Free course · Before treatment
Free Preparation Course
A plain, honest look at what to weigh, ask and arrange before an ibogaine or other psychedelic program, so you make the decision with clear eyes.
Opening soon on the PACT community app.
Who it's for
Is this course for you?
- People considering ibogaine or another psychedelic program for addiction or related mental health treatment.
- Family members and friends helping someone decide.
- You don't need to have chosen a program, or even decided to go.
Course outline
8 modules, in order.
Each module has short lessons and one exercise. Open any module to see what's in it.
Is this right for me?Psychedelic programs aren't for everyone, and "not now" is a real answer. What these programs can and can't do, who they aren't safe for, and what else is worth weighing first.
Lessons
- What a treatment program can do, and what it can't
- Who these programs are not for
- Other paths worth a serious look
- "Not now" is an answer too
Exercise
Reasons and doubts: why you're considering this, what worries you, what you've already tried, and what helped even a little.
How programs differ, and how to judge onePrograms vary widely in medical oversight, length, setting and follow-up. The questions that separate a serious program from a risky one.
Lessons
- The kinds of program out there
- Who is clinically responsible? Get a name
- Screening, monitoring and the emergency plan
- What follow-up looks like after you leave
- Red flags: guarantees, pressure, and "safe for everyone"
Exercise
A program comparison sheet: what each treats, where it is, who is clinically responsible, how it screens and monitors, its emergency plan, follow-up, cost and contact.
Medical screening: what it involvesScreening is the program's job, and a good program takes it seriously. What it usually covers, and why your heart and your medications matter so much.
Lessons
- What screening usually covers
- Why your heart and your medications matter
- Tell the program everything, including what's hard to say
- Bring your own doctor into the conversation
Exercise
Your health and medication list, written down to share with your doctor and the program, plus questions for your doctor. Keep it private. Never stop, start or change a medication on your own.
The legal realityIbogaine is a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, which is why people who choose it travel abroad. The federal picture, Colorado's natural medicine law, and what going abroad means.
Lessons
- Ibogaine and US federal law
- Colorado's natural medicine law: what changed, and what didn't
- Licensed psilocybin healing centers in Colorado
- Going abroad: the law where you're going, and coming home
Exercise
Questions to answer about the law where the program is, and a reminder for the trip home: never travel with, or bring back, any controlled substance.
Practical logisticsMost of preparation is ordinary: documents, money, time off, and the life you leave running while you're gone.
Lessons
- Passports, visas and flights
- Money, time off work, and the bills at home
- Travel insurance and emergency contacts
- Travel companions, and what to pack
Exercise
A departure checklist and timeline, working back from your travel date.
Family and support peopleThe people around you can make preparation and the return home easier, or harder. For both of you: talking honestly, what support can and can't do, and looking after yourselves.
Lessons
- What support looks like, and what it doesn't
- Talking about it honestly
- Boundaries, worry and burnout
- Travel day and the day you come home
Exercise
A support map: who is in your corner, what each person has agreed to do, and how to reach them.
Setting intentionsAn intention is a direction, not a promise about what the experience will be. Write one down, name your fears, and start a small daily practice before you go.
Lessons
- Intentions and expectations are different things
- Writing down what you hope for, and what you fear
- Staying open to what you didn't plan for
- Start the Foundational Four now: read, write, move, meditate
Exercise
A letter to yourself, to read when you're home: what you hope for, what scares you, and what you want to remember.
Plan your aftercare before you goThe weeks after treatment matter as much as the treatment. Build your plan for coming home while you're thinking clearly and have time.
Lessons
- Why the weeks after matter
- Your home: people, places, phone and things
- After a break from opioids, a past dose can kill
- Lining up support: doctor, therapist, community, mentor
- Your first two weeks home, on paper
Exercise
An aftercare plan for your first 14 days: where you'll be, who you'll see, follow-up appointments, daily practice, and who to call when it's hard.
This course is education. It isn't medical advice or therapy, and it doesn't replace the medical screening a program must do. PACT is presented by Nekawa Ibogaine Treatment Centers, which runs a program in Brazil; this course doesn't steer you to Nekawa or to anyone else.
Next
When you're ready to choose a program.
If you'd like help comparing specific programs, talk to us about placement. It's a free conversation, and we don't take referral fees or commissions from any program.
Also free: the Free Integration Course.
Start the course for free.
Self-paced, on the PACT community app, with other people taking it too.
Get early access