ICEERS offers a free and confidential personalized attention service. Maybe you have questions about ayahuasca or iboga, or you are looking for information related to personal issues so that you can discuss them with your doctor or therapist. Or maybe you need an orientation in case you are supporting a relative or friend.

This is a free service. If you feel that you have been helped by it, you are welcome to make a free donation to the Help Center.

This service is confidential. Note that it is an orientational service aimed to offer additional information about ayahuasca or iboga that you don’t find on the ICEERS’ website. We do not give medical advice, which should always be given by your personal doctor.

In addition to this service, certified therapists are at your disposal to offer support for preparation and integration processes of an iboga or ayahuasca experience through online therapy. The goal of this service is to maximize potential benefits and reduce risks.

We only offer this service to people who have read and accept our disclaimer.

If you are facing legal problems or you need legal assistance, we are available for a consultation. Below you can find useful documents that may be of help in case you have been arrested or are subject to an investigation.

These documents include declarations by the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) about the legal status of ayahuasca and iboga according to international law. There are also documents that include relevant scientific studies that go into the safety, therapeutic potential, regulation, etc. of these ethnobotanicals. You can print these documents or download them to share them with your lawyer or pass them to the authorities. In case you are arrested, it is strongly advisable not to declare without previously having spoken to your lawyer.

Background information

According to the International Narcotics Control Board of the UN, no plants or concoctions of plants that contain alkaloids that are on the list of controlled substances of the 1971 Convention of Psychotropic substances are under international control. Although dimethyl-tryptamine or DMT, one of the active alkaloids of ayahuasca is on that list, ayahuasca is not under international control. Ibogaine is not on the INCB list, so even the pure alkaloid is not under international control. There are, however, countries where there are specific laws prohibiting or protecting the use of such materials; ibogaine is illegal in Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, the US and Australia. In France, there is a specific law that makes ayahuasca illegal in that country. In Brazil, the use of ayahuasca as a sacrament in several churches is so well integrated that the Brazilian government has specific laws to protect it. Also in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands, the religious use of ayahuasca by certain churches is legally protected or regulated, and in Peru ayahuasca has been declared a Cultural Heritage of the country, just like iboga in Gabon.

Even though this information about the legality of these ethnobotanicals and their alkaloids might seem very straight forward, it is highly complex matter and encounters with law enforcement can cause threatening situations for the individual. In Spain alone there have been more than 20 arrests for importation of ayahuasca. In Chile and Argentina the police did a raid during an ayahuasca session, and in England, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada, among other countries, there have been legal problems.

If you are a journalist writing an article on scientific aspects of ayahuasca or iboga, or a researcher or student with a research project related to these ethnobotanicals, feel free to contact us to explain your project.

Our team in collaboration with our advisory board members can see how to best help you based on your needs. This can be feedback on study protocols, revision of texts, contribution of specific data or information you are seeking, or advise on collaborations with other teams or professionals.

If you are going to partake in an ayahuasca or iboga session, a thorough preparation is an important part of the process. It can help maximize potential benefits and reduce eventual risks or difficulties during the experience.

In the section about Interested in taking ayahuasca or Interested in taking iboga you may find some important information. We recommend that you read it before contacting us for further assistance.

The help of an experienced therapist in the preparation phase can greatly benefit the outcome of the session. The therapist can provide feedback that can help you get a better view on what personal issues you wish to address, how to address them, underlying emotional blockages, their relationship with your environment, etc. Especially in the case of serious personal issues such as addiction, depression, mourning processes or past trauma, it is strongly advisable to have professional guidance prior to the ingestion of these ethnobotanicals. This can be with your own therapist if you have one.

Here you have certified therapists at your disposal that offer psychological support. They are trained in various specialities and they speak several different languages.

We only offer this service to people that have read and accept our disclaimer. ICEERS does not promote the use of forbidden substances. This service is for people that have decided to partake in a session that implies the intake of ethnobotanicals.

This service can also be useful for relatives or close friends of people that are going through a therapeutic process with these plants. A good start can be to read the sections on the ICEERS website: Supporting a relative/friend: ayahuasca or Supporting a relative/friend: iboga.

How does online therapy work?

The online therapy service can be helpful with many aspects of the preparation and integration process of an ayahuasca or iboga session. However, it is not a substitute for psychotherapy to treat diagnosed pathologies which require an extensive and continued attention.

You can do an online therapy consultation by email, posing your queries to a therapist, or more commonly, using the videoconferencing system ‘Skype’. You can consult the list of certified therapists, a description of their training and specialties, and contact information. When you have chosen a therapist, you can contact him/her to discuss the details.

The process of preparation and/or integration of a session can have a variable duration, but usually this is done in a limited number of sessions since the reach of this therapy form is limited. This online therapy service is intended as a support for issues related to the use of ethnobotanical tools, through a brief and concise intervention that can help you delve into the session with a greater awareness, or integrate satisfactorily your experience.

The end of an ayahuasca or iboga session is not the end of the process; it is just the beginning. Integrating the newly gained insights, experiences, emotions, etc. is as important as the session itself.

Difficult experiences can sometimes deconstruct a person’s ego so much that the individual has difficulties integrating them in his daily life. As experiences can have symbolic content, archetypes, spiritual encounters, etc. there is also the risk of an improper interpretation, which can potentially destabilize the individual or disintegrate him/her. The proper integration of the type of profound, soul-stirring experiences that these ethnobotanicals can provoke is key to maximize personal progress and long term benefits and overcome eventual psychological difficulties.

In the section about Interested in taking ayahuasca or Interested in taking iboga you can find some important information. We recommend that you read it before contacting us for further assistance.

Here you have certified therapists at your disposal that offer psychological support. They are trained in various specialities and they speak several different languages.

We only offer this service to people that have read and accept our disclaimer. This service is for people who have partaken in a session that implies the intake of ethnobotanicals. ICEERS does not promote the use of forbidden substances.

This service can also be useful for relatives or close friends of people that are going through a therapeutic process with these plants. A good start can be to read the sections on the ICEERS website: Supporting a relative/friend: ayahuasca or Supporting a relative/friend: iboga.

How does online therapy work?

The online therapy service can be helpful with many aspects of the preparation and integration process of an ayahuasca or iboga session. However, it is not a substitute for psychotherapy to treat diagnosed pathologies which require an extensive and continued attention.

You can do an online therapy consultation by email, posing your queries to a therapist, or more commonly, using the videoconferencing system ‘Skype’. You can consult the list of certified therapists, a description of their training and specialties, and contact information. When you have chosen a therapist, you can contact him/her to discuss the details.

The process of preparation and/or integration of a session can have a variable duration, but usually this is done in a limited number of sessions since the reach of this therapy form is limited. This online therapy service is intended as a support for issues related to the use of ethnobotanical tools, through a brief and concise intervention that can help you delve into the session with a greater awareness, or integrate satisfactorily your experience.

Find below a list of certified therapists with information on who they are, what their training and experience is, what languages they speak and how they work. Different therapists have different orientations according to their training. Read this carefully and decide what is best for you or best fits your preferences.

We only offer this service to people that have read and accept our disclaimer. ICEERS does not promote the use of forbidden substances.

How does online therapy work?

The online therapy service can be helpful with many aspects of the preparation and integration process of an ayahuasca or iboga session. However, it is not a substitute for psychotherapy to treat diagnosed pathologies which require an extensive and continued attention.

You can do an online therapy consultation by email, posing your queries to a therapist, or more commonly, using the videoconferencing system ‘Skype’. You can consult the list of certified therapists, a description of their training and specialties, and contact information. When you have chosen a therapist, you can contact him/her to discuss the details.

The process of preparation and/or integration of a session can have a variable duration, but usually this is done in a limited number of sessions since the reach of this therapy form is limited. This online therapy service is intended as a support for issues related to the use of ethnobotanical tools, through a brief and concise intervention that can help you delve into the session with a greater awareness, or to sufficiently integrate your experience.