Things to Look For In A Facilitator

[Handshake]

Here are some general guidelines to look for in a facilitator:

1. Facilitator should not be financially dependent on facilitating. The facilitator should make most of their earnings doing something else. Having facilitating be a primary source of income can lead to shoddy screening processes and little regard for integration. These facilitators that are dependent on facilitating can end up running sessions like a carnival ride, blasting people off one after another and then leaving town to set up their ride somewhere else.

2. Facilitator should have a thorough, formal mental health training. This would include someone with a Masters or higher degree in Counseling, Psychology, or Psychiatry. These individuals should also be experienced with the medicine, having taken it by themselves at least once and integrated a difficult experience. If the facilitator has only a Bachelor's degree, it should be a Bachelor's in Psychology and the individual should have had YEARS of experience working in a clinical setting (ie a mental health facility). All facilitators should have experience working with a wide range of mental illnesses.

Feel free to add more points, but these are two important general ones that are good to follow.

[gurudedicationananda]

Hi humblevoyager, good to see you again.
So from what you have described here in what a good facilitator should be, it is now quite apparent to me that the two more well-known 5-meo-dmt facilitators should actually NOT be consulted.
They do not meet any of the criterion that you have listed here.
Thanks for the heads up.

[Handshake]

Hi humblevoyager, good to see you again.
So from what you have described here in what a good facilitator should be, it is now quite apparent to me that the two more well-known 5-meo-dmt facilitators should actually NOT be consulted.
They do not meet any of the criterion that you have listed here.
Thanks for the heads up.

You're quite welcome! These are of course suggestions and everyone is free to make their own decisions. I would be happy to discuss the reasons why I have created that criteria if there were any questions. Heck, I may even be wrong about some aspects. But it would be important to me that if someone were going to be inducing a powerful dissolution of the ego/psyche, they should have formal training in that area of health and have experience working with a wide range of people with differing mental illnesses to know how to deal with those types of situations.

[Flux]

While the criteria you outlined here are most certainly important factors, I don’t think they necessarily preclude practitioners who not fit either category.
The financial motivations of any given practitioner/facilitator is an important factor to consider, one may be gaining recompense for their time and effort with medicine being their primary calling without being  greedy or exploitative.

 Secondly while formal psychotherapeutic training is unquestionably of immensely value to this work, there are many who have years of experience navigating interpersonal, transpersonal and metaphysical experiences for others without such qualifications.

We must remember the incipient nature of 5-MeO and the nascent culture that is forming will take a myriad of shapes and forms. What we should focus on are the fundamentals of providing safe space, proper screening, respect for a patients autonomy in decision making and a general ‘do no harm’ principal that provides optimum support at every stage of the journey from preparation to integration. What we are seeing now is several examples of 'the wrong' way to do it from which we need to acknowledge that there may not be one 'right way' but rather one which adheres to some fundamental principles and ethics...but that embraces the psycho-therapeutic, shamanic and psychonautic diversity in the entheogenic community.

[Migaloo]

There have been concerns raised recently about some methods used by certain practitioners that have inspired me to write a piece about choosing a good Sitter/Practitioner/Shaman to guide you on your Toad journey, if you decide this experience is for you.

Choosing a practitioner is a very important decision. It’s a little like choosing a partner or lover you are going to share your body with. Yet when you lay yourself at the feet of your practitioner you are sharing a lot more than your body so you need to be thorough with your research.

Dont just rely on FB posts, its best to talk to a few people who have experienced the practitioner and ask them their honest opinion. Personal Messages usually works ok. If it exists, watch a video of them doing ceremony.

An important aspect of choosing a practitioner is to not give your power away to the practitioner. Set your perimeters. If you don't want something, say it. It’s your body and soul not theirs. You usually know who you are better than they do after all. If you don't want any intervention like touch, bells, drums, chanting, rap`e, electrical devices, water in the mouth then state it in the beginning. If you don't the practitioner may think you are just resisting the process and may try to push you through it. If they say this is what I do, like it or don't come, then consider if this suits you.

Before agreeing to do ceremony with the practitioner talk or communicate with them first with any questions or concerns you may have. Ask how they conduct the ceremony and what, if any, support they can give you afterwards to assist with the integration process. They are not gods they are human, don't give your power away. They should have the time to communicate properly with you before hand. If they don't, take that into consideration and be prepared to not do the ceremony with this practitioner. If it doesn't ‘feel’ right another opportunity will cross your path.

This is the most sacred and powerful initiation you will do in your life. Its worth doing your research properly and getting it right the first time.

[gurudedicationananda]

Hi and thank you for this thoughtful post.
What I would like to know is whether or not a sitter/practitioner/shaman/guide, etc. is actually a necessity.
I have yet to experience pure vaporized 5-meo-dmt.
But I have seen people recommend sitters for even salvia divinorum which I thought from experience is totally unnecessary.
But then again, as mentioned above I have no experience with 5-meo-dmt.
Is it much stronger and more profound of an experience than even the strongest salvia experiences?
I actually have a small amount of 5-meo-dmt HCL that I have been wanting to try since I obtained it many weeks ago.
But I have not found a suitable sitter.
I actually think that having a sitter would be great just for purposes of encouragement and support.
I personally would feel more comfortable if I had a sitter with me when I tried this.
But really I have no friends and therefore no one who would sit for me.
And since I have the sacrament with me, I would much rather take it on my own time here rather than waste thousands of dollars and lots of time and energy going to see a 5-meo-dmt facilitator.
So in your opinion, should I try to find a person whom I can trust, who would be non-judgmental, and would be my guide and sitter, even if they themselves have no experience with 5-meo-dmt?
Thank you and I would appreciate your advice and/or suggestions.

[Migaloo]

I would not recommend doing Toad first time by yourself. I would suggest reading testimonials and doing lots of research on different types of ceremonies and facilitators and save up and do it with an experience practitioner. Like I said in my previous post " This is the most sacred and powerful initiation you will do in your life. Its worth doing your research properly and getting it right the first time."

[Flux]

gurudedicationananda - only you can decide, as our focus here at the forum is one of harm reduction, we will always err on the side of caution. As previously stated, in absence of a sitter, start small and employ a careful, gradual, incrementally increasing dose. Hal from The Temple of Awakened Divinity has provided a very thorough dosing protocol here https://forums.5meodmt.org/index.php/topic,50588.0.html