The questions, answered honestly.

Ceremonia is for adults who have done meaningful inner work, therapy, meditation, somatic practice, or serious self-inquiry, and who feel genuinely ready to go deeper. Our programs attract people navigating trauma, burnout, grief, depression, and existential questions, as well as those who are simply curious about consciousness and want a rigorous, safe container for that exploration. We are not a destination for anyone seeking novelty or recreation.

Readiness is a function of intention, stability, and honest self-assessment. We look for people who can articulate why they are coming, who have a support structure in place for the weeks after retreat, and who meet our medical and psychiatric screening criteria. The readiness quiz on our site is a good starting point, it surfaces the questions our facilitators will ask during the intake process.

The first step is completing our intake application, which takes about fifteen minutes. We ask about your intentions, your health history, any medications you are taking, and any prior experience with psychedelics. After reviewing your application, we schedule a brief call to discuss fit before any deposit changes hands. There is no commitment until after that conversation.

No. Many Ceremonia participants come with no prior psychedelic experience at all. Our preparation process is designed to meet you where you are, building the emotional and somatic skills that help participants work skillfully with whatever arises during ceremony. That said, prior experience is not disqualifying either; we work with a full range of backgrounds.

Submit our online intake form, the link is at the top of every page. After we review your application (typically within two to three business days), someone from our team will reach out to schedule a twenty-minute intake call. If there is a good fit, we will share program details, pricing, and available dates. No deposit is required before that conversation.

Awaken is our flagship six-day retreat for people seeking expanded awareness, clarity, and connection, it is not primarily therapeutic. Heal is our trauma-informed track, built around an Internal Family Systems and somatic container, designed specifically for people carrying trauma, depression, or C-PTSD. Awaken at Home is a self-paced preparation program for those who want to work with medicine in their own space under careful remote guidance.

Pricing reflects the full container: facilitator time, four weeks of preparation, the retreat itself, and eight weeks of integration support afterward. Specific pricing is shared during your intake call, after we have assessed fit and answered your questions. We do not publish a single number because program configuration, group size, track, optional 1:1 support, affects the total. We are transparent about pricing before any commitment.

All Ceremonia programs include pre-retreat preparation calls, the retreat experience itself (lodging, meals, ceremonies, facilitated workshops), and a structured post-retreat integration period with weekly group circles. The Heal track adds trauma-specific therapeutic modalities and a longer integration arc of eight weeks. Facilitator availability for check-ins between group sessions is also part of the package.

Deposits are non-refundable once the intake and matching process is complete, because they hold a retreat seat and initiate facilitator planning. If you need to reschedule due to a medical situation, we work with participants on a case-by-case basis. Our full payment and cancellation policy is in the Terms of Service.

We offer a limited number of sliding-scale spots each quarter for participants who would otherwise be priced out. Scholarship availability varies by cohort. If cost is a barrier, mention it in your application and we will let you know what is available. We are committed to making this work accessible beyond a single demographic.

Psilocybin carries a well-documented safety profile when administered in a controlled setting with screened participants. The primary risks are psychological, difficult experiences, temporary disorientation, the surfacing of suppressed material, not physiological. Our screening process, preparation curriculum, experienced facilitators, and post-retreat integration support are designed to minimize the risk of lasting harm. We are transparent about what we do not yet know.

Several medication classes require careful evaluation before participation: SSRIs and SNRIs (which may require a supervised taper), lithium (which we consider an absolute contraindication due to seizure risk), MAOIs, and tramadol. Stimulants, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics are assessed case by case. Our contraindications grid lists every category with the clinical rationale.

A psychiatric diagnosis is not automatically disqualifying. We work with depression, PTSD, anxiety, grief, and complex trauma. Conditions that warrant extra caution include active psychosis, untreated bipolar I disorder, current suicidality, and borderline personality disorder without an established therapeutic relationship. If you have a diagnosis, share it in your application, our clinical advisors review each case individually.

Our facilitators are trained in psychological support and crisis containment. The retreat property has a dedicated private room for participants who need to step out of ceremony and ground. We maintain relationships with local clinical resources and have clear protocols for medical emergencies. Participants receive emergency contact information before arrival. We have never lost a participant to a medical crisis, but we plan as if we might.

Yes. If your health situation is complex, we can arrange a pre-screening call with one of our clinical advisors, a licensed physician or therapist familiar with psilocybin pharmacology. This is not a billable clinical consultation, but it allows you to ask questions and get an honest assessment of your fit before committing to the intake process.

Screening happens in two phases. First, you complete a written health history in the intake form, covering current medications, past diagnoses, substance use history, and psychiatric hospitalizations. Second, a facilitator conducts a structured intake call that covers the same ground verbally. Complex cases are reviewed by our clinical advisory panel. We decline approximately 15 percent of applicants on safety grounds.

Psilocybin experiences vary considerably by dose, set, and setting. Common themes include a heightened sense of presence, emotional openness, perceptual shifts (visual patterns with eyes closed), and, at higher doses, a temporary dissolution of the ordinary sense of self. For people working with trauma, the medicine often surfaces material that has been pushed down. The experience is typically three to five hours.

Difficult experiences, moments of fear, grief, confusion, or physical discomfort, are common and are not the same as harm. We frame them as the medicine surfacing what needs attention. Our facilitators are trained to sit with difficulty rather than suppress it, and to help participants find the meaning in challenging material afterward. Preparation and trust in your facilitators are the single biggest predictors of a productive experience.

You always retain the right to stop. Facilitators can provide grounding support, breath, physical touch where consented, verbal anchoring, to help you stabilize. In rare cases where a participant is in sustained distress, we have protocols to shorten or conclude a session. The medicine itself cannot be reversed once ingested, but experienced facilitation can meaningfully soften the intensity of what you are experiencing.

Music is a core part of the ceremonial container. We use a curated journey playlist, a mix of classical, ambient, world, and ceremonially-sourced music, designed to track the arc of the medicine. Participants wear eye shades for much of the ceremony and listen through quality headphones. The playlist is shared with participants during preparation so it is familiar before they sit.

Yes, it is built into every program. After the retreat, participants enter a structured eight-week integration period: daily check-ins during week one, then weekly group circles through week eight. An optional four-month extension is available for deeper preparation or ongoing integration. Integration, not the ceremony itself, is where lasting change is made.

Yes. Ceremonia operates within two complementary legal frameworks in Colorado. Our psilocybin sessions are facilitated by NMHA-licensed facilitators (the Natural Medicine Health Act passed by Colorado voters in 2022, which created a regulated access pathway for psilocybin services). Our ayahuasca ceremonies are held under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which protects the sacramental use of plant medicines in a bona fide religious context. We comply with all applicable regulations.

The NMHA, passed by Colorado voters in November 2022 and implemented beginning in 2024, created a regulated framework for the supervised administration of natural medicines, including psilocybin. Under the NMHA, qualifying adults can access psilocybin services with no medical prescription required. Members of Ceremonia's facilitation team hold individual NMHA licenses verified on Colorado's DORA registry; their license numbers are listed on our team page.

The RFRA, enacted federally in 1993 and mirrored in Colorado, prohibits the government from substantially burdening sincere religious exercise without a compelling interest. Courts have upheld RFRA protections for the sacramental use of plant medicines in genuine religious contexts. Ceremonia operates within a sincere ceremonial lineage that satisfies RFRA criteria, providing an additional layer of legal protection alongside the NMHA.

Health information you share during intake is held in strict confidence. We use secure, encrypted storage for all intake forms. Information is accessible only to facilitators and clinical advisors directly involved in your care, and is never sold or shared with third parties. Our full Privacy Policy describes your rights, retention periods, and how to request deletion of your records.

Retreats take place at our 150-acre wooded retreat property in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, approximately an hour from downtown Denver. The property includes private accommodations, ceremony spaces, communal dining, and walking trails, designed to support the full Prepare-Journey-Integrate arc without the noise of ordinary life.

We provide a detailed packing list after your deposit is confirmed. In general: comfortable clothing for movement and rest, personal items for six days away, any approved medications, and a journal. Electronics are welcome for personal use but we ask that phones stay off during ceremony and group sessions. Nothing elaborate is needed, the retreat is intentionally simple.

Partners and friends are welcome to apply separately and may attend the same cohort if both are accepted. We do not recommend bringing someone solely to accompany a participant who is doing the work, that dynamic tends to be difficult for both parties. If you want to explore whether attending together makes sense, mention it in your application and we will discuss it on your intake call.

All meals are provided during the retreat and are prepared with whole, nourishing ingredients. We accommodate common dietary restrictions, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, with advance notice. For the ceremony itself, participants observe a light diet on the day of the ceremony (no large meal after midday). We ask about food needs in the intake form so the kitchen can prepare accordingly.