Choosing a Safe Psychedelic Therapy Provider: Key Factors to Consider

When considering a psychedelic therapy provider, there are several factors to keep in mind to ensure you have a safe experience. Here are some questions you may want to consider when choosing an individual or an organisation to work with:

Are they offering therapy or an experience?

While there are practitioners who provide psychedelic-assisted therapy, many places such as retreat centres are more centered on offering the participants an experience of psychedelics in a safe setting without the therapy.

This may be fine if you don’t have serious mental health concerns or if you’re already working with a therapist who is familiar with or at least open-minded about psychedelics and can offer therapeutic support to you after your experience.

It’s good to check what level of therapeutic support the organisation or individual itself offers and reflect on what you yourself would be comfortable with.

Legal status

Is the provider operating within the bounds of the law?

Depending on the country, the substance or the sale of psychedelic therapy services may not be legal. Some providers may operate in a grey area by using legal loopholes, while others may work in countries where the substance is illegal but its use is tolerated or overlooked by authorities.

If the provider operates in a grey zone or underground, work with your own parts to understand how they feel about the potential risks involved.

Reputation and track record

What are other people saying about the provider?

Have there been any lawsuits or allegations of abuse?

If parts of us feel hopeful, excited, and have a sense of urgency about having a psychedelic experience, it can be easy to not do enough research beforehand.

I learned this the hard way when I was on my way to a psychedelic medicine retreat many years ago. I usually do a lot of research about everything that is new to me, but somehow I had overlooked reading more about the organisation that was arranging the retreat. It was only when I was on my way there that I decided to google the organisation and discovered that there were sexual abuse allegations against the founder. Needless to say, it wasn’t the ideal way to start my experience.

Background and experience

What are the practitioners’ credentials and experience?

How were the credentials obtained?

When looking at the qualifications of the staff, I advise people to look for both formal qualifications, as well as how much experience the staff has in guiding psychedelic journeys.

While formal qualifications such as being a licensed therapist or a clinical psychologist may be beneficial, extensive experience working with psychedelics is in my view equally crucial.

It's also important to research the credentials themselves and how they were obtained. There is very little regulation in the psychedelic therapy field and some people may call themselves a psychedelic therapist after completing a short online course.

There are traditions where psychedelics have been used for much longer than here in the West. For some people, it feels safer to be guided by traditional medicine people such as curanderos in the Amazon jungle who belong to a tribe where ayahuasca is used ritualistically and ceremonially. For others, they would rather rely on the presence of guides and therapists who have gone through a training in the Western medical model.

Screening protocols

All trustworthy organisations and individuals should have established procedures for obtaining relevant information about participants' mental health and medical history. Additionally, they should have clear guidelines regarding who is a good fit for the experience, in terms of safety and suitability.

Does the provider have a screening protocol in place or are they quick to try get people to sign up?

Does the provider ask for background information such as mental health history and medication use?

Support before the experience

What kind of preparation is offered before the psychedelic experience?

Preparation may include instructions or recommendations, meetings with the group or providers, or therapy sessions. It's essential to evaluate the quality and depth of the preparation, which may vary among providers, and to work with your own parts to understand what level of preparation you’d like to have.

While you can prepare for a therapeutic experience with a therapist who isn't associated with the provider, it's also worth assessing the provider's level of dedication to the preparation stage. This can provide a good indication of how seriously the organisation takes their work and how well they prioritise their clients' well-being.

Support during the experience

It is important to make sure that there is enough support available during the psychedelic experience. Some common issues that my clients have encountered include not having enough guides or sitters per person or having a guide leave the room during an individual session, which can be distressing.

It is vital that both organisations and individuals have plans in case unexpected situations occur, such as if a participant becomes highly distressed or tries to leave the location.

If the experience takes place in a group setting, what is the size of the group? How many practitioners or guides are available per participant?

Will the guides be consuming the psychedelic substance? Will there be any guides who remain sober?

Are there any potential language or cultural barriers to consider? If so, are you comfortable with them and how will they be addressed?

Support after the experience

I believe individuals and organisations should provide some level of integration and support after the psychedelic experience.

Integration can help you process the experience and work through any emotions, insights, or questions that arose during the session. Psychedelic experiences can sometimes bring up difficult emotions or past traumas that require additional support, so it's important that providers have a plan in place to address these situations.

Most of my clients who come to me for therapy after a psychedelic experience have not been offered enough integration and have had to figure out most of it on their own, which can be tricky if your experience has been difficult.

Integration is an umbrella term and it can mean anything from private therapy sessions to dancing in a group setting. Therefore, it can be helpful to ask the provider about the kind of integration support they offer, as well as how much time they set aside for integration.

How much time is set aside for processing and integration?

What types of activities are included in the integration?

Is there additional support available for those who need it? What is their plan for providing this?

The provider should be able to explain to you who you should contact if you want to file a complaint or seek clarification about something that happened during the experience. Is there a clear chain of command in the organisation and are there procedures in place if you want to bring up something that happened that felt unethical?

What has the provider learned from their mistakes?

Have you made mistakes in your facilitation practice and if so, what happened?

I really like this question that therapist Shonagh Home recommends asking a psychedelic provider. Their answer can give you insight into the provider's honesty and willingness to learn and adapt.

Shonagh has a great podcast episode that is centered on mushroom trips and has a lot of valuable advice on choosing a provider (starting at 15:30).

Final thoughts

There are no clear-cut answers to many of the questions I've outlined earlier. What is helpful is to pay attention to how the provider responds to your queries. Do they sound eager to answer your questions, and do they provide you with all the necessary information? Do you feel like they're taking their work seriously and have proper procedures in place?

Above all, it is essential to listen to your own parts and understand what matters most to you. Some people might feel at ease going to an underground provider without formal qualifications after thorough research, while others might prefer a legal retreat center with licensed therapists.

Take your time, explore different options, and choose what feels safe for your parts.