Joost Breeksema holds an MA in philosophy and is a PhD candidate at the Department of Psychiatry at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands, where he conducts various qualitative studies. He believes that a closer examination of the perspectives of patients and therapists involved in treatments with different psychedelics for severe mental disorders can deepen our understanding of the therapeutic mechanisms involved and how the multiple variables comprising set, setting, therapeutic framework, and other contextual factors influence these treatments.

He is also executive director of the OPEN Foundation. This Amsterdam-based non-profit has been advocating for interdisciplinary research into, and potential therapeutic applications of psychedelic since 2007. OPEN organizes the biannual Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research (ICPR), Europe’s longest-running conference on psychedelics, focusing on high-quality scientific research, therapeutic innovations, and critical discussions around ethics, policy, and more. ICPR 2024 takes place in Haarlem, from 6 to 8 June, 2024. Underlying all his work is a deep-seated belief in the scientifically grounded, responsible and ethical integration of psychedelics that respects the multiplicity of other, non-medical approaches.