (No. 17) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comTranscriptThe transcript for this episode was developed using transcription software. There may be some errors in the content as I do not have capacity to review for accuracy.

In this episode, I am have an artificial conversation with a researcher I refer to as Dr Chat GPT. If you haven't already come across Chat GPT, it is open access software online where you can type anything in and it will use artificial intelligence to feed a response back to you. When you give it some context, it can give you some really cool responses. I have given Dr Chat GPT the context of being an Australian psychology researcher, working at a university, who I want to interview for my podcast. What you hear in this episode is a weird experiment where the conversation is based on the text-based interview I had with Dr Chat GPT, voiced by myself and my better half, Tim. I ask Dr Chat GPT:· What is Chat GPT?· What first made you interested in psychology?· What makes a good psychology researcher?· What are some tips for successful and enjoyable collaborations with other researchers?· What kind of psychological research do you do?· If you had limitless budget, what study would you conduct and why? Cite this episodeMacDonald, J. B (Host). (2023, April 28). Psychological research and collaboration with Dr Chat GPT (An AI experiment) (No. 15) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.comAcknowledgmentDr Chat GPT was voiced by Tim MacDonald. The audio edit for this episode was completed by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald. The transcript for this episode was checked for accuracy by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald.

This episode focuses on Dr Abigail Alfrey’s research and practice on the ways animals can be involved in mental health practice. We discuss: (1) the significance of pets for people experiencing psychosis, (2) including dogs in cognitive assessment to improve testing experiences and outcomes for child clients, and (3) reducing practitioner burnout by promoting animals in the workplace. We touch super briefly on other creative methods, like poetry, in therapy.

This episode and the last one focus on Dr Evita March’s research in the area of cyber psychology. In this second part of our discussion, we consider how the dark tetrad of personality can help us understand cyber dating abuse. Along the way, we consider the role of attachment style and jealousy in intimate partner violence and coercive control online.

This episode focuses on Dr Will Dobud’s research in the area of outdoor and adventure therapies. We unpack the solution-focused therapeutic work he does on expeditions with young people experiencing poor mental health and/or substance use.