From Evidence To Access

International Conference on Novel Mental Health Treatments

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Registrations will open in July 2026

13 October 2026, Prague, Czechia

SCALE 2026 Conference in Prague

SCALE takes place at a decisive moment for the future of mental health care. Research is advancing rapidly, clinical evidence is growing, and innovative approaches, including psychedelic-assisted therapies, are gaining recognition from regulators. But evidence alone is no longer enough. The challenge now is how to translate scientific progress into real-world access. How to build effective regulatory frameworks, align research with clinical practice, and connect innovation with payers and public institutions. Ultimately, the goal is clear - to ensure that novel mental health treatments reach the patients who need them most.


SCALE brings together leading scientists, clinicians, policymakers, insurers, investors, philanthropists, and international experts to address this challenge. The conference focuses on key questions shaping the field today, from strengthening psychological resilience in times of crisis and responding to war-related trauma, to understanding global trends in psychiatric care, designing regulatory pathways, and advancing discussions on cost-effectiveness and reimbursement.

SCALE is about the next phase of mental health innovation - moving from evidence to access, and turning progress into real impact.

More about agenda

Introducing EU Member States’ Best Practices

As the debate on novel mental health treatments moves from scientific research towards implementation, the role of Member States is becoming increasingly important. Across Europe, governments, regulators, clinicians, and researchers are beginning to explore how innovative therapies can be safely integrated into healthcare systems, including through reimbursement schemes, clinical guidelines, and national mental health strategies. This creates a growing need for the exchange of best practices, regulatory experience, and evidence-based policy approaches between Member States.

In this context, the Czech Republic is emerging as one of the most advanced and closely watched examples in Europe. Czechia combines cutting-edge research, internationally recognised experts, and a rapidly developing ecosystem of specialised mental health and psychedelic clinics. At the same time, it has demonstrated a willingness to engage with complex regulatory questions. In 2024, the Czech Republic adopted a psychomodulatory law establishing a legal framework for psychomodulatory substances, followed in 2025 by parliamentary approval of the medical use of psilocybin. Additional steps include reimbursement schemes for ketamine-assisted therapy, and currently the preparation of secondary legislation, and the development of national cost-effectiveness studies on psilocybin-assisted therapy.

The Czech approach reflects a broader post-1989 tradition of evidence-based policymaking and openness to innovation in healthcare. It also responds to increasingly urgent societal challenges, including the growing PTSD burden linked to the war in Ukraine and wider security crises across Europe. By combining research excellence, clinical innovation, and regulatory ambition, Czechia is positioning itself as a European hub for responsible mental health innovation and as a valuable source of experience for other Member States navigating similar challenges.

Speakers

Pavel Bém

Pavel Bém

Global Commission on Drug Policy

Dr. Pavel Bém is a Czech politician and psychiatrist, who has played a formative role in shaping Czech drug policy, particularly medical cannabis legislation. He has influenced public-health-oriented addiction approaches across Central and Eastern Europe, and collaborated extensively with the EU, UN, WHO, and other international bodies. Dr. Bém has additionally held several political positions prior to his tenure as National Drug Coordinator, notably as the Mayor of Prague, a Member of Parliament, a member of the National Drug Commission, an advisor to the Prime Minister on drug issues, and Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union.

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Martin R. Steele

Martin R. Steele

President of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition and CEO of Reason for Hope

Gen. Martin Steele is a decorated combat veteran, who first enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps before serving three tours of duty. He is a nationally recognized voice advocating veteran affairs and mental health reform and has served on the VA Commission on Care and multiple national boards dedicated to supporting veterans and their families. Reason for Hope advocates shifting from merely managing symptoms of serious mental health disorders to addressing the root causes of trauma or addiction. The organization has convinced multiple state governments to allocate funds towards psychedelic therapies for disorders affecting veterans.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Former Governor of Texas and Chairman of Americans for Ibogaine

Rick Perry is the former Governor of Texas and former U.S. Secretary of Energy. Since leaving office, he has dedicated his career to advocating for the clinical research and use of the ibogaine to treat addiction, PTSD, and traumatic brain injuries. Governor Perry has raised awareness of the mental health applications of ibogaine and advocated for favourable policies at both the state and federal levels. In Texas, he helped champion a series of FDA-supervised clinical trials using ibogaine, supported by $50 million in funding from the state, the largest ever investment into ibogaine research by any U.S. state.

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Jiří Horáček

Jiří Horáček

Director of the National Institute of Mental Health

Prof. Dr. Jiří Horáček is an expert of psychiatry and psychotherapy, with decades of academic experience researching functional brain imaging, the neurobiology of schizophrenia and depression, antipsychotics and psychedelics, and the modeling of neural activity. In addition to his role as Director of the Czech National Institute of Mental Health, he leads its Centre for Advanced Studies of Brain and Consciousness. Furthermore, Prof. Horáček has authored over two hundred scientific publications, with key contributions on auditory hallucinations, insulin sensitivity and serotonin interactions, and the neurobiology of schizophrenia and psychedelic mechanisms.

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Adam Marr

Adam Marr

U.S. Army Veteran and Director of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition

Adam Marr is a U.S. Army Veteran and Apache helicopter pilot who now serves as Director of Operations for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition, where he works across policy, clinical, and research domains to help advance a new, evidence-based standard of mental health care and psychedelic-assisted therapies for veterans. In 2015 he co-founded the Warrior Angels Foundation, dedicated to precision-based treatment for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress in veterans, advocating for alternative therapies and holistic healing. He also worked in Cancún as a strategic advisor on a 9-week ibogaine trial program launched by Beond Service.

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Jesse Gould

Jesse Gould

Army Ranger Veteran and Founder of Heroic Hearts Project

Jesse Gould is a veteran of three deployments in Afghanistan who founded the Heroic Hearts Project, a nonprofit which pioneers the acceptance and use of psychedelic-assisted therapies for addressing the mental health crisis among military veterans. They have raised over $20 million, helped hundreds of veterans and their families access psychedelic programs in cooperation with leading treatment centres, and sponsored clinical research with academic institutions to advance the scientific legitimacy of psychedelic medicine and encourage wider clinical acceptance. Jesse Gould has testified before lawmakers on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and is a contributing author of various educational materials for veterans.

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Martin Polanco

Martin Polanco

Founder and Medical Director of the Mission Within

Dr. Martin Polanco is the founder of The Mission Within, a clinical program that serves Special Operations Veterans and specialises in treatment-resistant and complex conditions such as mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, depression, and addiction arising from experiences during military service. Dr. Polanco has extensive experience in treating addiction and was the founder and medical director at Crossroads Treatment Center which demonstrated an effective mental health treatment model using psychedelics. He built on this work by contributing to the body of psychedelic research, specifically focused on the outcome and phenomenological studies of Ibogaine and 5 MeO-DMT.

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Marcus Luttrell

Marcus Luttrell

Former U.S. Navy SEAL and Board Member of Americans for Ibogaine

Marcus Luttrell is a former U.S. Navy SEAL, bestselling author, and advocate for veteran resilience whose experiences in combat shaped his commitment to healing and recovery. After surviving Operation Red Wings, Luttrell dedicated his career to supporting service members facing trauma, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Drawing from personal experience with ibogaine therapy, Luttrell has become one of the most prominent advocates for ibogaine research in the U.S., bringing both personal testimony and national visibility to the mission of expanding access to ibogaine therapy for veterans and those struggling with addiction and trauma.

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Trevor Millar

Trevor Millar

Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences

Trevor Millar is the COO and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences. A social entrepreneur and pioneer in ibogaine advocacy and treatment, Millar has over a decade of experience supporting individuals through addiction recovery, trauma healing, and post-treatment integration. His background includes co-founding the Canadian Psychedelic Association and serving as Chair of the Board for MAPS Canada. He has co-authored peer-reviewed research on ibogaine’s applications for trauma, TBI, and opioid use disorder, and has featured in documentaries including DOSED and In Waves and War. He is an advocate for the creation of a new model of ethical, integrative psychedelic care on a global scale.

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Eric Vermetten

Eric Vermetten

Professor at Leiden University

Prof. Eric Vermetten is a professor of psychiatry at Leiden University Medical Centre, prior to which he served 15 years as a clinical researcher and strategic advisor on military mental health at the Dutch Ministry of Defence. His research focuses on the medical-biological and psychiatric aspects of trauma, as well as the biological validation of novel interventions in PTSD, including medications such as MDMA and psilocybin. As a leading expert on psychotherapy and posttraumatic stress, he also worked for the United Nations from 2022 to 2025, tasked with designing and implementing a Mental Health Strategy for uniformed professionals.

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Svitlana Moroz

Svitlana Moroz

CEO of the Dnipropetrovsk Multidisciplinary Clinical Psychiatric Care Hospital

Professor Svitlana Mykhailivna Moroz is a Ukrainian psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychologist and general director of the largest specialized psychiatric clinic in Ukraine, the Dnipropetrovsk Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital for Psychiatric Care, who has been awarded the distinction of an Honoured Doctor of Ukraine by her government. Prof. Moroz, a well-known specialist with more than forty-five years of professional experience with both adults and children, specializing in trauma and clinical stress, working closely with the veterans and survivors of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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Mariana Štefková

Mariana Štefková

Psychotherapist and Member of the WG for the Cost-Effectiveness Study of PAT for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Dr. Mariana Štefková is a Czech physician specializing in clinical research and medical strategy. She combines a strong background in pharma and clinical research with training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, which she undertook at the Institute of Applied Psychoanalysis under the guidance of the well-known clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Jiří Kocourek. She studied at the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague and subsequently held regional and global medical roles in innovative pharmaceutical companies. She later left the corporate world and opened her own private practice, where she focuses on the connection of medicine and psychotherapy.

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Stanislav Milotínský

Stanislav Milotínský

Co-Founder of Psyon

Stanislav Milotinský is a Czech psychologist, psychotherapist, co-founder of the Czech Psychedelic Society (CZEPS), Psycare, and the psychedelic clinic Psyon. Psyon offers high-quality standard as well as progressive approaches to mental health care based on psychedelic-assisted therapy, standard psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care, education and research. He graduated from the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University and completed training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in the U.S. Among other activities, he works in a private therapeutic practice, in the crisis intervention centre, and at the day care centre for people with diagnosed personality disorders at the psychiatric hospital in Bohnice, Prague.

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Kristina Pomothy

Kristina Pomothy

CEO and Founder of Curacura

Kristina Pomothy is the founder of Curacura, an organization focused on education and integration of somatic and psychedelic therapies into healthcare and self-development. Kristina’s background is in psychology, body-centered therapy and trauma informed somatic practices, and she has travelled the world to learn about psychedelic therapies from both western scientific clinicians, traditional indigenous healers, and those who blend the two approaches. For over a decade she worked in counselling, executive coaching and organisational psychology before personally facing the consequences of traumatic brain injury, which led to her founding Curacura. She is currently enrolled at the Czech Institute of Biosynthetic Psychotherapy and at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

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Henrik Jungaberle

Henrik Jungaberle

Founder of MIND Foundation

Dr. Henrik Jungaberle is the Director of the MIND Foundation and CEO of OVID, a private psychiatric-psychotherapeutic practice and day clinic in Berlin. He is a researcher, science entrepreneur, and author in public health, psychedelics, and psychotherapy, with a focus on human development from a lifespan and ecology perspective. Dr. Jungaberle investigates integration and integrity in the use of psychoactive substances, and he has worked on research projects with the backing of both the EU and German government on salutogenesis and psychoactive substances, such as EPIsoDE study at the Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which investigated the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in the treatment of depression.

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Barbara Rothbaum

Barbara Rothbaum

Psychologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta

Dr. Barbara Rothbaum je ředitelkou programu Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, zástupkyní vedoucího klinického výzkumu na katedře psychiatrie a behaviorálních věd a ředitelkou programu pro zotavení z traumatu a úzkosti. Specializuje se na výzkum léčby úzkostných poruch, zejména posttraumatické stresové poruchy, a byla součástí studie Institutu medicíny, která hodnotila probíhající úsilí v léčbě této poruchy. Dr. Rothbaum se věnuje léčbě PTSD od roku 1986 a vyvinula, testovala a šířila některé z nejinovativnějších a nejúčinnějších dostupných léčebných postupů pro PTSD, včetně expozišní terapie ve virtuální realitě.

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Agenda

08.45–09.30

Registration and Welcome Coffee

09.30–10.00

Opening Remarks

  • Rick Perry, Former Governor of Texas and President of Americans for Ibogain
  • Pavel Bém, Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
  • Martin R. Steele, Retired Lieutenant General of the U.S. Marine Corps, Chief Executive Officer of Reason for Hope, President of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition (VMHLC)

10:00–10.30

Keynote Speech

  • Jiří Horáček, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Head of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology Clinic at the 3rd Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague
  • Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health, United States (TBC)
  • Marion Haberkamp, European Medicines Agency (TBC)

10.30–11.30

Building a Pathway for Novel Mental Health Treatments: Czech Model

  • Pavel Bém, Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
  • Kamil Farhan, Member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic (TBC)
  • Jiří Horáček, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Head of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology Clinic at the 3rd Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague
  • Dita Protopopová, National Coordinator for Mental Health and Executive Vice-Chair of the Government Council for Mental Health of the Czech Republic (TBC)

    Panel discussion moderated by Viktor Chvátal, Founder of PsychedelicsEUROPE

11.30–12.00

Cost-effectiveness of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (Case Studies)

  • Mariana Štefková, Psychotherapist and Member of the Working Group for the Cost-Effectiveness Study of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression
  • Aleš Tichopád, Head of CzechHTA research at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague, and Member of the Working Group for the Cost-Effectiveness Study of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TBC)

12.00–13.00

Lunch

13.00–14.00

PTSD Treatment in USA: From Tijuana to Oval Office

  • Jesse Gould, Army Ranger veteran and Founder of Heroic Hearts Project
  • Marcus Luttrell, Former U. S. Navy SEAL and Board Member of Americans
    for Ibogaine
  • Trevor Millar, Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences
  • Martin Polanco, Founder and Medical Director of the Mission Within

    Panel discussion moderated by Adam Marr, U.S. Army veteran and Director of the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition

14.00–15.00

PTSD Treatment in Europe: EU, Member States and Frontline Regions

  • Eric Vermetten, Psychiatrist and Professor at Leiden University, Chair CINP Stress Global Networking, Co-founder of EPIC and former Head of Research at the Dutch Ministry of Defence
  • Svitlana Moroz, CEO of the Dnipropetrovsk Multidisciplinary Clinical Psychiatric Care Hospital, Representative of Dnipropetrovsk regional Council, Honored Doctor of Ukraine
  • Tais Poda, Co-founder of the Ukrainian Psychedelic Research Association (UPRA)
  • Oleh Orlov, Deputy Director for Research and Experimental Work, M. Yarmachenko Institute of Special Pedagogy and Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine; Chair of the Board of UPRA (TBC)

    Panel discussion moderated by Tomas Petricek, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechia and Founder of EUNOIA Horizons

15.00–15.30

Coffee Break

15.30–16.45

Healthcare Ecosystem: Providers, Manufacturers and Companies

  • Stanislav Milotínský, Co-Founder of Psyon
  • Kristina Pomothy, CEO and Founder of Curacura
  • Representative of Natural MedTech
  • Representatives of a pharmaceutical company (TBC)

    Panel discussion moderated by Simeon Schnapper, Philanthropist and investor, JLS Fund

16.45–17.45

Approaching Paradigm Shift: Therapeutic Guidelines

  • Henrik Jungaberle, Founder of the MIND Foundation
  • Barbara Rothbaum, Psychologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, United States
  • Eduardo Schonberg, Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Chair of Independent Psychedelics Evidence Assessment Working Group (TBC)
  • Filip Tylš, Co-Founder of Psyon

    Panel discussion moderated by Ingmar Gorman, Psychologist and Co-Founder at Fluence

17.45–18.15

Coffee Break

18.15–19.15

Women’s Mental Health: Birth, Maternal Mental Health and Trauma

  • Melissa Lavasani, Founder and CEO of Psychedelic Medicine Coalition
  • Lilia Khousnoutdinova, Founder of the Propolis33 Fund
  • Jana Bednářová, CEO of PSYRES

    Panel discussion moderated by Misha Lebeda, Propolis33 Fund

19.15–19.20

Closing Remarks

  • Viktor Chvátal, Founder of PsychedelicsEUROPE

20.00

Informal Networking

08.45–09.30

Registration and Welcome Coffee

09.30–10.15

Opening Remarks

  • Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces
  • Piers Cazalet, Director Defence and Security Cooperation, NATO Headquarters
  • Danuše Nerudová, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and Intergroup on Mental Health
  • Tomáš Zdechovský, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and Integroup on Mental Health
  • Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP) and Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

09.30–10.15

Legislative Path Towards Psychedelic Therapy
for Veterans in the US

  • Name, Text
  • Name, Text
  • Name, Text
  • Name, Text
  • Name, Text

11.00–12.00

Increasing the Psychological Resilience of Society in Times of Crisis

  • Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces
  • Piers Cazalet, Director Defence and Security Cooperation, NATO Headquarters
  • Danuše Nerudová, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and Intergroup on Mental Health
  • Tomáš Zdechovský, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and Integroup on Mental Health
  • Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP) and Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

12.00–13.00

Lunch

Side Events

TBC
12 October 2026
(hosted by EPIC)

Frontline: PAT, War in Ukraine and EU Funding

Scale conference

More details coming soon.

TBC
14 October 2026

Cost: Can PAT be cheaper for healthcare systems? 

Scale conference

More details coming soon

Practical Information

Scale conference

Venue

The conference will take place at the Ball Game Hall (Míčovna) located within the historic Prague Castle - one of Europe’s most significant cultural and political landmarks. Set in the Royal Garden, the venue offers a unique combination of history and architecture, all just a short walk from the Czech Parliament.

Registration

Registrations will open in July 2026. Participation is free of charge, but capacity is limited. Your place is confirmed only after receiving a confirmation email from the organizers.

The conference will be conducted in English and Czech, with simultaneous interpretation available. Catering will be provided throughout the day.

If you have any questions, please contact the organisers at secretariat@scaleprague.eu.

Scale conference

How to get there

The Ball Game Hall of the Prague Castle is easily accessible by public transport.


From the “Pražský hrad” tram stop (tram no. 22 or 23): Head towards Prague Castle. After passing the Lví dvůr restaurant, turn left through the iron gate into the Royal Garden.


From the metro "Malostranská" stop (either a 15-minute walk towards the Prague Castle or tram no. 22 or 23 to tram stop "Pražský hrad")

Main Organizer

Co-Organizers

Partners

Institutional Partners