About Dr. Jacek Debiec
Dr. Debiec is a native of Poland. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in transcultural psychiatry from the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland (thesis advisor: Prof. Bogdan de Barbaro) and his M. Phil. and D.Phil. in philosophy of science / mathematical cognition from the Pontifical University in Krakow, Poland (thesis advisor and mentor: Prof. Michal Heller). He completed his residency in psychiatry at the Jagiellonian University Hospital, where he worked for a few years as a Clinical Instructor. During his time at the Jagiellonian University, Dr. Debiec studied phenomenological and axiological psychiatry (mentor in psychiatry: Prof. Jacek Bomba) and, for a few years, attended lectures and participated in seminars on philosophical phenomenology, philosophy of human encounter, and philosophy of drama with Prof. Jozef Tischner and history of philosophy with Prof. Tadeusz Gadacz. At the same time, Dr. Debiec started his intense training in psychotherapy, including psychodynamic therapy, family therapy, and clinical hypnosis. Subsequently, Dr. Debiec completed his adult psychiatry training at New York University / Bellevue Hospitals and his child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the New York University Child Study Center, where he also served as a Clinical Instructor. As a resident in psychiatry at NYU, Dr. Debiec participated in the National Institutes of Mental Health Outstanding Resident Award Program. During his time at NYU, Dr. Debiec continued his training in psychotherapy, including psychodynamic therapy, family therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectic behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, interpersonal psychotherapy, supportive therapy, organizational skills training, parent management training, parent-child interaction therapy, and play therapy. During his fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Debiec worked as a moonlighting physician at the New York City Administration for Children's Services (Children's Protective Services, CPS).
As a Herder Fellow at the University of Vienna, Austria, Dr. Debiec studied transcultural psychiatry, focusing on psychopathological and cultural aspects of possession trance, shamanic trance, exorcism, and trance-based folk healing methods. He was at that time mentored in folklore studies and cultural anthropology by Prof. Dorota Simonides. As a result of his studies, Dr. Debiec published the first Polish monograph on the psychopathological and cultural determinants of possession trance (Opętanie, Jagiellonian University Press, 2000). As a Fulbright Scholar and then Associate Research Scientist, Dr. Debiec conducted research in affective and behavioral neuroscience in the laboratory of Prof. Joseph E. LeDoux at the Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, where his focus was on the neurobiology of fear, associative threat learning and traumatic memory reconsolidation processes. During his time at the NYU Center for Neural Science, Dr. Debiec participated in the PTSD Study Group at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Dr. LeDoux and Dr. Debiec published many research papers and book chapters and co-authored and co-edited two books: The Self: From Soul to Brain and The Emotional Brain Revisited. Subsequently, in the laboratory of Prof. Regina M. Sullivan at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, New York, Dr. Debiec studied the developmental neurobiology of attachment, threat and safety learning in infancy, early childhood trauma, trauma in the context of attachment, early childhood attachment complicated by trauma and parental neglect, and intergenerational transmission of fear responses and emotional trauma.
As an attending psychiatrist and assistant professor, from 2012 to 2023, Dr. Debiec worked in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section and Women and Infants Mental Health Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While at the University of Michigan, Dr. Debiec worked closely with hundreds of patients and their families and oversaw the treatment of thousands more. In his clinical work, he has been uniquely integrating and flexibly using his skills and knowledge in psychiatry, psychotherapy, neuroscience, and philosophy. Dr. Debiec has taught and supervised numerous medical students, psychiatry residents, and child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. He has lectured nationally and internationally on various topics, from affective and developmental neuroscience to psychotherapy and philosophical issues in psychiatry. During his time at the University of Michigan, Dr. Debiec has conducted NIH-funded research on early childhood emotional trauma, maternal buffering of child's fear, and mother-to-infant transmission of fear. He has published in top scientific journals, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Neuron, Biological Psychiatry, The Journal of Neuroscience, Neuroscience, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Social Research, and others (for Dr. Debiec's publication record, see here). For his research, Dr. Debiec received several awards and honors, including the Anxiety and Depression Association of America Donald F. Klein Early Career Investigator Award, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Junior Investigator Award (twice), Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar Award from the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, and others. Dr. Debiec's research has been featured by numerous national and international media, including Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Science, The Scientist, The Verge, Psychiatric News, Mad in America, CTV News, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Irish Independent, Guokr, Lenta, Indian Express, International Business Times, Antara News, YTN, Al-Jazeera, Al-Shark, Periodico AM, Glamurama, Galileu, Gazeta Wyborcza, Die Welt, Deutschlandfunk, Focus, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, The Courier Mail, La Stampa, Le Scienze, and others.
Dr. Debiec is a member of the Alliance of the World Scientists.
Dr. Debiec is a sought-after expert speaker for commentary on parenting, mental health, psychiatry, and neurosciences in national and international media. Below are the links to some of Dr. Debiec's media contributions, interviews, appearances, and mentions.
CNN: When talking about suicide, avoid using these words by Kristen Rogers
DW News: Racism on the increase as fear of COVID-19 spreads by Gerhard Elfers
Huffington Post: What Not To Say To Someone Who Has Lost A Loved One To Suicide by Caroline Bologna
ABC: How Trauma Can Affect Memory by Matt Bevan, Angela Lavoipierre, and Stephen Smiley
World Economic Forum: Separar a un niño de sus padres puede modificarle el cerebro by Jacek Debiec
YTN News: 엄마의 트라우마, 아기도 냄새로 느낀다
Gazeta Prawna: Pacjent, nie kosument by Emilia Swietochowska
La Vanguardia: Separar a un niño n padres puede modificarle el cerebro by Jacek Debiec
Knack: 20 jaar na Columbine: "Wappens zitten nu eenmaal ingebakken in onze cultuur by Trui Moerkerke
Michigan Public: Despite strong economy, Americans report feeling more anxious by Cynthia Canty
Detroit Free Press: Toxic stress of poverty, violence, pain alter kids' brains by Jennifer Dixon
PBS: In Kavanaugh debate, 'boys will be boys' is an unscientific excuse for assault by Nsikan Akpan
Salon: Americans are more anxious than before by Jacek Debiec
Przekroj: The Smell of Fear. An Interview with Jacek Debiec by Jowita Kiwnik Pargana
Rzeczpospolita: Pokusa publicznej diagnozy choroby psychicznej by Jacek Debiec
Rzeczpospolita: Mądrość Zosi by Jacek Debiec
Creators Syndicate: Major Depression and Anxiety Levels are on the Rise in America by Chuck Norris
Tygodnik Powszechny: Pigułka zapomnienia by Elżbieta Olender and Sławomir Zagórski
Znak: Egzorcyzm jako forma leczenia symbolicznego by Jacek Debiec
Dr. Jacek Debiec, M.D., Ph.D., M.Phil., D.Phil. is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has thirty years of experience in comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment, advanced psychopharmacology, including prescribing and deprescribing, flexible use of various therapy modalities, academic teaching, and research. Dr. Debiec treats all ages, yet his practice focuses mainly on children, teenagers, and young adults. He has particular expertise in parenting problems, school- and academic-related emotional and behavioral problems, transitioning to college and college mental health, perinatal and reproductive psychiatry, anxiety disorders, selective mutism, depression, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, OCD, trauma, PTSD, gender-related issues, sleep problems, neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, autism, attachment issues, and eating disorders. His other expertise includes climate anxiety, eco-anxiety, climate grief, and collapse awareness, as well as possession trance and dissociative disorders. Dr. Debiec also specializes in supporting fellow-physicians experiencing physician burnout.