Dimitri Tsakas

Dimitri Tsakas, PhD, writes for people who want to understand their inner experience.

An Accredited Mental Health Social Worker based in Brisbane, Australia, he has spent more than three decades listening to people at the hardest points of their lives, from a hospital mental health unit and the Family Court of Australia to his own counselling practice, Blakrok Insight. He also trains frontline human services teams in emotional awareness.

His latest book, "The Substitute Listener", asks why so many of us now confide in AI. It neither condemns nor celebrates the trend. AI, he argues, has moved into the gaps of modern mental health care. Dr Tsakas argues it has a place, but cannot yet replace human connection.

His earlier book, "Between Altars and Alliances", examines the diplomacy of Pope Francis, the subject of his PhD in international relations. His community work has earned him the St George Medal for Community Service and a Queensland Flood Hero Award.