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.
Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
February 6, 2021
Jerome Sarris, Daniel Perkins, Lachlan Cribb et al.
72 citations
Among 1,571 people who reported depression and 1,125 who reported anxiety at the time of consuming ayahuasca, 78% of those with depression said their symptoms were 'very much' improved (46%) or 'completely resolved' (32%), while 70% of those with anxiety reported 'very much' improvement (54%) or complete resolution (16%). Greater improvement was linked to mystical experiences, more ayahuasca sessions, and personal psychological insights. A small minority—2.7% with depression and 4.5% with anxiety—reported worsened symptoms. The authors note this cross-sectional survey cannot establish treatment efficacy and call for randomized controlled trials.
Drug and Alcohol Review
July 25, 2021
Daniel Perkins, Emérita Sátiro Opaleye, Hana Šimonová et al.
54 citations
People who consumed ayahuasca in naturalistic settings reported lower current use of alcohol and other drugs, including risky drinking, compared to those who used it less often. The more times ayahuasca was consumed, the stronger the association with never or rarely drinking alcohol and not using a range of drugs in the past month. These effects were greater for individuals with a prior substance use disorder. The strength of subjective spiritual experience, number of personal insights gained, and drinking ayahuasca with an ayahuasca church were also linked to lower substance use in some analyses. The associations remained after adjusting for religious or social group effects.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 21, 2021
Daniel Perkins, Jerome Sarris, Susan L. Rossell et al.
53 citations
Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, and MDMA are gaining renewed medical interest due to the need for new psychiatric treatments and promising study results. This viewpoint reflects on the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Clinical Memorandum on Psychedelics and notes regulatory developments, including applications for down-scheduling and access approvals. The authors argue that rigorous research is needed to assess benefits, safety, and therapeutic mechanisms. They summarize recent findings on mechanisms of action and the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy model, suggesting medicinal psychedelics could become a new class of psychiatric treatments when used under medical supervision with psychotherapeutic support. However, sufficiently powered trials and safety protocols are required before clinical use, and untrained practitioner access could be harmful.
Psychoactives
June 13, 2023
Tessa Cowley‐court, Richard Chenhall, Jerome Sarris et al.
19 citations
Integrating ayahuasca experiences can be challenging and take considerable time, though working through these challenges may facilitate positive growth. A global online survey of 1630 ayahuasca drinkers (50.4% male, mean age 43) identified three main themes in integration experiences: overall appraisal (easy, challenging, or long-term/ongoing), beneficial tools (like-minded community, yoga, meditation, journaling), and challenges (feeling disconnected, returning to old life with new understandings). Findings challenge individual psychotherapy as the primary integration tool, suggesting communal and somatic elements may also be useful. An expanded definition of psychedelic integration is proposed that includes working with challenges and adjusting to life changes.
Psychoactives
October 3, 2023
Daniel Perkins, Emérita Sátiro Opaleye, José Carlos Bouso et al.
18 citations
Ayahuasca drinkers almost universally report gaining insights during their experiences, and these insights strongly predict subsequent beneficial life and lifestyle changes, including improvements in psychological wellbeing and mental health. In a large international survey of 8,907 ayahuasca drinkers, common changes attributed to ayahuasca included personal, vocational, religious or spiritual, and health-related shifts, along with healthier behaviors. Demographic factors and drinking patterns also predicted these outcomes. The findings suggest that insights and resulting life changes are central to the transformative effects of ayahuasca, occurring across diverse contexts and groups.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
November 23, 2024
Daniel Perkins, Jerome Sarris, Tessa Cowley-Court et al.
5 citations
People who consume ayahuasca in naturalistic settings—religious, traditional, or non-traditional—report better current mental health and greater psychological well-being, according to a large online survey of 7,576 participants from over 50 countries. More lifetime ayahuasca uses were linked to better mental health scores, and this association remained strong even after accounting for other factors and did not fade over time. Strong mystical experiences, self-insights, and community or social support were also tied to better mental health and well-being, whereas acute extreme fear during sessions and difficulty integrating the experience were linked to poorer outcomes. These patterns held for individuals both with and without a history of mental illness.