What a Live Group Ketamine Ceremony Is Like, Hour by Hour
Here is the actual day.
Most women picture one of two things.
A clinic room with a recliner and a blood pressure cuff and someone in scrubs checking a clipboard. Or something with candles and a drum circle and a stranger telling them their aura is blocked. Neither one is this, and the not-knowing is usually what keeps a woman sitting on the decision for another six months.
So here is the actual day of a live group ketamine ceremony in RESET, our program for women, hour by hour. (If you want the inner side — the stages of the experience itself and how to prepare emotionally — read What to Expect in Your First Ketamine Ceremony. This post is the logistics.)
Before the day
A physician evaluates you first. That happens separately from the program, and it is the gate — no clearance, no ceremony. If something in your history makes this a bad idea, that is what the evaluation is for. (Curious about the legal side? Read Is Ketamine Legal in Colorado?)
Before every ceremony, you send the physical address where you will be and an emergency contact. If anything ever went sideways, someone needs to be able to send help to a real door. It takes thirty seconds and it is not optional.
Then you set up your space. Your bed is usually the right answer. You want a blanket, a pillow, an eye mask, over-ear headphones, your chargers, water, a journal and a pen for afterward, and a bowl you can use if your stomach turns. You will be reclining in front of your laptop with your camera on and no virtual background, so we can see you.
1:30pm — last meal
Eating stops three hours before we start. Something light and early is better than heroic fasting.
4:00pm — settle
If a doctor prescribed you something for nausea, this is when you take it. Pets go in another room, or make sure they are settled too. Phone on do not disturb. Tell the people you live with that you are unavailable until eight, and mean it. Your evening plans end here too — no driving for the rest of the night.
4:20pm — doors open
We come onto Zoom. There is no performance in this part. Women arrive, we say hello, somebody's dog barks, somebody is nervous and says so. It is a small group and it stays the same group, which matters more than people expect.
4:30pm — we begin
We read the agreements out loud. Every time, because the group is always rolling and someone is always new. Confidentiality. Journal what is yours. Your meaning is yours. Invitation, never pressure. Make room for everyone. Medical questions deserve medical answers.
Then intentions. An intention is not an order you give the medicine, and it is not a wish. It is a direction you are willing to face — I am willing to notice what I do when she goes quiet. Women who go in demanding a specific outcome tend to decide afterward that they failed. Women who go in willing tend to come out with something.
Then we begin. The medicine comes in rounds rather than all at once, with music in between — I curate it myself and play it through Zoom, so the whole group moves through the same arc together. You do not have to build a playlist. You do not have to do anything except lie down and let it be what it is.
4:30 to 7:30pm — the ceremony
I am not going to tell you what you will experience, because I do not know and neither does anyone else who is honest with you. Some women see things. Some women feel their body let go of something they did not know it was holding. Some women cry. Some women feel almost nothing the first time and everything the second.
What I can tell you is the shape of it. It comes on. It gets big. It recedes. Music carries the middle. I am there the entire time, watching, saying very little. You are alone inside your own experience and you are not alone in the room, which is the whole point of doing it this way.
The medicine may open the door. You choose what comes next.
7:30pm — coming back
We come back together. This is the part women tell me they did not expect to matter and then it turns out to be the part they remember. Nobody is required to speak. Nobody analyzes anybody. If you share, the room's job is to witness it, not to fix it or explain it to you.
Until 8:00pm — we stay
I stay on until eight for questions, for sitting there quietly, for whatever the group needs. Some nights it is full of talk. Some nights four women sit in near silence together and then go to bed. Both are fine.
The next morning
Here is the part that decides whether any of this was worth the money. The morning after, you do the Daily Practice — two minutes, choose the feeling, meet the woman you are becoming, make one choice as her. Then twice a month we meet in a workshop and turn whatever showed up into something you can actually use on a Wednesday.
Insight was never the hard part. Insight is cheap and it is temporary. The practice is what turns it into a different life, and the practice is why RESET is ongoing rather than a course with a finish line. There is no wrong month to begin. (More on this in Why Insight Isn't Enough.)
What this costs
In Colorado, $297 a month, plus a one-time $300 medical evaluation paid directly to the physician. Outside Colorado, $500 a month for the first three months and $600 after, with medical consults included.
Not sure yet? Five questions, five minutes. No call required, no pressure afterward.
Is RESET right for me?Common questions
What happens during a group ketamine ceremony?
After a physician evaluation, you join a small group on Zoom from your own bed. We read the group agreements, set intentions, and then the medicine comes in rounds with curated music for about three hours. Afterward the group comes back together to share if they want to, and the facilitator stays on until the end.
How long does a ketamine ceremony last?
In RESET, doors open at 4:20pm, the ceremony runs from 4:30 to 7:30pm, and the group stays together until 8:00pm. Plan to keep the whole evening free, with no driving afterward.
Can I do a ketamine ceremony at home?
Yes, with a physician evaluation first. In RESET you take part from your own bed with your camera on, so the facilitator can see you. You share your address and an emergency contact before every ceremony.
How much does RESET cost?
In Colorado, $297 a month plus a one-time $300 medical evaluation paid to the physician. Outside Colorado, $500 a month for the first three months and $600 after, with medical consults included.
Sylvia Salcedo, L.Ac.
Sylvia is the founder of Well Dosed Wellness in Crested Butte, Colorado. A Licensed Acupuncturist, Certified Health Coach and trained psychedelic facilitator, she spent two decades in clinical practice — including building a community acupuncture clinic in Denver — before founding Well Dosed, where she guides women through ketamine-assisted work and small women's gatherings in the mountains.
This describes how our ceremonies are run and is not medical advice or a description of what any medicine will do for you. Ketamine supports change; it is not a cure and not a guarantee. All medical questions belong with the prescribing physician.