Dr. Jakub Greń

I come from Laskowa — a small town hidden between gentle mountain peaks in southern Poland. I love trees and forests, reading books, and filling my journal. I love music and dancing, as well as that never-silent-space-between-the-ears. I also love to talk, cook, and take photos. I love coffee and chocolate (as long as it's not dark). And finally, I love to work on bringing alive the ideas I think are right, and the changes I think are needed. From an early age I was driven by both empathy and a desire to understand myself and others, which led me to study psychology — an ancient discipline but a young science, focused on understanding and helping people in a dimension much more subtle than the body, but much more solid than the soul.

CONTACT

Psychology and
psychotherapy

During my Master's degree in clinical psychology at SWPS University in Warsaw, Poland, I was engaged in a range of subjects but became most interested in psychopharmacology, trauma psychology, altered states of consciousness, and addiction. Wanting to gain not just knowledge but also hands-on experience, I completed several internships in psychiatric hospitals and addiction treatment centers. I also worked with several non-governmental organizations providing harm reduction services outside the walls of healthcare facilities (streets, clubs, etc.). At the same time, I graduated from the Psychological Support and Crisis Intervention Course, and then also from a 3.5-year Specialized Training in Addiction Therapy and Rehabilitation, at the Institute of Health Psychology of the Polish Psychological Association. As a result, I started my psychotherapy practice, which I had long gravitated towards. And a while later, I found out that my place was also in the academia.

Scientific research

After graduating from university, and already being focused on working with people using psychoactive substances, I undertook a professional internship in Portugal, which inspired me to work as a researcher as well. Later that year, I began my PhD studies at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw - the leading scientific center for mental health research in Poland - with a focus on exploring effective strategies for reducing the risks and harms associated with the use of various psychoactive substances. For my research projects, I received two grants from the National Center for Addiction Prevention in Poland. The findings of my studies have been published with distinction in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented at several national and international conferences. I was also awarded a Fulbright Program scholarship, which included a ten-month residency in the United States from 2022 to 2023, where I worked with a leading research team in my field — the Center of Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA) at the University of New Mexico, NM. Over the course of my PhD, my interests and engagements grew increasingly toward harm reduction and the integration of psychedelic experiences.

Integration
of psychedelic
experiences

I first encountered this concept while working as an educator, crisis interventionist, and tripsitter at many club parties and music festivals, during which participants are using psychedelics and oftentimes need support in managing their specific effects. This work came very naturally to me from the very beginning, so I was eager to dive into it. In 2018, I underwent specialized training in dealing with emergencies related to psychedelic use. This training was organized by Kosmicare–Harm Reduction & Psychedelic Research, whim whom I also participated in the Kosmicare Psychedelic Emergency Hub team at the BOOM festival in Portugal, the world's largest psychedelic culture event. A year later, I was invited to join an official working group of the Visegrad Group countries to develop guidelines for integrating psychedelic experiences for mental health professionals. This collaboration resulted in a comprehensive paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and my co-founding of a local initiative focused on education on working with psychedelic experiences in Poland. Since then, I have been supporting the integration of psychedelic experiences within my private clinical practice, as well as integration sessions for ketamine-assisted therapy patients at the Polish first ketamine clinic. I also continuously refine my education on that matter. In 2023, I participated in the first training workshop for psychedelic integration practitioners organized in the state of Oregon (Fluence Psychedelic Integration Experiential Practice Retreat), and in the first MAPS training in MDMA-Assisted Therapy organized in Europe. I have also completed a comprehensive Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration certification training conducted by Fluence in the United States. In addition, I have been initiating the still missing scientific research on psychedelic integration as well. I also actively support the activities of the Polish Psychedelic Society.