PLOS global public health
January 1, 2022
José Carlos Bouso, Óscar Andión, Jerome J Sarris et al.
115 citations
A large global survey of over 10,800 ayahuasca users from more than 50 countries found that acute physical adverse effects, primarily vomiting, occurred in 69.9% of participants, with 2.3% needing medical attention. Adverse mental health effects in the weeks or months after use were reported by 55.9% of the sample, but about 88% of those viewed these effects as part of a positive growth or integration process; around 12% sought professional support. Physical adverse effects were linked to older age at first use, having a physical health condition, higher lifetime and recent use, a prior substance use disorder diagnosis, and using ayahuasca in unsupervised settings.
Frontiers in psychiatry
January 1, 2024
Pablo Sabucedo, Óscar Andión, Robert A Neimeyer et al.
4 citations
A protocol describes a clinical trial testing whether ayahuasca-assisted Meaning Reconstruction therapy reduces prolonged grief symptoms more than therapy alone or no treatment. At least 69 people who lost a first-degree relative within the prior year and scored 40 or higher on the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief will be assigned to one of three groups: ayahuasca-assisted therapy, therapy alone, or no treatment. The therapy involves nine online sessions; the ayahuasca group also attends two group sessions with the substance. Grief severity, quality of life, post-traumatic growth, and other measures will be assessed at baseline, after treatment, and at three months. This is the first trial to empirically examine psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for grief.
Scientific reports
September 1, 2025
Oscar Soto-Angona, Óscar Andión, Pablo Sabucedo et al.
3 citations
A three-arm, open-label study compared ayahuasca-assisted meaning reconstruction therapy (A-MR) with meaning reconstruction therapy alone (MR) and a no-treatment control (NT) for 84 adults who had experienced severe grief within 12 months of losing a first-degree relative. All groups showed significant reductions in grief severity, with the largest effect in A-MR (d = 2.44), followed by MR (d = 1.84) and NT (d = 0.74). A-MR led to greater reductions than MR (d = 0.86) and NT (d = 1.07), and also improved prolonged grief symptoms, post-traumatic growth, and quality of life with medium-to-large effects. Ayahuasca was well tolerated with no serious adverse events. Replication in larger randomized trials is needed.
PLOS mental health
January 1, 2025
Óscar Andión, José Carlos Bouso, Jerome J Sarris et al.
1 citation
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian decoction, is being studied for mental health benefits, but its adverse effects are not well understood. An analysis of 10,836 participants from the Global Ayahuasca Survey found that 14.2% had a prior anxiety disorder and 19.7% a depressive disorder, yet their median mental health score (SF-12) was 50.16, comparable to the general population. A history of anxiety or depression was linked to more adverse mental states after use. However, experiences like visual distortions and higher ayahuasca use correlated with better mental health. Women reported more adverse states but no worsened mental health.
Psychedelics
April 20, 2026
José Carlos Bouso, Óscar Andión, Jordi Cantillo et al.
A 12-month study of 264 Western participants who attended Shipibo-led ayahuasca retreats in the Peruvian Amazon found lasting psychological improvements. Neuroticism and Openness to Experience decreased, while Extraversion increased. Quality of life improved across all measured domains, and decentering capacities increased with moderate to high effect sizes. Most participants (91.7%) reported long-term benefits, primarily in spiritual well-being, mental health, and personal growth. Adverse effects were minimal (2.3%). Higher baseline psychological distress was associated with higher Neuroticism and lower decentering, suggesting that enhancing decentering may serve as a resilience factor. The findings support ethical, non-extractive integration of traditional Amazonian practices into global mental health frameworks.
European Neuropsychopharmacology
February 12, 2026
José Carlos Bouso, Óscar Andión, Sabela Fondevila Estévez et al.
Regular users of ayahuasca or cannabis show no detectable lasting impairments in executive function or working memory compared to non-users, after abstaining for 10-30 days. Personality traits, not cognition or psychopathology, best distinguish the groups: ayahuasca users score higher on self-transcendence and lower on harm avoidance and persistence, while cannabis users score higher on novelty seeking and impulsive nonconformity and lower on introvertive anhedonia. Although ayahuasca users had a higher lifetime prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders, they showed no current psychopathological symptoms. The study's cross-sectional, self-selected, non-treatment-seeking sample may limit generalizability.
Frontiers in psychiatry
January 1, 2025
Pablo Sabucedo, Óscar Andión, Robert A Neimeyer et al.
correction
A three-arm, non-randomized controlled trial protocol compares Ayahuasca-assisted Meaning Reconstruction therapy (A-MR) with Meaning Reconstruction therapy alone and a no-treatment control for people who lost a first-degree relative within the prior 12 months. The authors hypothesize that A-MR will produce greater reductions in normal and pathological grief symptoms, and greater improvements in quality of life and posttraumatic growth, than either control condition. The rationale draws on neurobiological evidence that ayahuasca stimulates neuroplasticity and on psychological evidence that psychedelic experiences can facilitate meaning reconstruction and cognitive reappraisal. No controlled studies have tested psychedelic-assisted therapy for prolonged grief disorder.