How to Choose a
5-MeO-DMT Facilitator
Choosing who sits with you is the most important decision you'll make about a 5-MeO-DMT experience. More important than the setting, the music, or the dose. There's no licence for this work in Canada and no governing body checking anyone's practice. That puts the responsibility on you to ask good questions. Here's what I'd want a friend to look for, including from me.
Screening that actually screens
5-MeO-DMT isn't safe for everyone. Some medications (like MAOIs, lithium and certain antidepressants) and some health conditions (heart issues, seizure disorders, a history of psychosis or mania) carry real risk.
A good facilitator asks about your physical health, mental health history, medications and supplements, past psychedelic experience, and support systems before anything else. And they're willing to say no. If someone is ready to book you without asking any of this, that tells you a lot. Here's exactly how I screen.
Real preparation
Preparation isn't a formality. You should know exactly what ceremony day will look like before you arrive, and have had a chance to explore your intentions with the person who'll be sitting with you. Surprises belong in the experience, not the logistics. Here’s how I help people prepare.
Consent, touch and choice
In a 5-MeO-DMT journey you can be completely without words for a time. That's why consent conversations have to happen before the medicine comes out.
Look for a facilitator who agrees touch and communication signals with you in advance, explains what support might look like, and respects a no without discussion. Dosing should be paced to you and your nervous system, never pushed. You should have agency at every step.
A plan for when things go wrong
Intense experiences sometimes bring vomiting, shaking, panic, or in rare cases medical complications. Ask directly: Are you trained in first aid and CPR? What happens if there's a medical emergency? How far are we from a hospital?
A calm, specific answer is a good sign. Vagueness isn't.
Integration that continues
The ceremony is a day. Integration is the weeks and months after. A good facilitator schedules time with you afterwards and stays reachable if something unexpected surfaces. If they disappear once you've left the room, you'll be making sense of one of the biggest experiences of your life on your own.
Questions to ask before you book
What training do you have, and who did you learn from?
How long have you been facilitating, and roughly how many ceremonies have you held?
Do you use synthetic 5-MeO-DMT or toad secretion? How do you know what's in it?
What does your screening process involve?
How do you handle consent and touch?
Are you first aid trained? What's your emergency plan?
What does integration support include?
Is there someone I can contact if I have a concern about your practice?
Red flags
No screening, or screening that feels like a formality
Pressure to take a bigger dose, or to keep going when you want to stop
Promises to cure trauma, depression or anything else
The facilitator taking medicine themselves while holding space
Romantic or sexual boundaries that feel blurry, before, during or after
Being asked to keep the experience secret from people close to you
Reluctance to answer questions about training or experience
Large groups with too few facilitators to give each person real attention
How I hold myself to this
I've tried to build my practice around everything above:
Training: Toad School 5-MeO-DMT facilitation training (2022), and 4 years facilitating with Earthlings Institute at their Self Contact weekend retreats.
Experience: 100+ clients supported.
Safety: 2026 First Aid and CPR Certification, local hospital less than 5 minutes away.
Medicine: Pure, synthesized, lab-tested 5-MeO-DMT only. No toad secretion.
Screening: Health, history and intentions intake plus a preparation call before every 1:1 ceremony.
Consent: Touch and communication signals agreed before any medicine, doses titrated to you.
Integration: Two integration calls after every 1:1 ceremony, and I stay reachable beyond them.
Accountability: peer consultation with colleagues at Earthlings Institute, clients can raise a concern with them directly.
If you'd like to ask me any of these questions directly, that's exactly what the free consultation call is for. You can also send me a message, or see what a private ceremony costs and includes.
Keep reading: Safety & Screening · About Me · Offerings