Stanislav Grof,
M.D., PH.D.

Stanislav Grof, M.D., PH.D., is a psychiatrist with over forty years experience of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelic substances and various non-drug techniques such as Holotropic BreathworkTM. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where he also received his scientific training - an M.D. degree from the Charles University School of Medicine and a Ph.D. from the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Grof's early research in the clinical uses of psychoactive drugs was conducted at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where he was Principal Investigator of a program systematically exploring the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances. He was Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Henry Phipps Clinic of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. In 1973, Dr. Grof was invited to the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California, where he lived until 1987 as Scholar-in-Residence, serving also on the Board of Trustees.

He was the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA). In this role, he has organized large international conferences all over the world. At present, he lives in Mill Valley, California, conducting training seminars for professionals in Holotropic BreathworkTM and transpersonal psychology. He also is Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Dr. Grof has published over 100 articles in professional journals. His books include: The Holotropic Mind; Realms of the Human Unconscious; The Human Encounter with Death (written with Joan Halifax); LSD Psychotherapy; Beyond the Brain; The Adventure of Self-Discovery; The Books of the Dead; Beyond Death; and The Stormy Search for the Self (the last two written with Christina Grof). He also edited the books Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science; Human Survival and Consciousness Evolution; and Spiritual Emergency (the last with Christina Grof). His newest book is The Cosmic Game, released in 1998.