Set and Setting: What They Mean and How to Prepare

Short answer: "Set" is your inner state: mindset, expectations, mood and history. "Setting" is the outer context: where you are, who is there and how safe it feels. Practitioners treat both as central to preparing for a psychedelic experience, alongside a health review, clear intentions and a plan for support afterwards.

This page is general education about preparation. Psymerge doesn't offer substances, retreats, support during experiences or medical advice. Many psychedelics are illegal in many places, so check your local law.

What "set" means

Set is short for "mindset". It's what you bring with you:

• how you feel right now: calm, anxious, grieving, excited
• what you expect and hope for
• your history, including past experiences and anything painful you carry
• your beliefs and how you tend to cope when things get hard

A Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics Q&A with Hanifa Nayo Washington, cofounder of the Fireside Project, puts it simply: set is "your inner world", including how you're feeling, your personal beliefs, your history and your current emotional state [1].

What "setting" means

Setting is the world around you. In the same Q&A, setting is "what's happening in the external world": where you are, whether it's indoors or outdoors, who else is there and whether you know them, and the sensory details of the place [1]. A 2021 paper for clinicians puts it more briefly: "the environment in which psychedelic use takes place" [4].

Setting also includes the people. Who is with you, how well you trust them, and whether they are trained are all part of the setting. See how to choose a psychedelic retreat for questions to ask.

Why people talk about set and setting

The idea is not new. Researchers Robin Carhart-Harris and colleagues, in a 2018 opinion piece in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, call set and setting "a long-recognised component of the psychedelic treatment model" and group them under the term "context". They say they believe the way classic psychedelics act on the brain makes their effects "exceptionally sensitive" to context, and they suggest a study design to test that. They also say an evidence base for these "long-held assumptions" still needs to be built [3].

In plain terms: set and setting are widely treated as important, and researchers are still working to show how much and in what ways. It's a good idea to hold the claims loosely. No amount of preparation guarantees how an experience will go.

Clinicians use the same idea in practice. A 2021 paper aimed at therapists lays out a clinical approach to working with people who use or are considering using psychedelics, with considerations for assessment, preparation and working with difficult experiences [4].

Preparing your mindset

Practitioners usually describe preparing "set" as a mix of reflection and conversation. This is general, non-clinical stuff, and it isn't a substitute for a health review:

• Ask yourself why. What are you hoping for? The same 2021 paper counts intentions as part of set, alongside expectations and your overall state of mind [4]. Questions such as "Why am I doing this?" and "What do I want to take from this experience?" are a place to start, and there's no pressure to answer all of them.
• Look at your expectations and fears. Safety guidelines for psychedelic research say preparation should cover the range of experiences that might come up, including frightening ones, and how to handle difficult moments [2]. The 2021 paper adds that a mismatch between expectations and what happens can colour how you see the whole experience [4]. Talk your worries through with a guide or therapist beforehand.
• Be honest about where you are right now. If you're going through a hard time or feel low, a clinician or guide should know. The HSE says challenging experiences "can happen at any time, even if you have used a drug before", and that your health and how you feel beforehand matter [5].
• Check in with yourself beforehand. In the research guidelines, staff ask on the morning of a session about recent sleep and any stress at work or in relationships [2]. You can ask yourself the same questions in the days before. None of it has to be perfect.
• Talk to someone you trust. Share your plans with a person who'll take them seriously.

Choosing and shaping your setting

For most people, the setting isn't something they design alone. In supervised programmes the provider prepares the space. The research guidelines describe a comfortable, living-room-like room rather than a clinical one, with at least two trained monitors present during the session [2]. At a retreat, the setting is whatever the organiser provides, so the questions you ask before you book are your preparation. Ask about the team, the emergency plan and aftercare, and look for the warning signs in our retreat guide.

If you're taking a medicine or have a health condition, read conditions and medications to discuss with a clinician too. Set and setting don't replace a health review.

What a preparation session covers

What happens in preparation depends on who you work with. We don't yet have interviews with Psymerge guides, so here are two documented examples.

Oregon's regulated psilocybin services. The Oregon Health Authority says a preparation session with a licensed facilitator includes client intake, review of informed consent and the client bill of rights, accessibility needs, safety and support planning, and transportation planning. Answers on the intake form may show a person is ineligible, for example because of thoughts of harming themselves or others, lithium within the past 30 days, or a diagnosis of active psychosis at any time. Oregon requires a preparation session before an administration session [6].

Psychedelic research trials. Safety guidelines from Johns Hopkins researchers describe at least eight hours of preparation over at least four meetings, usually across a month, mainly to build trust with the people who will be present. Preparation also covers informed consent, the range of possible experiences, how to handle difficult ones, and practical arrangements. If enough trust hasn't developed, the guidelines say the session shouldn't go ahead [2]. These are rules for research, not a standard for every setting.

What you'd get from a Psymerge guide depends on the guide and their training. Browse profiles, read what they say they offer, and message them first.

What preparation can't do

• It can't guarantee an experience. Challenging experiences can happen to anyone [5].
• It isn't a health check. Some conditions and medicines may matter. Talk to your doctor or the clinician who prescribes your medication. Don't start, stop or change any medication on your own.
• It doesn't make something legal or safe. Rules differ by country and region. Many psychedelics are illegal or restricted, so check local law.
• It isn't integration. Preparation comes first and integration comes after, though the two are connected. See preparation is already integration and what is psychedelic integration?.

If you need urgent help after an experience, see what to do after a psychedelic experience.

Find a guide

If you'd like to talk through your intentions, questions and plans with someone, you can browse guides and message them before you book. Find a guide on Psymerge →