Pick your route and who you are asking to get a numbered list of questions you can copy or print for the appointment.
The questions to ask about psychedelic therapy fall into five areas: licensing, screening, monitoring, cost and follow-up. At The Psychedelic Journal, we publish state-by-state legal status and provider checklists, and every question in the builder above comes from one of those checklists. Which questions you get depends on the route you pick and on the medications or history you tick.
If you finished the which psychedelic therapy quiz, it told you a consultation with a licensed psychiatrist is the next step. The builder makes one list for that appointment and a separate list for the clinic, program, facilitator or trial team running the service.
A list built for a provider covers five areas, and the questions inside each area depend on the route you pick.
Licensing asks who is responsible for your care and whether they hold a license. At an intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) ketamine clinic, that question reads "Who performs the medical evaluation, and are they licensed in my state?" At a licensed psilocybin service, it asks for the license numbers of the center and the facilitator in writing.
Screening asks what the provider checks before treating you. The ketamine clinic list asks "Do you screen blood pressure, cardiac history, psychosis or mania history, substance use, and current medications?" The retreat list asks who reviews the screening: a nurse, a physician, or administrative staff only.
Monitoring asks who watches you during dosing and what happens if something goes wrong. For Spravato, the question is "Who monitors me during dosing, and what happens if anxiety or blood pressure spikes?" For a licensed psilocybin service, it asks who is present, what training they have and when emergency medical services are called.
Cost asks for the full price with each fee shown. The clinic version is "What is the all-in cost for evaluation, medication, monitoring, and follow-up?" Follow-up asks what happens after treatment, such as whether psilocybin follow-up can be remote once you travel home, or how long a retreat's integration support lasts.
Each box you tick in the third field adds one question under the heading "Because of your situation". The four boxes cover psychiatric medications, heart conditions or high blood pressure, a history of psychosis or bipolar I, and pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Under every question, the builder shows a link to the page on this site it came from. Sources include the clinical trial finder, the ketamine insurance coverage guide and the integration coach vs therapist guide. Each question is copied from one of those pages or lightly rephrased as a question, so you can open that page and read the question in context.
The question builder has three fields, and the list below them redraws every time you change one. The first field, "Which route are you considering?", offers six choices in this order: "Spravato (esketamine) at a certified clinic", "IV or IM ketamine at a clinic", "At-home ketamine through a telehealth program", "A licensed psilocybin service in Oregon or Colorado", "A clinical trial" and "A retreat outside the US". Spravato is selected by default.
The second field, "Who are you asking?", has two options. "The clinic, program, facilitator or trial team" is the default and gives a list grouped under headings such as "Licensing and who is responsible", "Screening and your medical history", "Cost and what is included" and "After treatment". "My own psychiatrist or doctor" gives two questions about your route under "About this route".
The third field, "Does any of this apply to you? (optional)", has four checkboxes: "I take an antidepressant or another psychiatric medication", "I have a heart condition or high blood pressure", "I or a close family member have a history of psychosis or bipolar I" and "I am pregnant or breastfeeding". Each ticked box adds one question under "Because of your situation".
The list appears as soon as the page loads, set to Spravato and the provider. A line above it gives the count, for example "10 questions to ask the provider about Spravato (esketamine) at a certified clinic." Questions are numbered straight through the groups, from the first heading to the last.
"Copy the list" copies the numbered list as plain text along with the page address. "Print" prints only the list on a white page, with the title, an "Appointment with / Date" line and a blank line under each question for writing the answer.
Nothing you pick is sent anywhere or saved, and your choices stay in your browser. Copy or print the list before you leave the page.
Each of the six routes gets its own provider list, and the wording quoted below is the wording in the builder. The three ketamine routes each have their own questions to ask before ketamine therapy.
The Spravato list deals with certification and insurance. It asks "Are you REMS-certified for Spravato administration?", "Do you handle the prior authorization submission?" and "How do you bill: buy-and-bill, or specialty pharmacy?" It also asks for your estimated per-visit out-of-pocket after copay support and whether the clinic helps you enroll in Janssen's withMe program on day one.
The IV or IM ketamine clinic list asks "Is the clinic independently owned or part of a larger network?" It also asks "What would make you decline to treat me?"
The at-home ketamine list asks "Is the evaluation live video, phone-only, or just a form?" and "Do you require a sober support person during dosing?" It also asks "How many doses ship at once, and how are refills controlled?" and "What symptoms mean I should stop and seek urgent care?" The list also asks "Is the ketamine compounded?", and the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned in October 2023 about risks of compounded ketamine products.
The licensed psilocybin list for Oregon or Colorado is built around license numbers. It asks for the license numbers of the service center or healing center and of the facilitator, in writing, and in Colorado whether the facilitator holds a full license or an in-training license. It also asks what the medical intake covers, "What disqualifies a client?", whether solo administration is ever allowed, and for the total cost with each fee listed separately.
The clinical trial list goes to the trial team. It asks which exclusion criteria apply, whether your current medications are allowed or need a washout period, and how many in-person visits there are. It also asks whether you must live within driving range and whether you need sober transport home after dosing. The last question asks whether the trial runs under an FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) authorization with Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight.
The retreat list asks what the medical screening includes and who reviews it. It then asks which medications are contraindicated and whether a washout is required for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or other drugs. It asks who leads the ceremonies, what training they have, the emergency protocol and whether medical evacuation transport is available. It also asks the maximum group size, whether you can decline a ceremony, and what integration support is included and how long follow-up lasts.
Your psychiatrist or doctor gets two questions about fit and coordination for your route. The provider list asks how the clinic, program, facilitator or trial team runs the service: who is licensed, how screening works, what it costs and what follow-up looks like.
Doctor questions include "Would you coordinate with the ketamine clinic if I go ahead?" and "Would at-home dosing or in-clinic care be the better fit for me?" Another asks "Does my diagnosis meet my insurance plan's criteria for Spravato, and will you help with prior authorization?" Others ask "Could you go through a trial's eligibility criteria with me and tell me if anything in my history excludes me?" and "Will you see me for follow-up when I get back?"
Pick "My own psychiatrist or doctor" before a consultation like the one the quiz points to. Pick the provider option when you want questions to ask a psychedelic therapist, facilitator, clinic or trial team about their service. The four boxes in the third field work for both lists.
Each box in the third field adds one question, worded for the audience you picked in the second field.
The medication box asks a provider "Does that rule me out, and how do you coordinate with my prescriber?" and asks your doctor "Do any of my current medications rule this route out or need to change first?" The heart or blood pressure box asks "How do you assess that, and would it rule me out?" or "Does my heart or blood-pressure history rule this route out?"
The psychosis or bipolar I box asks "How does your screening handle that?" or "Is my personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar I a reason not to do this?" The pregnancy or breastfeeding box asks "Can you treat me?" or "Is this route an option while I am pregnant or breastfeeding?"
All four boxes match exclusions this site lists for clinical trials. A personal history of any psychotic disorder is excluded across all trials, and bipolar I is nearly always excluded. Conservative protocols also exclude a first-degree family member with psychosis or bipolar I. Uncontrolled high blood pressure and significant cardiovascular disease are exclusions, and pregnancy or breastfeeding is universally excluded.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are always excluded, and lithium is contraindicated. Rules for SSRIs and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) vary: many trials allow certain SSRIs with conditions, some require a washout of 2 weeks or more, and others exclude them entirely. The specific protocol decides.
The builder does not tell you to stop, start or change any medication. Whether a washout happens is a decision for your prescriber or the trial team. The medication safety checker shows typical trial washout windows and high-risk combinations, and it says to coordinate with your prescriber.
Spravato certification, Oregon and Colorado psilocybin licenses and clinical trial listings each have a public record you can compare against a provider's answer.
Spravato (esketamine) is an FDA-approved nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression and depression with acute suicidal ideation. It must be given at a REMS-certified site, and the patient is observed for 2 hours after dosing. Look up a site's certification through the Spravato REMS program and find treatment centers through the Spravato center locator.
Spravato is the only ketamine-family therapy with broad insurance coverage. Janssen's withMe program offers copay support, and patients on federal plans are not eligible for it.
In Oregon, Measure 109 psilocybin services are given by licensed facilitators at licensed service centers, no physician referral is required, and clients must be 21 or older. Find a licensee in the Oregon Psilocybin Services licensee directory, then use Oregon's license-status search to check the specific license number you were given.
Under Colorado's Natural Medicine Health Act (Proposition 122, 2022), psilocybin healing centers began licensing in 2024 to 2025. The Colorado Natural Medicine Division licenses the business, and the facilitator holds a separate state license, so verify the healing center and the facilitator separately. Do not rely on a logo, an outdated document, a directory card or a social media claim.
For a trial, search registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov or this site's clinical trial finder. Every US psychedelic trial runs under an FDA Investigational New Drug authorization, and an Institutional Review Board reviews the protocol and monitors safety.
For ketamine, the prescribing clinician should be a licensed medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant in your state. The warning signs this site lists for ketamine providers start with no real medical intake, such as a short form that goes straight to payment. A company that will not name the prescribing clinician or confirm the license is another.
Further warning signs are no questions about cardiac or psychiatric history, pressure to increase dose or frequency without a clinical reassessment, and no plan for what happens if something goes wrong. "We've never had that happen" is not an answer to that question. A provider who turns some people away is safer than one who accepts everyone.
A responsible retreat answers the screening and emergency questions clearly and in writing. If the answer about medical screening or the emergency protocol is vague, that is a reason to look elsewhere.
The question list does not tell you whether a therapy is safe or right for you, and it does not cover every provider's own rules.
To choose a route, start with the which psychedelic therapy quiz, which matches your goal, legal comfort, session format, insurance need and medical history to a therapy. The depression treatment path compares Spravato, IV or IM ketamine, at-home ketamine and psilocybin access. For interactions, the medication safety checker covers washout windows and high-risk combinations.
If you have not picked a provider yet, the ketamine provider directory and the best psychedelic therapy providers guide are two of the pages this list draws from.
Someone in crisis needs urgent help, and a question list does not provide it. Go to this site's crisis resources page first.
Pick your route and who you are asking in the builder above, tick anything that applies, and print the questions to ask about psychedelic therapy before your appointment.
Ask who is licensed and responsible for your care, how they screen your medical history and medications, and who monitors you during dosing. Ask the all-in cost and what follow-up looks like after treatment. Add a question for any psychiatric medication, heart condition or high blood pressure, history of psychosis or bipolar I, or pregnancy that applies to you.
Ask who performs the medical evaluation and whether they are licensed in your state, and whether they screen blood pressure, cardiac history, psychosis or mania history, substance use and current medications. Ask the all-in cost for evaluation, medication, monitoring and follow-up, and what would make them decline to treat you. A clinic with no real medical intake, or no plan for what happens if something goes wrong, shows warning signs this site lists.
Ask for the license numbers of the service center or healing center and of the facilitator, in writing, and in Colorado whether the facilitator holds a full license or an in-training license. Ask what disqualifies a client, who is present, when emergency medical services are called, and the total cost with each fee listed separately. Oregon publishes a licensee directory, and in Colorado the healing center and the facilitator hold separate licenses.
In the clinical trial exclusions this site lists, a personal history of any psychotic disorder is excluded across all trials and bipolar I is nearly always excluded. Uncontrolled high blood pressure, significant cardiovascular disease and pregnancy or breastfeeding are exclusions, and MAOIs are always excluded. SSRI and SNRI rules vary by trial, so the specific protocol decides.
Yes. Choose "My own psychiatrist or doctor" in the second field, and the builder gives two questions about fit and coordination for your route, such as whether your doctor would coordinate with a ketamine clinic. Any boxes you tick add a version of each situation question worded for your doctor.
No. Nothing you pick is sent anywhere or saved, and your choices stay in your browser. Use "Copy the list" to copy the numbered list as plain text with the page address, or "Print" to print it with a blank line under each question for the answer.
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