An empty wooden bench on a grassy field facing a line of trees

Veterans and plant medicine ceremonies: what to know

BySafe Ceremonies

Many veterans are looking into ayahuasca, psilocybin, ibogaine and other ceremonies, often after years of treatment for PTSD, depression, a brain injury or chronic pain that hasn’t helped enough. Some have heard about it from other veterans, some from news coverage of research, and some through nonprofits that help pay for retreats.

This guide is for veterans and the people who care about them. It covers what the research does and doesn’t show, the safety issues that matter most for veterans in particular, and the questions to ask before you commit to anything. It doesn’t tell you whether to go.

Where research stands

The Department of Veterans Affairs is now funding research into psychedelic-assisted therapy. In August 2026 the Philadelphia VA announced it was one of five VA sites in a randomised controlled trial of psilocybin for veterans with treatment-resistant depression, with or without PTSD. In the same announcement VA said it “strongly discourages self-medicating or attempting to replace other mental health treatment options with psychedelics or any other unprescribed substances.”

Several studies have looked at veterans who went to programs outside the US on their own:

  • A 2020 survey of 51 US Special Operations Forces veterans who received ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT at a program in Mexico found large reported drops in PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms. The study asked people to recall how they felt before treatment, had no control group, and relied on self-report.
  • A 2024 Stanford study followed 30 Special Operations veterans with mostly mild traumatic brain injuries who received ibogaine with magnesium at a clinic in Mexico. They reported large improvements in disability, PTSD, depression and anxiety a month later. It was not a randomised trial, and the veterans chose to travel for treatment.
  • A 2025 study of 58 veterans at ayahuasca retreats in Peru and psilocybin retreats in Jamaica found improvements in depression and PTSD scores four weeks later. The authors noted there was no control group, most participants strongly expected the retreat to work, adverse events weren’t systematically recorded, and follow-up was short.

Taken together, these studies are a reason for researchers to keep looking. They aren’t proof that a ceremony will help you, and the settings that produced the best-documented results had medical screening and monitoring that many retreats don’t.

Safety issues that matter most for veterans

Medications

Many veterans take antidepressants, sleep medicines, pain medicines, blood pressure medicines or several at once. Some of these interact dangerously with ceremony substances. Ayahuasca, for example, contains compounds that inhibit an enzyme called monoamine oxidase, and researchers have warned since 1998 that combining it with SSRI antidepressants may cause serotonin syndrome, which can be life-threatening.

Never stop or taper a psychiatric medicine on your own, or because a center told you to. Stopping some medicines suddenly carries its own risks. Talk to your prescriber, and read our guide on medications and health conditions before you book.

Ibogaine and your heart

Ibogaine draws particular interest among veterans, especially those with brain injuries. It also carries a known cardiac risk. The authors of the 2024 Stanford study note that ibogaine can prolong the QT interval of the heartbeat and that fatal arrhythmias have occurred, and that high doses, existing conditions, drug interactions and a lack of vital-sign monitoring may have played critical roles in those cases. In their study, veterans had blood work and an ECG beforehand, people with heart, liver or kidney problems were excluded, magnesium was given to protect the heart, and the heart was monitored continuously for 12 to 16 hours.

If you’re considering ibogaine, ask any center whether it does all of those things, and walk away if it doesn’t. Our guide on iboga and ibogaine covers this in more depth.

Brain injury, sleep and alcohol

Tell the center about any traumatic brain injury, seizures, sleep problems, alcohol or other substance use, and anything you take to manage them. Each of these changes what a careful center will ask and whether it will accept you. A center that doesn’t ask is skipping basic screening.

Ceremonies and PTSD triggers

Ceremonies are often held in the dark, with loud drums, rattles or singing, strangers close by, people vomiting or crying, and a facilitator moving around the room. You’ll also be less in control of your mind than usual. For someone with combat trauma or military sexual trauma, any of that can be a trigger.

Talk to the facilitators about it before the ceremony, in specific terms. Things that can help:

  • A place to sit where you can see the door, with your back to a wall.
  • An agreement that nobody touches you without asking first, and a clear way to say no.
  • Knowing the layout of the space and the route to the bathroom before it gets dark.
  • A named staff member who will check on you, and a signal for when you need help.
  • A plan for what happens if you need to step outside, including who goes with you.

A good center will welcome this conversation. Our guide on consent, touch and boundaries has more on what to agree in advance.

Veteran-only retreats and funded places

Some retreats are only for veterans, and some nonprofits pay for veterans to attend. Being with people who share your background can make it easier to open up. It doesn’t change how you should judge a center.

  • Ask who chose the center, and whether the nonprofit or anyone involved has a financial tie to it.
  • Ask what screening the center does, and what the nonprofit does on top of it.
  • Find out what support exists after you come home, and who pays for it.
  • Check whether you’re expected to speak publicly, fundraise or recruit others afterwards.
  • Read reviews of the center from people who weren’t part of the veterans’ program.

If you’re still serving or hold a clearance

If you’re on active duty, in the Guard or Reserve, hold a security clearance, or work in a job with drug testing, using a controlled substance can have consequences for your career, depending on the rules that apply to you. This guide can’t advise you on those. Find out what applies to you before you go, from someone who knows the rules.

Keep your care team in the loop

It’s easier for your doctor or therapist to help you if they know what you’re planning. They can check for interactions, adjust your care, and be ready if things are hard afterwards. If you’re getting care through VA, you can raise it with your clinician; asking about research trials is one way to start the conversation.

Questions to ask a center as a veteran

  • Have you worked with veterans before? With PTSD, brain injury, military sexual trauma?
  • What medical screening do you do, and who reviews it? Is there an ECG for ibogaine?
  • Which medicines rule someone out, and do you work with prescribers on any changes?
  • How many staff are in the room, and what medical training do they have?
  • What do you do if someone has a flashback, becomes aggressive or tries to leave?
  • How far is the nearest hospital, and how would you get someone there?
  • What support is there after the retreat, and for how long?

After you get home

Coming home from a retreat can feel a bit like coming home from a deployment: you’ve been through something intense with a group, and the people at home weren’t there. Plan for the transition. Our guides on the first week after a ceremony and integration cover the basics, and it helps to have a therapist or peer group lined up before you leave.

If things get hard, reach out early. The Veterans Crisis Line is available by dialling 988 and pressing 1, by texting 838255, or by online chat, and you don’t need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use it. Fireside Project’s free psychedelic peer support line, 62-FIRESIDE (623-473-7433), takes calls and texts from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific time every day. If you keep firearms at home and you’re going through a rough stretch, consider asking someone you trust to hold onto them for a while.

More guides

Reviews from past participants, including other veterans, can tell you how a center handles screening, triggers and aftercare. You can search the Safe Ceremonies listings in categories such as ayahuasca, peyote and iboga and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Sources

Photo: Park Bench by shock264, CC BY 2.0.

Safe Ceremonies
Author: Safe Ceremonies

User reviewed ceremonies

Similar Posts