“The BIAL Foundation is a place where science is understood as a process that needs to reflect and rethink continuously its own presupposition and borders – for me this is the most innovative and creative approach possible.”
Stefan Schmidt was born in 1967 in Stuttgart, Germany. He studied in Konstanz and Freiburg and received a degree in psychology and a PhD in psychophysiology from the University of Freiburg.
In 2009, he was appointed as Heymans Professor on Exceptional Experiences to the University for Humanistic Studies in Utrecht (NL). In 2010, he became Assistant Professor for Transcultural Health Studies at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). Since 2018, he holds a position as Full Professor for Systemic Family Therapy at the Department for Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany. Since 2021, he is also member of the board of the Institute for Frontier Areas in Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg, one of the largest research institutes devoted to systematic and interdisciplinary research of so far insufficiently understood phenomena and anomalies.
Stefan Schmidt’s research interests target mainly fields at the border areas of science where existing paradigms and assumptions are challenged. His research projects are centred at the interface of health, spirituality and consciousness, more precisely meditation, mindfulness, placebo, parapsychology, embodiment, as well as systemic approaches in psychotherapy.
