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Questions to ask a ceremony center before you book

BySafe Ceremonies

A ceremony center’s website tells you what it wants you to know. Its answers to direct questions tell you how it really works. This guide gives you the questions to ask, grouped by topic, with notes on what to listen for in the replies.

How to ask

Ask in writing first, by email or a contact form. Written answers are easy to compare, and they leave a record of what you were told. If the place still interests you after that, ask for a phone or video call with the person who will lead your ceremony, and not only the booking team.

Pay as much attention to how they answer as to what they say. A good center expects these questions and is glad you asked. If you’re made to feel difficult or distrustful for asking, or told you’re “too much in your head,” you’ve learned something useful before spending any money.

You don’t need to ask every question below. Pick the ones that matter for the ceremony you’re considering. A one-evening sound bath doesn’t call for the same scrutiny as a week of ayahuasca ceremonies or an ibogaine session.

The facilitators

  1. Who exactly will lead my ceremony, and who else will be present?
  2. How long has each of them been doing this work, and roughly how many ceremonies have they led?
  3. Where and with whom did they train? Can I find out more about that teacher or tradition?
  4. Does anyone on the team hold a medical, nursing, mental health or first aid qualification?
  5. Do the facilitators take the substance during the ceremony? If so, who stays sober?
  6. Who do the facilitators answer to if something goes wrong?

Good answers are specific: names, years, places and qualifications you could check. Be wary of answers that lean entirely on titles (“our shaman,” “a master healer”) or on the story of a calling, with no account of training. In some traditions facilitators drink or eat alongside participants. Where that happens, ask who in the room stays clear-headed enough to handle an emergency.

Screening and preparation

  1. Do you send a health questionnaire, and when? Who reads it?
  2. Which medicines and conditions rule someone out, and why?
  3. Do you ask about mental health history, including family history?
  4. Have you ever turned someone away after screening? What happened to their payment?
  5. What do you ask me to eat, avoid or stop in the weeks before? What is each rule based on?
  6. Will someone talk me through what to expect before the first ceremony?

Listen for a center that screens before it confirms your booking and is willing to say no. Published research gives clear reasons. The compounds in ayahuasca that block monoamine oxidase can interact dangerously with SSRI antidepressants. In one analysis of online reports, nearly half of the people who combined lithium with a classic psychedelic described a seizure. Johns Hopkins researchers exclude volunteers with a personal or close family history of psychotic disorders or bipolar disorder, and they check blood pressure and heart health before anyone takes part.

On preparation rules, a good center can tell you what each rule is for. Some have a safety reason, such as avoiding medicines that interact. Others come from a tradition. You may be happy to follow both kinds, and you should still know which is which. If you’re told to stop a prescribed medicine, talk to your prescriber before you change anything.

Group size and staffing

  1. How many participants will there be at most?
  2. How many staff are present for the whole ceremony, and how many stay awake throughout?
  3. If someone needs one-to-one help, who looks after the rest of the group?
  4. Can I speak to a facilitator privately during the ceremony if I need to?
  5. Is there a separate, safe space for anyone who becomes distressed or unwell?

The ratio and the plan tell you more than the headcount. In clinical research, at least two trained people stay with each participant so that nobody is ever left alone. Group ceremonies can’t match that, and a center should still be able to explain how it would cope with two or three people struggling at the same time.

The ceremony itself

  1. What exactly will I be given, and by whom? Will anything else be offered, such as tobacco, kambo or another substance?
  2. Can I decline any part without pressure?
  3. Will there be physical contact, bodywork or one-to-one healing sessions? Who else is present for those?
  4. Can I leave the ceremony space, and what happens if I try?
  5. Are phones collected? If so, how would I reach someone in an emergency?

You should know everything that will be offered before you arrive. Extra practices or substances added on the night, with no screening for them, are a warning sign. One-to-one sessions deserve particular care. The Chacruna Institute’s guide on sexual abuse in ayahuasca settings notes that abuse often happens during individual healings, and that nudity is not a normal part of ceremonial healing.

Emergencies

  1. What is your plan if someone has a medical emergency? Is it written down?
  2. Who on site is trained in first aid or CPR? Is a nurse, paramedic or doctor on site or on call?
  3. How far is the nearest hospital, and how would someone get there at night?
  4. What do you do if someone becomes extremely frightened or confused, or tries to leave?
  5. Have you ever called emergency services? What happened?
  6. Do you carry insurance, and does it cover what you do?

An honest center will talk about past incidents and what it learned from them. “Nothing has ever gone wrong,” from a place that has run hundreds of ceremonies, is less reassuring than a clear account of a bad night handled well. The Johns Hopkins safety guidelines name overwhelming distress as the most likely risk during a psychedelic experience, and note that it can lead someone to leave a site in a dangerous state. Ask how the center would stop that from happening.

Aftercare

  1. What support do you offer after the ceremony, and for how long?
  2. Is there an integration session, group or call? Is it included in the price?
  3. Who do I contact if I’m struggling weeks later?
  4. Can you refer me to a therapist or counsellor who understands these experiences?

Most people come home without lasting problems, but some have difficulties that go on for months. When researchers asked 28 professionals who support people through these difficulties what helps, their most frequent answers were individual therapy, grounding and mindfulness practices, and peer or community support. A center that can connect you with some of that is taking aftercare seriously. Fireside Project’s free psychedelic peer support line (62-FIRESIDE, or 623-473-7433, by call or text) is open to anyone, whatever the center offers.

Money

  1. What is the full cost, including accommodation, food, transport and anything paid on arrival?
  2. What is the refund policy if I cancel, if you cancel, or if screening rules me out?
  3. Are donations or extra payments expected during or after the retreat?
  4. Are there further courses, ceremonies or memberships you’ll suggest I buy?

A high price doesn’t guarantee better care, and a low one doesn’t mean corners are cut. Watch for pressure: a deadline that keeps moving, a discount for paying before you’ve been screened, or cash only with no receipt. The Council on Spiritual Practices, in its code of ethics for spiritual guides, asks guides to accommodate people without regard to their ability to pay. Not every center works that way. Whatever the arrangement, it should be clear and in writing.

Consent and boundaries

  1. Will you explain the risks to me before I arrive, while I’m thinking clearly?
  2. Will anyone touch me, and will they ask first?
  3. What is your policy on romantic or sexual relationships between staff and participants?
  4. Can I stop or leave at any point? What happens to my payment if I do?
  5. How do I raise a complaint, and who handles it?

The answer you want to the relationship question is a clear rule that staff have no sexual or romantic contact with participants. The same code of ethics says people should agree to a practice in advance, in an ordinary state of mind, after hearing its risks. Anything you’re asked to agree to in the middle of a ceremony, when your judgment is altered, falls short of that.

What their answers tell you

Once you have replies, read them side by side. Did the center answer the question you asked, or a different one? Did it give names and numbers, or only reassurance? Did it push you to book? A center that answers plainly, turns some people away, admits what it can’t do and gives you time to decide is behaving the way a safe place behaves.

If an answer worries you, our guide to red flags covers the warning signs that mean it’s time to walk away.

More guides

Safe Ceremonies lists ceremony centers with reviews from people who have attended them, and it’s free to use. Search the listings for the kind of ceremony you’re looking at, whether that’s psilocybin and mushrooms, Kambo or integration and aftercare, and read past participants’ reviews before you send your questions.

Sources

Photo: Pen and Paper by Guudmorning!, CC BY 2.0.

Safe Ceremonies
Author: Safe Ceremonies

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