Derek Januszewski is the visionary founder and Lead Pastor of Pachamama Sanctuary, a transformative ayahuasca retreat center devoted to spiritual healing, emotional mastery, and raising collective consciousness. A survivor of addiction, trauma, and personal loss, he has alchemized his own suffering into a life of service, guiding thousands of people to confront their shadows, reconnect with their true selves, and create lasting change in their lives. Today, Derek is widely recognized as an integration-focused spiritual leader who holds a grounded, compassionate space for deep inner work in an increasingly distracted world.
Born and raised between Florida and New England, Derek’s early life was marked by instability, self-doubt, and the kind of pain that often hides behind high-functioning exteriors. He went on to build a successful career and a conventional life, but beneath the surface he struggled with addiction, PTSD, anxiety, and depression—patterns that eventually brought him to the breaking point and opened the door to plant medicine. His first encounters with ayahuasca were not just mystical experiences; they were interventions that helped him unravel years of trauma, confront the roots of his destructive coping mechanisms, and begin the long journey toward self-acceptance. That journey became the foundation for his life’s work.
In 2019, Derek founded Pachamama Sanctuary as an intimate, grassroots retreat space—think a handful of seekers on pushed-together couch cushions rather than a polished wellness resort. From those humble beginnings, he has cultivated a sanctuary that now serves as a haven for people from all walks of life seeking healing from addiction, grief, PTSD, and negative cycles. Under his guidance, Pachamama has grown into a community-centered retreat model where ceremony, integration, and ongoing support are treated as equally vital parts of the process. His mission is clear: to help people reconnect with their inner wisdom, dissolve limiting beliefs, and step into lives of purpose and authenticity.
Derek brings a rare combination of humility, directness, and spiritual depth to his work. Having sat with ayahuasca well over 150 times, he has emphasizes that the medicine itself is not a quick fix or a trendy psychedelic adventure, but a sacred tool that must be paired with honest shadow work and rigorous integration to create sustainable transformation. At Pachamama, he is known for meeting people exactly where they are—whether they are skeptical high-performers, deeply wounded survivors, or spiritual seekers who have tried everything else—and inviting them into a space of radical honesty, self-responsibility, and compassion.
As a father of three, Derek’s work is also anchored in his commitment to creating a better world for the next generation. He continues to share his story through interviews, writing, and talks, not to brand himself as a guru, but to normalize conversations about trauma, addiction, spirituality, and the courage it takes to start over. Whether he is holding ceremony, leading breathwork, or walking a guest through the fragile days after a retreat, Derek stands as a living example that even the darkest chapters of a life can become the raw material for service, meaning, and profound inner freedom