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PsyStandard and Drug Science Announce Collaboration on European Psychedelic Practitioner Verification Framework
PsyStandard, a Pink Elephant Company, and Drug Science announce a co-design partnership to develop the clinical and ethical foundations of PsyStandard’s European practitioner verification framework.
The partnership addresses a structural gap in how practitioner quality is assessed in psychedelic practice. People seeking support — whether through clinical therapy, retreat settings, or integration coaching — currently have no reliable way to assess whether a practitioner’s practice is safe, competent, or grounded in current evidence. Credentials indicate training history; they do not capture safety orientation, clinical boundaries, or the quality of what a practitioner actually does. This collaboration brings scientific rigour to the criteria that will define what verified practice looks like.
Partnership scope
Drug Science will co-design the clinical safety baseline for non-clinical practitioners, defining the harm governance protocol that sits at the foundation of the verification framework. This includes the competency dimensions and behavioural anchors used in observed practice assessment — the criteria against which practitioners are evaluated in live mock sessions.
All criteria will be published openly as part of the verification methodology document.
Institutional co-design
The verification framework is being co-designed with academic institutions and practitioner training organisations. Drug Science’s contribution grounds the framework’s clinical and ethical architecture in current research, while remaining calibrated for non-clinical scope — rigorous without being over-medicalised.
Dr Anne Schlag, Head of Research at Drug Science, stated: “Practitioner quality in psychedelic care cannot be reduced to credentials alone. The field needs verification standards that reflect what the evidence actually tells us about safe and effective practice. This co-design process is an opportunity to build those standards carefully and transparently.”
Max de Rosnay, PsyStandard Lead, added: “The clinical and ethical foundations of a verification framework are not areas where good intentions are sufficient. Working with Drug Science on the harm governance protocol and L2 assessment criteria means those foundations are built on research, not assumption.”
The verification framework is expected to launch in Q3 2026.
About PsyStandard
PsyStandard is Europe’s practitioner verification standard for psychedelic practice, covering clinical practitioners, psychedelic coaches, integration specialists, retreat facilitators, and clinics. The platform verifies practitioner competence against evidence-based standards, making quality transparent and accessible. PsyStandard is part of Pink Elephant, a venture builder focused on psychedelic and mental health infrastructure.
About Drug Science
Drug Science is an independent scientific organisation committed to evidence-based drug research and policy. Its work spans clinical research, education, and public engagement on psychedelic and other controlled substances. Drug Science’s research programmes include clinical trials, training initiatives, and cross-cultural ethics work, with a network spanning leading academic institutions across the UK and Europe.
For further information, contact: Max de Rosnay PsyStandard Lead, Pink Elephant [email protected]
Dr Anne Schlag Head of Research, Drug Science [email protected]
