Most people who’ve spent any time researching psychedelics have encountered the phrase “set and setting.” Far fewer have actually worked through what it means in practice — not as a concept, but as a preparation process with real decisions attached. This checklist is designed to close that gap.
It’s not a substitute for deeper reading. The full preparation guide on this site covers the why behind each of these categories in depth. This article is the working document — the one you open two weeks before a session and return to the morning of.
Work through it in order. Not everything will apply to every person or every substance. Use your judgment.
What Is Set and Setting, and Why Does It Shape the Experience?
Set and setting refers to your internal psychological state (set) and your external environment (setting) going into a psychedelic experience. Together, they substantially determine the character of what follows — often more than the substance itself does.
Psychedelics temporarily loosen the brain’s ordinary top-down filters, creating a state of heightened sensitivity and openness. What fills that openness is shaped by what you bring into it: your emotional state, your physical surroundings, the people present, the music playing, and whether you feel genuinely safe. Preparation is not supplementary to the experience — it is constitutive of it.
If you want the full account of why context shapes psychedelic experience the way it does, the preparation guide goes into the neuroscience and phenomenology in detail. Here, we’re focused on what to actually do.
Mindset (Set) Checklist
Have you completed a safety assessment?
Before anything else: if you’re on any medication, have a psychiatric history, or have a family history of schizophrenia or psychosis, run through the safety assessment before you plan anything else. This isn’t formality. Certain contraindications genuinely change the risk calculus.
- Reviewed relevant contraindications for your substance
- Checked interactions with any current medications (the Interaction Checker is a good starting point)
- If on SSRIs or other psychiatric medications: aware of the interaction picture and have made an informed decision
Have you worked with your intentions?
- Written down your intentions — not as wishes, but as honest orientations
- Distinguished between what you want and what you genuinely need
- Named your fears explicitly, in writing — not suppressed them
- Intentions are open-ended rather than outcome-specific (“I want to understand X” not “I want to feel Y”)
Is your baseline reasonably stable?
- Not in the midst of acute crisis, active relational rupture, or ongoing trauma activation
- Sleep has been adequate in the weeks prior
- Alcohol and cannabis reduced or paused for at least one to two weeks before
- No major high-stakes obligations in the 48 hours before or after
Physical Environment (Setting) Checklist
Is the space genuinely safe?
Safe means: private, familiar, free from unexpected interruptions, and associated with comfort rather than anxiety. A beautiful but unfamiliar location is usually worse than an ordinary but genuinely safe one.
- Private — no risk of unexpected visitors or public exposure
- Familiar enough to feel secure
- Phone on do-not-disturb; anyone who might contact you has been notified
- No obligations that will pull attention during the experience
Is the space physically prepared?
- Comfortable surface to lie down on (mattress, futon, thick blankets)
- Pillows, blankets — temperature regulation matters more than you expect
- Water and light snacks available for the descent
- Bathroom accessible without stairs or obstacles to navigate in an altered state
- Any sharp hazards, tripping risks, or unstable furniture addressed
What is the sensory environment?
- Lighting is warm and adjustable — not harsh overhead fluorescents
- Any objects of personal meaning placed intentionally in the space
- Eye mask available if you plan inward-focused work
- Outdoor access available if wanted and safe (private garden, balcony)
Music Checklist
Music is consistently identified as one of the most powerful variables in the psychedelic setting. It’s worth treating it with the same care as the physical space.
- Playlist prepared and tested in advance — not managed in real time during the experience
- Music is instrumental, or in a language you don’t understand well — lyrics in your native language can direct experience in narrow and sometimes jarring ways
- Playlist is structured to support the arc: building through ascent, rich at peak, more spacious in descent
- Starting, pausing, and adjusting volume doesn’t require cognitive effort during the experience
- Someone else is managing music if you have a sitter
The Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London playlists are both publicly available on Spotify if you want a well-researched starting point rather than building your own.
Sitter Checklist
For most people approaching a significant experience — particularly a first experience, or a high dose — a sitter is strongly advisable. The facilitation guide covers what makes a good sitter and how to prepare them. The short version is here.
Do you have the right person?
- Genuine trust — no unresolved conflict, power imbalance, or complicated attraction
- Sitter is in a settled place themselves — not in the middle of their own crisis
- Sitter understands their role is to witness and be present, not to direct or interpret
- Sitter will remain sober throughout
Have you briefed them properly?
- Substance, dose, and expected arc and duration discussed in advance
- Agreed on what “intervening” means — and what it doesn’t
- Emergency resources located and understood
- Whether and how to use touch as grounding — discussed and consented to in advance
- Sitter knows what a difficult experience looks like versus a genuine medical emergency
If you’re sitting without professional training, the Facilitation page has a detailed breakdown of what good informal sitting looks like — including the most common sitter errors.
Substance and Dose Checklist
- Substance is what you believe it to be — tested with an appropriate reagent (Ehrlich for psilocybin/LSD, Marquis for MDMA/2C-B)
- Fentanyl test strip used if substance is a pressed pill or powder of uncertain origin
- Dose is on the conservative side, especially for a first experience with this substance
- Read the substance-specific page for your substance — you understand the expected onset, peak, duration, and common early signs
- If uncertain about dose: err lower. You can always go further in a future session; you can’t reduce intensity once it has begun.
The Day Before Checklist
- Dietary moderation — lighter foods, no heavy meals in the evening
- No disturbing or overstimulating media
- Time outdoors if possible
- One meaningful conversation with someone you trust about what you’re approaching
- Intentions reviewed — read what you wrote, sit with it again
- Practical logistics confirmed: setting, substance, sitter, emergency contact
The Morning Of Checklist
- Begin the day slowly and quietly — no news, no email
- Journaling or meditative practice if you have one
- Intentions read again, not as a ritual but as a genuine return to what you’re carrying
- Physical space set up — not rushed in the hour before
- Water, snacks, blanket, and anything grounding within reach
- Phone on do-not-disturb
- Light meal a few hours before, or fasting if that’s your preference — not a heavy meal in the two to three hours immediately before
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the most important item on this checklist? The safety assessment — specifically the contraindications and medication interactions section. Every other preparation variable improves the quality of the experience. Getting the medical picture wrong can create genuine harm. If you’re on any psychiatric medication, run through the safety assessment and use the Interaction Checker before anything else.
Do I need a sitter for every experience? Not necessarily — but for a first experience with any substance, a high-dose experience, or any session where the intention involves working with difficult material, a sitter is strongly advisable. The value isn’t only practical. Knowing a trusted person is present reduces background anxiety and allows for deeper surrender. See the facilitation guide for what to look for.
What if my physical space isn’t ideal? Prioritise safety and privacy above aesthetic appeal. A comfortable, private, genuinely familiar space will support a better experience than a beautiful but unfamiliar one. The most consistently unfavourable environments are public spaces, crowded settings, and anywhere that makes you feel observed or unsafe.
How far in advance should I work through this checklist? Start the mindset and sitter sections at least two weeks before. The physical environment and music sections can be finalised a few days before. The day-before and morning-of sections are time-bound by design. Don’t try to do all of this in the 48 hours before — that quality of last-minute rush carries its own anxiety into the experience.
Is this checklist specific to one substance? The framework applies across classical psychedelic experiences. Substance-specific considerations — ayahuasca’s dietary requirements, MDMA’s cardiovascular profile, ketamine’s distinct risk pattern — are covered in the individual substance guides. Use this checklist as the common foundation and layer in substance-specific guidance from there.