{"id":82129,"date":"2018-06-08T10:12:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-08T10:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.speakersacademy.com\/speaker\/damiaan-denys\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T22:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:01:39","slug":"damiaan-denys","status":"publish","type":"sa_speaker","link":"https:\/\/www.speakersacademy.com\/en\/speaker\/damiaan-denys\/","title":{"rendered":"Damiaan Denys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Damiaan Denys works as a philosopher, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist, and is appointed as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He was the head of the Psychiatry department at AmsterdamUMC for 18 years and has published over 500 scientific articles.<\/p>\n

He pioneered research into obsessive-compulsive disorders, deep brain stimulation, and received the Ig Nobel Prize in 2020 for his description of misophonia. Since 2024, he has been leading Lemon Tree, an independent and interdisciplinary center that conducts research at the intersection of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and philosophy, and is part of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at the University of Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

In addition to his scientific work, Denys focuses on broader societal issues related to anxiety, control, happiness, normality, and meaning. In 2015, he wrote and performed a theater monologue about anxiety, which toured through the Netherlands and Belgium.<\/p>\n

Denys is known in the media for his candid questions and courageous positions in complex debates. His book \u2018The Shortage of Excess, the Paradox of Mental Health Care<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u2019 (2021) offers a penetrating analysis of our unhealthy relationship with mental disorders. His latest book, \u2018Psychotherapy in Motion, the Art of Boxing Psychotherapy<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u2019 (2023), describes the use of boxing in psychotherapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Damiaan Denys works as a philosopher, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist, and is appointed as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He was the head of the Psychiatry department at AmsterdamUMC for 18 years and has published over 500 scientific articles. He pioneered research into obsessive-compulsive disorders, deep brain stimulation, and received the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":77385,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[]},"sa_speaker_category":[137,41,37,158,117,48,73,90],"sa_language":[249],"sa_employability":[188],"class_list":["post-82129","sa_speaker","type-sa_speaker","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","sa_speaker_category-arts-culture-lifestyle","sa_speaker_category-health","sa_speaker_category-leadership-strategy","sa_speaker_category-lifestyle","sa_speaker_category-neuroscience","sa_speaker_category-philosophy","sa_speaker_category-the-brain","sa_speaker_category-work-happiness"],"acf":{"sa_introduction":"Damiaan Denys specializes in the treatment of patients with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders and conducts groundbreaking work in the application of deep brain stimulation.","sa_one_liner":"Neuroscientist, philosopher, and psychiatrist","sa_name_title":"prof. dr.","sa_region":[],"sa_degree":"","sa_stars":"","sa_maglr_ids":null,"sa_publications":[{"sa_publications_title":"Interview ACADEMY\u00ae Magazine 2015-2016","sa_publications_description":"Vertrouwen is een beter verdienmodel dan angst","sa_publications_file":66357,"sa_publications_url":""},{"sa_publications_title":"Interview ACADEMY\u00ae Magazine voorjaar 2016","sa_publications_description":"Vrije wil, fictie of non-fictie?","sa_publications_file":66358,"sa_publications_url":""}],"sa_socials":null,"sa_subjects":[{"sa_subjects_title":"Anxiety Disorders","sa_subjects_information":""},{"sa_subjects_title":"Psychiatry","sa_subjects_information":""},{"sa_subjects_title":"Medicine","sa_subjects_information":""},{"sa_subjects_title":"Philosophy","sa_subjects_information":""}],"sa_faq_items":null,"sa_minimum_price":"1875","sa_maximum_price":"2500","sa_banner_image_id":77381,"sa_videos":[{"sa_video_title":"Paleissymposium 2021: Waarom Corona ons doet lijden","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=srJ9tNHyIh8"},{"sa_video_title":"Onderzoek naar deep brain stimulation - Damiaan Denys","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zYGgxeQneBU"},{"sa_video_title":"Waarom mag iedereen maar \u00e9\u00e9n uur per dag krankzinnig zijn? (2\/5)","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pBEF_f6zSGk"},{"sa_video_title":"Zomergasten: Damiaan Denys: 'Ultieme vrijheid is niet mogelijk zonder jezelf te ontmenselijken'","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sF8Nho83yjc"},{"sa_video_title":"What is the Relationship Between Angst and Freedom? | Damiaan Denys | TEDxAmsterdam","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2ipRQCw4I_M"}],"sa_order_score":0},"yoast_head":"\nDamiaan Denys - Spreker Speakers Academy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hoogleraar Damiaan Denys behandelt pati\u00ebnten met angst- en dwangstoornissen en verricht baanbrekend werk in de toepassing van diepe hersenstimulatie.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.speakersacademy.com\/en\/speaker\/damiaan-denys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Damiaan Denys - 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