The MIND Foundation is a nonprofit based in Berlin whose mission is to leverage psychedelics to “create a healthier, more connected world.” The organization supports and conducts high-quality research and social projects, and connects professionals, scientists, and the public to educate on and advocate for the safe, informed use of psychedelics.
Dr. Henrik Jungaberle, Dr. Andrea Jungaberle, Maximilian Von Heiden, and Marvin Däumichenout founded MIND in 2016 in response to the growing mental illness epidemic. The nonprofit hosts several programs in alignment with its research, education, and human development goals that embrace the ethical philosophy of Bewusstseinskultur — a “culture of consciousness” based on knowledge, openness, and relationship.
MIND Academy is the foundation’s “educational platform,” offering workshops, seminars, conferences, and training related to psychedelics. There are events geared toward professionals as well as individuals interested in personal development.
INSIGHT is a biannual, interdisciplinary conference hosted by MIND that, as stated in the foundation’s brochure, “aims to integrate [evidence from psychedelic research] into mainstream culture and science.” INSIGHT conferences have featured dozens of distinguished persons in the psychedelic field such as Dr. Kim Kuypers, Dr. Matthias Liechti, Dr. Franz X. Vollenweider, Dr. Rosalind Watts, Dr. Rick Doblin, and many others.
MIND’s UniMIND program is a community of psychedelic science-focused academic journal clubs that facilitate critical dialogue about altered states of consciousness.
As part of its clinical research initiative, MIND has partnered with The Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim and the Charité Berlina university hospital on a study of psilocybin for treatment-resistant unipolar depression. The study, called EPIsoDE, is a placebo-controlled comparison of high and low-dose efficacy and began patient recruitment in March 2021. It is led by Principal Investigator Professor Dr. Gerhard Gründer, a member of MIND’s Scientific Advisory Board. MIND also offers a fellowship program for doctoral students and connects the public with opportunities to participate in studies and surveys. Additionally, the organization supports research and practice with non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness. For example, it provides sessions using the Lucia N°03 or “Lucia lamp,” which can induce a hypnagogic state.
MIND also hosts various programs to support psychedelic users and professionals with integration and integration facilitation. On The Undark Podcast, founder and Collaboration and Media Director Dr. Andrea Jungaberle said of MIND’s programs, “We don’t want to train people for the underground. We’re strictly against that. We’re trying to stay within the legal framework. Bypassing is easy, but we have given ourselves the task to change the system. And this is slow. This is tedious, and it sometimes is annoying, but we want to give people the chance to already practice these things without breaking the law.”
MIND’s Scientific Advisory Board is composed of more than twenty scientists from around the world. It includes renowned psychedelic researchers such as Dr. Franz Vollenweider, Dr. David Nichols, Dr. Matthias Leichti, Dr. Roland Griffiths, Dr. Robin Carhartt-Harris. Among its staff is Dr. Max Wolff, an addiction researcher at the University of Dresden.
Students, professionals, and the general public can become members of MIND, which boasts a membership community of more than 700 people.
According to a timeline outlined in MIND’s informational brochure, the nonprofit’s goals include conducting its own clinical studies, creating Centers of Excellence for treatments and self-exploration, certifying clinicians to offer psychedelic treatment, and licensing treatment units by 2025.