Dr. Jacek Debiec, M.D., Ph.D., M.Phil., D.Phil., F.A.P.A., is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. With several years of formal training in psychiatry and psychotherapy and over thirty years of clinical experience, he specializes in comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment, advanced psychopharmacology, and various therapy modalities. Dr. Debiec's treatment approach is informed by his clinical training and experiences, as well as by his academic research on fear, anxiety, trauma, and attachment. He is committed to personalized and comprehensive patient care. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Addressing parenting issues, emotional development, school-related emotional and behavioral problems, college mental health, anxiety disorders, selective mutism, depression, mood disorders, OCD, trauma, PTSD, transgenerational trauma, sleep issues, neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, autism, and attachment issues. In his practice, Dr. Debiec uniquely combines his rich clinical experience and skills with his award-winning research experience in behavioral, affective and developmental neuroscience.

• College Mental Health: Focused on supporting young adults in college, graduate school, and at the beginning of their professional careers.

• Specialized Areas: Emotional development, life transitions, emotional trauma, behavioral problems, psychoeducational assessments, and school accommodation recommendations. Other specialized areas include spirituality in psychiatry (with a special focus on possession trance and dissociative states), climate anxiety, eco-anxiety, climate grief, and collapse awareness.

 

Dr. Debiec's practice caters to all ages, with a particular focus on children, teenagers, and young adults, offering a personalized approach to each patient to ensure the highest quality of mental health services.

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Educational Background:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the New York University Child Study Center.

• Residency in Psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Hospitals.

• Training in Transcultural Psychiatry at the University of Vienna, Austria.

• Residency in Psychiatry at the Jagiellonian University Hospital, Krakow, Poland.

• M.D. and Ph.D. in Transcultural Psychiatry from the Jagiellonian University.

• M.Phil. and D.Phil. in Philosophy of Mind/Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences from the Pontifical University, Krakow, Poland.

 

Dr. Debiec has served as a Clinical Instructor at New York University and Jagiellonian University, and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. He integrates psychiatry, psychotherapy, neuroscience, and philosophy in his clinical work to provide holistic mental health care. He has trained extensively in various psychotherapy modalities, including psychodynamic therapy, family therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectic behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, clinical hypnosis, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, interpersonal psychotherapy, supportive therapy, organizational skills training, parent management training, parent-child interaction therapy, and play therapy. He also worked as a moonlighting physician at the New York City Administration for Children's Services (Children's Protective Services, CPS).
 

Research and Publications:

As a Herder Fellow at the University of Vienna, Dr. Debiec studied transcultural psychiatry, focusing on psychopathological and cultural aspects of possession trance, shamanic trance, exorcism, and trance-based folk healing methods, mentored by Prof. Dorota Simonides. 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, focusing on the neurobiology of fear, associative threat learning, and traumatic memory reconsolidation processes. He also participated in the PTSD Study Group at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. 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.

Awards and Honors:

Dr. Debiec has received several awards, including the Fulbright Fellowship, 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), National Institute of Mental Health Outstanding Research Resident Award, Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar Award from the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, and others.

Some Other Contributions:

Dr. Jacek Debiec considers volunteering and public engagement an important aspect of his professional life, among other activities he has:
Volunteered in supporting healthcare workers on COVID-19 units during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is a member of the Alliance of the World Scientists, an organization dedicated to mobilizing societies to respond to the global climate and environmental crisis.

He is a signatory of the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, which calls for increasing society’s consideration of animal welfare.

Media Contributions:

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. He is a sought-after expert speaker for commentary on parenting, mental health, psychiatry, and neurosciences in national and international media.

Dr. Debiec is a sought-after expert speaker for commentary on parenting, mental health and psychiatry in national and international media. Below are the links to some of Dr. Debiec's media contributions, interviews, appearances, and mentions.

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• 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

• Chicago Tribune: Fear can spread from person to person faster than the coronavirus – but there are ways to slow it down 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

• The Independent: Stranger danger: When can we stop being scared of other people in a pandemic? by Marisa Bate

• The Conversation: Memories of trauma are unique because of how brains and bodies respond to threat by Jacek Debiec​

• 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

• OKO.Press: Wiara w spisek wynika z nieufności. Budujmy zaufanie! [rozmowa z psychiatrą] by Anna Mierzyńska

• PsyPost: Fear contagion research reveals why coronavirus anxiety can quickly spread from person to person by Jacek Debiec​

• Rzeczpospolita: Pokusa publicznej diagnozy choroby psychicznej by Jacek Debiec​

• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Separate Children From Parents, And The Lasting Impact Shows in Their Brain Development by Jacek Debiec​

• European Psychiatry: Dreaming the memories of our parents: Understanding the neurobiology of transgenerational trauma and the capacities for its healing by I. Rozentsvit​

• 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​

• BrainFacts.org: Feeling Scared and Anxious During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Normal. Here's Why by Alexis Wnuk​

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My Philosophy

I approach each patient individually with openess and compassion. Before giving any diagnosis or making treatment recommendations, I need to get to know you and your past experiences, current life situation, medical history, strengths, challenges, expectations, and goals.

Many people seek professional help when they are going through psychological crisis. I will work with you to support and guide you through overcoming the crisis, addressing and treating associated symptoms, while helping you to understand the underlying causes of the crisis and ways to better cope moving forward. In the long run, addressing the causes of the crisis is more important than just alleviating the symptoms. In many situations, understanding and addressing the causes of psychological distress helps to prevent prolonged, unnecessary, and sometimes, harmful treatments. In my practice, I have seen many patients coming to me after years of taking several psychotropic medications prescribed by other clinicians to treat the symptoms while patients’ emotional, education, or other needs were undiagnosed and neglected. For example, young children being prescribed up to ten psychotropic medications daily, all of which may have both short and long-term side effects. In many cases, addressing the causes of the crisis through appropriate school accommodations or improving communication in the family led to the resolution or significant reduction of symptoms, which allowed me to recommend and help my patients `with safely tapering off and discontinuing medications. Sometimes, all of them. It can take some time and effort but the results are more impactful with deeper, positive outcomes and lifelong skills for the young person.

For success, it is essential to help patients gain autonomy and control that is taken away or limited by a psychiatric challenges. To this end, I begin with supporting individual strengths, coping skills and resilience. Psychiatric care today often focuses on quick diagnosis and management of symptoms with medications. In order to facilitate the healing process, it is critical to focus on each individual’s strengths.

With each patient, I work on designing a unique and comprehensive treatment plan. Therapy modalities are utilized flexibly depending on the individual needs and preferences in each case, and adjusting the frequency of sessions to individual circumstances. For example, I see some patients for weekly therapy, and others only every few months. Regular communication between visits helps to best tailor and adjust treatment to developing and the ever-changing situations of life.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss what you are searching and hoping for in treatment and if I am not the best match for your treatment I may have search recommendations and resources for you.