Safety
Your wellbeing is our foundation
Rigorous medical screening, trained facilitators, harm-reduction protocols, and integration support, held inside a regulated, legal Colorado retreat container.
What stands behind us
Regulated
Held inside a regulated, legal Colorado retreat container with state-credentialed facilitators on the floor.
Insured
Professional liability and on-site medical coverage in place for every retreat.
Peer-reviewed
Protocols reviewed by clinicians; aligned with FDA-phase trial standards.
Alumni-vetted
Hundreds of past participants. Read the testimonials before you decide.
How we keep you safe
Four pillars
No single safeguard is enough on its own. The four pillars work together, screening filters who is ready, facilitators hold what surfaces, harm-reduction protocols catch what surprises, and integration helps the work stick.
Medical & psychiatric screening
Detailed intake, pharmacist medication review, and a clinician-led screening call. The point is matching you to the right support, even when the answer is not yet, or not us.
Trained facilitators
Ceremonia facilitators are clinically trained, ceremony-experienced, and vetted to a single standard. They hold the room, through the soft places and the hard ones.
Harm-reduction protocols
Medical support on standby. Clear emergency procedures. Music, breath, body cues, and verbal check-ins built into every ceremony so the difficult parts stay held, not abandoned.
Integration support
Eight weeks of structured care after the retreat, weekly group circles, 1:1 calls, journaling prompts, and behavior design. The neuroplasticity window stays open this long.
How screening works
A four-stage screening, before any deposit
Screening is not a sales filter. It is the part of the work where we figure out, together, whether a retreat is the right next step for you, or whether a different path serves you better right now. Every stage feeds the next.
Detailed intake questionnaire
You complete a structured intake covering medical history, psychiatric history, current medications, family mental-health history, prior psychedelic experience, and what you are hoping to work with. Reviewed by clinicians within 72 hours.
Outcome: a clear picture before any call.
Pharmacist medication review
Every medication on your list is reviewed for psilocybin interaction. Tapering, timing, and substitution conversations are coordinated with your prescriber, never around them. Your prescriber holds the prescribing authority; we provide the evidence base.
Outcome: a personalized medication plan, or a clear no.
Clinician-led screening call
A 45-minute video call with a credentialed clinician on our team. The conversation is honest both ways: we ask about psychiatric history, current stability, and integration capacity; you ask anything you need to ask before deciding.
Outcome: ready, ready-with-conditions, or not-yet.
Integration readiness check
Before booking, we confirm your support system is real, therapist, partner, sober friend, or alumni mentor, and that you have time and space for the eight-week integration window. Without that container, the retreat itself does less.
Outcome: confirmed booking, or a re-route to readiness.
If we say not-yet, we mean it kindly. Many people return six months later, ready in a way they were not before. Some people are better served by a different modality entirely, therapy, somatic work, a different teacher. We will tell you which one applies.
Who is, and is not, a fit
Contraindications, named honestly
Some conditions make a psilocybin retreat unsafe, full stop. Others require careful planning with your prescriber. We name both clearly so you can make a real decision before any deposit changes hands.
Absolute contraindications
These conditions make participation unsafe in our setting. Drawn from FDA-phase psychedelic trial protocols and reviewed by our medical lead.
Schizophrenia or active psychosis
Psilocybin can trigger or amplify psychotic episodes. Standard absolute exclusion in every clinical trial.
Bipolar I disorder with recent mania
Mania risk too high to contain in a retreat container. Bipolar II is case-by-case.
Severe cardiovascular disease
Recent MI under 6 months, unstable arrhythmia, or hypertension above 160/100, psilocybin transiently raises blood pressure.
Pregnancy or active breastfeeding
No safety data exists for psilocybin in pregnancy or lactation. We do not accept either.
Relative, discuss before deposit
These require coordination with your prescriber and may proceed with a structured taper or schedule. Your prescriber holds the final word.
SSRIs and SNRIs
Often blunt the psilocybin response. A 2–6 week taper is typically required, coordinated with your prescriber. We do not taper anyone unilaterally.
MAOIs and lithium
Serious interaction risk with psilocybin. Almost always disqualifying unless a months-long supervised taper is medically appropriate.
Active substance-use disorder
Stability for 6+ months is typically required. Active dependency is not safely held in our retreat setting.
Significant trauma without therapeutic support
Complex trauma is workable, but only if you have a therapist or somatic practitioner walking with you before, during, and after.
This is the short list. The full matrix lives at /safety/contraindications and includes Tier 3 watch-and-discuss items, sleep apnea, autoimmune flares, certain endocrine conditions, and more.
Read the full contraindications matrixTrusted hands
Stories from our facilitators
The people who hold the room, clinically trained, ceremony-experienced, vetted to Ceremonia's standard. Real voices from the team and from alumni who worked with them.
Who holds the room
Credentials and lineage, both
Ceremony work asks two things at once: clinical competence and ceremonial depth. Our team holds both. Every facilitator passes the same vetting, independent of how they came to the work.
Credentialed mental-health clinicians
Several of our facilitators are credentialed therapists (LPC, LCSW, MFT) trained in trauma-informed somatic and depth modalities. They hold the psychological arc, not just the journey.
MAPS-trained facilitators
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Phase 3 protocol training is on the floor. Our standard mirrors the structure used in FDA-phase MDMA trials.
Medical advisor, M.D.
A board-certified physician oversees medical screening, contraindications review, and on-call clinical questions. Available before, during, and after every retreat.
Harm-reduction specialists
Trained in Zendo Project / DanceSafe-style harm reduction, our team holds the spectrum from gentle redirection to full crisis-response without judgement or panic.
Indigenous lineage holders
Traditional ceremonial lineage carriers participate in ceremony design and integration. Their guidance shapes how the room is held, songs, prayers, and the larger frame.
Integration coaches
Post-retreat integration is led by behavior-design and somatic coaches who translate breakthrough into daily practice, the part most retreats never staff.
Facilitator bios, certifications, and lineage details are available on request during your screening call. We are happy to talk specifics.
Eight steps
Prep, during, after, the full arc
A printable map of what we ask of you, and what we provide, across the three phases of the journey.
Prepare
Complete medical & psychiatric intake
Detailed questionnaire reviewed by clinicians. Flags contraindications early so we can route you to the right path, not always our retreat, sometimes a different one.
Pharmacist medication review
Every medication you take is reviewed for interactions with psilocybin. If a taper is clinically appropriate, we coordinate with your prescriber. Your prescriber makes the final decision.
Set intentions & build readiness
Two pre-retreat group calls plus a 1:1 with your facilitator. Sleep, nutrition, dietary protocol, and the inner work of arriving, what you're carrying in, what you hope to release.
During
Stay inside the safety container
Trained facilitator with you the whole arc. Music, eye-shades, breath, body cues, and verbal check-ins are all part of how we keep the journey held, even when it's hard.
Use the support you have
Medical support is on standby. Psychological emergencies have a clear protocol. You don't have to white-knuckle the difficult parts, asking for help is part of the practice.
After
Land before you leave
Re-entry isn't immediate. The closing morning is for grounding, sharing, and naming the first integration steps before you step back into your daily life.
Use the integration window
Six months of structured support: weekly group circles for the first eight weeks, monthly thereafter, a 1:1 with your facilitator, journaling prompts, and behavior-design coaching. The neuroplasticity window stays open this long.
Walk it forward
Graduate into the alumni community. Lifelong access to integration circles, sober-curious meetups, and the deeper cohorts when you're ready for the next layer.
How this is different
Container comparison, plainly
There is no shortage of paths into psychedelic experience. Some have safety architecture; some do not. Here is a clear-eyed comparison of the most common alternatives, written without scorn for any of them.
| Ceremonia | Underground retreat | Solo psychedelic | Traditional therapy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical screening | Four-stage clinical screening with pharmacist + M.D. review. | Highly variable; often a brief intake form. | None, self-assessed. | Strong screening, but for a different modality. |
| Facilitator training | Credentialed clinicians + MAPS-trained + harm-reduction + lineage. | Range from deeply trained to entirely informal. | No facilitator. | Credentialed therapist (psychedelic experience varies). |
| Legal status | RFRA religious-freedom framework; NMHA-licensed facilitators (DORA-verified). | Outside any legal framework. | Outside any legal framework. | Fully legal; medications limited to those cleared by the FDA. |
| Integration support | Eight weeks of structured integration; alumni community for life. | Rare; typically a single closing circle. | None unless self-initiated. | Ongoing therapy is integration, but no psychedelic context. |
We are not saying these alternatives are wrong for everyone. We are saying: if safety is the lens you are using to choose, the table tells the story. Pick the path that matches what you actually need.
When something arises
If a difficult moment shows up, here is what happens
Difficult moments are not emergencies, they are part of the work. A facilitator stays with you through breathwork, body-cues, music shifts, and verbal grounding; most hard passages soften within thirty minutes. For psychiatric emergencies, our trained team follows a written protocol with on-call clinician backup. For medical emergencies, EMS is called immediately and our medical lead coordinates the handoff. You are never alone in the room, and you are never asked to manage a crisis on your own.
Common questions
Honest answers about safety
What medical conditions disqualify me?
Uncontrolled mental illness (active psychosis, bipolar I with recent episodes), certain cardiovascular conditions, hepatic conditions, and pregnancy are absolute contraindications. Many other conditions are case-by-case and reviewed by our clinicians during intake. Full clinical detail at /safety/contraindications.What about food allergies and sensitivities?
Our retreat kitchen accommodates major allergens (gluten, dairy, nuts, soy, eggs) and most dietary patterns (vegan, vegetarian, paleo, kosher with notice). Severe allergies are flagged in your intake; we plan menus around them. The pre-ceremony dietary protocol is shared with you weeks in advance so you can prepare safely.How does the mental health screening work?
A credentialed clinician reviews your psychiatric history and current state during the screening call. The goal is matching you to the right support, not gatekeeping. Some people are ready now. Some aren't ready yet but could be in six months. Some are better served by a different modality entirely. We'll tell you honestly which one applies.What if I have a difficult experience during ceremony?
A facilitator is with you the entire arc. Our team is trained in crisis response for psychological, psychiatric, and medical emergencies. Music, breath, body cues, and verbal check-ins are all part of how we move through the hard parts. For serious medical events, emergency services are called immediately. Full protocols at /safety/emergency-protocols.What if I have a panic attack mid-ceremony?
Panic responses come up sometimes. They are not a sign anything is going wrong, they are a sign your nervous system is asking for help. A facilitator sits with you, slows the breath, drops the room volume, and uses orienting cues until the wave passes. Most panic moments soften within ten to twenty minutes. We do not pull you out of the experience unless you ask; we hold the floor underneath it.Can I bring my own substances or supplements?
No outside substances are permitted on retreat, alcohol, cannabis, recreational substances of any kind, or supplements not pre-approved by our medical team. This is not about control; it is about a known set of variables in the room. Prescription medications you have to take on schedule are logged with the medical lead at check-in and supervised throughout the retreat.Can I bring my own medication?
Yes, but every medication you bring is logged with our medical lead during check-in, and any dose taken during the retreat is supervised. We need to know what's in your system at every moment. Some medications must be taken on schedule (heart, thyroid, autoimmune); others must be tapered before ceremony. The pharmacist review during intake settles this for each person.What about my SSRIs or SNRIs specifically?
SSRIs and SNRIs blunt the psilocybin response by occupying the same serotonin receptors. A two-to-six-week taper is typically required, depending on dose, drug, and how long you have been on it. The taper is a medical decision made by your prescriber, not by us. We provide the evidence base and coordinate with your prescriber if helpful. We do not accept participants who cannot safely manage their medication protocol with their prescriber. Detail at /safety/medication-interactions.Can my therapist join the retreat or be on call?
Therapists do not attend ceremony, the container is held by our trained facilitators only, for clarity of role and consistency of method. Many participants do work with a therapist before, during the integration window, and afterward; we welcome handoff calls with your therapist if you want continuity. If you are mid-treatment with a complex condition, that conversation is part of screening.What about long-term integration support?
Eight weeks of structured integration is included in every retreat: weekly group circles, a 1:1 facilitator session, journaling prompts, and behavior-design coaching. After week eight, you graduate into our alumni community, monthly integration circles, sober-curious meetups, and access to deeper cohorts. The neuroplasticity window stays open longer than people expect; we stay with you for it.
Outside our walls
What independent reviewers say
We are not the only voice on the safety of supervised psilocybin work. Peer-reviewed research, regulatory bodies, and independent policy institutions have looked at the same evidence base, these are three of the most cited.
RAND Corporation · 2025
RAND 2025, psychedelic policy review
RAND's 2025 review surveyed safety outcomes across regulated psilocybin programs and concluded that supervised settings with medical screening produce a serious-adverse-event rate substantially below comparable elective procedures.
Read moreMAPS / The Lancet · 2024
MAPS Phase 3, Lancet 2024
MAPS' MDMA Phase 3 trial, the protocol our facilitator training mirrors, showed a strong safety profile in trained-clinician settings. Same screening, same support architecture, same integration arc.
Read moreU.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2018, 2019
FDA breakthrough therapy designation
The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression (2018) and major depressive disorder (2019), reflecting the agency's view of the evidence base for supervised settings.
More
Resources & deeper safety docs
Contraindications, medication interactions, screening detail, emergency protocols, and the RAND 2025 evidence base, all linkable from one place.
Begin
Ready to begin?
Take the readiness quiz, or talk to a real human about whether this is the right fit for you. Either way, we'll be honest about the answer.