Voytek Bereza

Voytek Bereza is a prescribing pharmacist from London, licensed in the UK by the GPhC, who works from Sydney, Australia. He supports people before and after psychedelic medicine experiences, and lists harm reduction and ketamine-assisted therapy among his areas.

Approach

He graduated in pharmacy from UCL in 2008 and trained as an independent prescriber at King’s College, finishing in 2014. He then spent a decade in community pharmacy with patients facing addiction and mental health problems before setting up Voyager Medical, where he wrote governance systems and clinical protocols so that medicines such as esketamine (Spravato) were given to best-practice standards. With clients he often goes through recent studies from his own collection of clinical papers, because he finds that talking about the evidence eases anxiety about treatment.

Who it is for

He says he has worked with more than 300 people preparing for or integrating psychedelic medicine experiences. As a medicines specialist, he sees his strengths in weighing other conditions a client lives with, side effects and the latest research.

Practical details

Contact begins with a phone consultation about goals and past experiences, followed by meetings in person in Sydney, and he also works remotely. His listed fee is $200.

Care and safety

Intake forms collect each client’s medical and psychological history to bring possible contraindications to light, and he checks that history against established criteria before agreeing that a therapy suits them. For the experience itself he stresses a safe space, a trained guide where possible, thought-out music and lighting, and an emergency plan. Integration afterwards can include follow-up conversations, integration therapy, journaling, art and mindfulness.