Hi, I’m Renzo.

If you’ve found your way here, you may be looking to better understand yourself, make sense of a past experience, or learn more about altered states of consciousness from a psychological perspective. Whatever brought you here, I hope this space offers balanced, evidence-informed information that encourages curiosity, reflection, and informed decision-making.

So, let me tell you a little about myself and how I arrived here.

Growing up in Peru, I was familiar with the traditional use of ayahuasca and its place within Indigenous cultures. Although these traditions were often surrounded by stigma and misunderstanding, they never felt entirely foreign to me. Seeing modern scientific research begin to investigate these traditions offered an opportunity to better understand them through the lens of psychology and neuroscience.

Psychology has taught me that every person carries a unique story.

The way we think, feel, relate to others, and understand ourselves is shaped by countless influences: our biology, early experiences, relationships, culture, beliefs, and the environments in which we grow.

To understand a person, we need to understand how those pieces come together. I believe that understanding ourselves is one of the most meaningful things we can do. 

My journey into mental health began in Peru, where I trained as a psychologist. As my understanding of psychology grew, so did my curiosity about the biological processes behind our thoughts, emotions, and behaviour.

I began my professional career working in addiction, supporting individuals and their families through cognitive behavioural approaches, psychoeducation, and group interventions. Working alongside people in rehabilitation gave me a deeper appreciation of how challenging and often lengthy psychological change can be. Recovery is rarely about changing one behaviour alone. It often involves understanding long-standing emotional patterns, relationships, beliefs, and ways of coping that have developed over many years. Working in addiction became a way of understanding the complexity of human behaviour and psychological change.

As research into psychedelics and neuroscience continued to expand, I found myself increasingly drawn to the growing scientific evidence exploring their impact on the brain, their potential role in mental health, and what they might reveal about consciousness.

These ultimately inspired me to create Applied Psy Integration as a space where psychology, scientific research, and lived experience come together.

Experiences rarely speak for themselves. It’s the meaning we give them, the questions they raise, and the way we integrate them into our lives that makes them meaningful.

Today, my focus is on helping bridge the gap between psychological science and lived experience. Through psychology-informed psychoeducation, preparation, and integration support, I aim to make research more understandable, encourage thoughtful reflection, and help people approach these experiences with greater knowledge, intention, and self-awareness.

Ultimately, my hope is that this space encourages people to approach altered states of consciousness with the same values that have guided my own journey: curiosity, critical thinking, humility, and a genuine desire to better understand themselves.