Purpose
A world where the quality of psychedelic practice isn’t a matter of luck.
About PsyStandard
The people, purpose, and values behind the standard for psychedelic practice.
Vision
The field infrastructure that transforms isolated excellence into shared transparent, verifiable standards for psychedelic practice across Europe.
Mission
We co-create a verification framework with academic institutions, organisations, and practitioners — then make verification transparent and accessible.
Our values
Reduce harm
Every decision runs through one filter first: would we send someone we love here? Verification is not a badge.
In service to people
Every standard we set, every badge we issue, every difficult call we make exists for one reason: the person on the other side deserves the best possible care — not by chance, but by design.
Ethical and excellent
In service to those seeking help. A practitioner can be deeply ethical and still not be good at what they do.
The urgency of a startup. The endurance of an institution
We move fast because the field needs this now while not diluting it for speed, volume, or commercial convenience. We build carefully because a standard is only worth something if it holds.
We learn with and from each other
The standard is inherently built together. We co-create our verification frameworks with the organisations, practitioners, retreats and clinics who live this work every day.
The standard starts with us
We don't just write about standards; we practise them internally. We don't just advocate for integrity; we model it in how we build, how we verify, and how we show up for the community we serve.
The community practices the standard
PsyStandard is a living ecosystem: the practitioners, retreats, and clinics who carry the badge, the organisations that co-design the framework, and the people who found their way safely. The standard gets stronger every time it is used, challenged, and refined.
The team
Sophie leads PsyStandard and the verified provider directory at Pink Elephant. Her work focuses on building a European verification standard for psychedelic practitioners that can cover both clinical and non-clinical practice and help close the trust and safety gap in the field.
Max has worked in the psychedelic industry for over six years, across business development, fundraising, and communications. Long enough to watch the field's credibility problem outpace its growth. At PsyStandard he and Sophie are jointly responsible for the organisation's strategic direction and standards.
Laurin contributes as a neuroscience and strategy advisor and psychedelic practitioner. His work connects PsyStandard’s verification and quality framework with practitioner realities, neuroscience-informed thinking, and the wider community for practitioners and the psychedelic-curious.
Tanya works on directory and verification at PsyStandard, bringing a psychology and psychotherapy background into the review process. Her focus is on evidence-based standards for practitioner competence, especially where non-clinical psychedelic practice lacks external verification infrastructure.
Ivan works on the product experience across PsyStandard and States of Mind. He focuses on turning the verification framework and provider directory into a usable marketplace experience for people seeking psychedelic support and for providers joining the ecosystem.
Advisors
Prof Anup Mathew
Prof Mathew is a senior NHS Consultant Psychiatrist, a Surgeon Lieutenant Commander within the Royal Navy Medical Service and a Director at M3 Therapeutics. He has expertise in Psychedelic Medicine, having trained in Interdisciplinary Psychedelic Studies. Prof Mathew has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Membership of the Academy of Medical Educators and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. His work has consistently focused on improving outcomes for people living with mental illness.
Gerard van Kesteren
GZ psychologist, psychotherapist, and entrepreneur with 35+ years of experience in mental health care. Founder and director of 1nP (2003–2025), the first financially sustainable network organization for mental health professionals, built through innovative workflows and digitalization. Passionate about psychedelic therapy and systems-oriented care innovation. Experienced in complex governance dynamics (Board Council Parnassia Group) and sector-specific software development. Seeking a role in which I combine strategic mental health governance with innovation and client-centered professionalization, while preserving the human scale.
Dr Rayyan Zafar PhD MRSB
Is a neuropsychopharmacologist and UKRI Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, and a Senior Researcher at Drug Science. Working alongside Professor David Nutt, his research focuses on the neurobiology of addiction and mental health disorders, with a particular interest in how psychedelic compounds (including psilocybin, DMT and LSD), ketamine, MDMA and cannabis affect the brain and may be used as treatments for addiction.
