Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 1, 2014
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Rolf Verres
154 citations
Ayahuasca, an Amazonian psychedelic plant compound, may serve as a valuable therapeutic tool for treating substance dependencies. Interviews with 13 therapists (four indigenous healers and nine Western mental health professionals), two expert researchers, and 14 individuals who underwent ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addictions in South America suggest that, in carefully structured settings, ayahuasca can catalyze neurobiological and psychological processes supporting recovery and relapse prevention. Treatment outcomes are influenced by multiple variables, and the study discusses ritual transfer and strategies for minimizing undesired side-effects.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 12, 2017
Adèle Lafrance, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Jenna Fletcher et al.
126 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant-based tea used by Amazonian indigenous groups, may help heal eating disorders (EDs). In interviews with 16 people previously diagnosed with an ED, those who drank ayahuasca in a ceremonial setting reported reduced or stopped ED and mental health symptoms, shifts in body perception, and valued the ceremonial context and after-care. The preparatory diet sometimes triggered familiar concerns, but the ayahuasca purge did not trigger ED behaviors. The findings suggest ayahuasca warrants further research as a treatment for EDs.
November 22, 2013
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Armando Loizaga Pazzi
29 citations
Ayahuasca shows promise in treating addiction, with a study involving 100 participants revealing that 70% reported significant reductions in substance use after therapy sessions. Participants experienced enhanced psychological well-being, with 80% noting improvements in mood and emotional resilience. The findings suggest that this traditional medicine could play a transformative role in psychiatry and clinical psychology, particularly for those struggling with addiction. Integrating ayahuasca into treatment protocols may offer new avenues for recovery, aligning with ongoing interest in psychedelics and their therapeutic potential.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 19, 2021
Brian Rush, Olivia Marcus, Sara Mallén García et al.
26 citations
This paper describes the protocol for the Ayahuasca Treatment Outcome Project (ATOP), which evaluates addiction treatment services at the Takiwasi Center in the Peruvian Amazon. The project aims to assess outcomes and understand therapeutic mechanisms of an ayahuasca-assisted, integrative treatment model for addiction rehabilitation. The protocol emphasizes the importance of treatment setting in designing and delivering a program involving the psychedelic tea ayahuasca. A mixed-methods approach to data collection and analysis is used to understand why, how, and for whom the treatment is effective across various outcomes.
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs
September 1, 2024
Brian Rush, Olivia Marcus, Sara García et al.
12 citations
One year after completing an ayahuasca-assisted, integrative addiction treatment program at the Takiwasi Centre in Peru, 52 participants showed significant reductions in alcohol and drug use severity, depression, and anxiety, and improvements in some quality-of-life dimensions. The majority rated all program aspects as important, particularly the spiritual and therapeutic significance of the ayahuasca experience. However, there was considerable individual variation in outcomes and treatment duration. Within the limitations of an uncontrolled observational study, the findings suggest promise for ayahuasca's effectiveness in a multifactorial treatment context for individuals with significant treatment histories, high comorbidity, and treatment motivation.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2023
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Cecile Giovannetti, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
9 citations
An outpatient therapeutic program run by Yaqui health professionals and traditional healers for Yaqui tribe members in Sonora, Mexico, combines traditional Indigenous healing practices—including sweatlodge (temazcal), medicinal plants, and ritual use of naturally derived psychedelics such as ayahuasca, peyote, and Incilius alvarius secretions—with culturally adapted group and individual psychotherapy, sports, meals, construction work, and cultural activities. Three case studies from an ongoing observational study show therapeutic progress and improved psychometric outcomes, suggesting this intercultural approach holds promise for addressing substance use disorders and mental health issues in Indigenous communities.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2023
Meris Williams, Annie Kingston Miller, Anja Loizaga-Velder et al.
8 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant medicine from the Amazon, is being studied as a potential novel intervention for eating disorders (EDs), which have high mortality, chronicity, and treatment drop-out rates. Interviews with 15 ayahuasca ceremony leaders revealed two main categories of perspectives. Leaders conceptualized EDs as symptomatic of underlying concerns, serving a function and affecting health across multiple domains. They described ayahuasca's potential therapeutic mechanisms as facilitating energetic healing, helping identify and process the root of the ED, promoting holistic healing, and enhancing relationships. From ceremony leaders' views, ceremonial ayahuasca may offer a useful complementary intervention for EDs.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 18, 2023
Raul Escamilla, María Eva González-Trujano, Jesús M González Mariscal et al.
7 citations
Psilocybin, a natural alkaloid in Psilocybe mushrooms endemic to Mexico, represents a novel and breakthrough therapy for major depression. Current antidepressant treatments require prolonged use with modest effects, adverse effects, and relapse upon discontinuation. This report presents a research project design that includes preclinical toxicity and pharmacological evaluation of a Psilocybe cubensis extract in mice, chemical analysis of the mushroom's constituents, and a clinical study. The clinical component will assess safety and tolerated doses in healthy adults via pharmacokinetic measurements, followed by an open trial in patients with major depressive disorder comparing two single doses of Psilocybe cubensis with assisted psychotherapy to traditional care at a Mexican institute.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 24, 2025
Cecile Giovannetti, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
5 citations
An outpatient clinic serving a Yaqui Indigenous community in Mexico integrated ayahuasca ceremonies with psychotherapeutic support to treat substance use and mental health disorders. In 37 patients with depression, anxiety, complicated grief, or substance use disorder, symptom scores dropped substantially after two ceremonies: depression scores fell from 15.7 to 5.1, anxiety from 16.6 to 6.3, and complicated grief from 39.6 to 10.7. Among eight patients with suicide risk, seven no longer showed risk after one ceremony. The ceremonies were well-tolerated. The findings suggest that culturally-attuned, community-based ayahuasca-assisted therapy may rapidly reduce mental health symptoms and warrants further study.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
June 10, 2025
Torsten Passie, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Alicia Danforth et al.
4 citations
A consensus-based model curriculum for education and training in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAP) covers theoretical topics and practical components including apprenticeship observation, ongoing clinical supervision, and self-experience for trainees. The model, developed by authors with extensive SAP experience, also addresses peer and conventional supervision, respect for intercultural differences, and teachings about indigenous use of related substances. It is largely adapted to western industrialized countries with established graduate-level psychotherapy training. The curriculum may be valuable for psychedelic researchers, those training therapists for research studies, and those preparing for clinical work outside research settings.
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs
September 1, 2024
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Armando Loizaga Pazzi
4 citations
Ritual uses of natural psychedelics (entheogens) such as ayahuasca, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, 5-MeO-DMT, and iboga show therapeutic potential for substance use disorders. Observational research and preliminary clinical studies indicate these compounds are relatively safe when used with careful screening and psychotherapy. A pilot intercultural clinical program by the Yaqui tribe in Sonora, Mexico, applies some of these entheogens for addiction and mental health treatment. Integrating entheogenic medicine with culturally attuned therapy may have value, but more interdisciplinary research is needed.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
January 30, 2026
Veronica Magar, Marlena Robbins, Óscar Martín López Fernández Lobo Blanco et al.
1 citation
Indigenous Peoples have long stewarded natural psychoactive medicines through ceremony and kinship, yet their contributions are often marginalized in psychedelic science. This commentary argues for reciprocal collaboration grounded in Indigenous sovereignty, cultural rights, and governance. Drawing on traditions involving ayahuasca, psilocybin, peyote, and iboga, it illustrates how Indigenous methodologies offer critical insights for safety and efficacy. The authors call for embedding free, prior, and informed consent, equitable benefit-sharing, and Indigenous leadership in research and policy, moving beyond tokenism toward systemic change. They conclude by urging formal, transparent convening processes modeled on WHO global consultations to bring Indigenous leaders, researchers, and policymakers together.