American Journal of Bioethics
May 2, 2024
Edward Jacobs, B. Earp, Paul S. Appelbaum et al.
29 citations
A workshop on psychedelic ethics, the first Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelic Ethics (HOPE) meeting, was held in August 2023 at the University of Oxford to address ethical issues surrounding psychedelics. The organizers (BDE, DBY, EJ) aimed to foster interdisciplinary discussion on topics such as informed consent, therapeutic use, and societal implications. The report outlines the workshop's structure, key themes, and proposed guidelines for ethical research and practice in the field.
Interdisciplinary science reviews : ISR
January 1, 2023
Olivia Marcus
29 citations
Ayahuasca has diverse traditional uses, but global interest in its therapeutic potential for mental health is growing. New psychotherapeutic approaches aim to prepare users and guide integration of psychedelic experiences, yet ethical frameworks and cultural assumptions underlying ayahuasca's classification as medicine remain underexamined. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in San Martín and Loreto, Peru, the work explores the varied social meanings of ayahuasca within the Peruvian vegetalista tradition and ethical tensions among curanderos, mental health practitioners, and retreat centers. Practitioners navigate globalized mental health concepts while striving to remain authentic to local ontologies of healing, care, and safety.
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.
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
September 22, 2023
Olivia Marcus, Elias Dakwar
6 citations
Psychedelics demonstrate significant potential in treating mental health disorders, with a recent study involving 200 participants revealing that 65% experienced substantial symptom relief after therapy sessions. The use of these substances in behavioral medicine shows promise, particularly for conditions like depression and anxiety. Participants reported lasting improvements, with 50% maintaining benefits six months post-treatment. This highlights the intersection of alternative medicine and psychology, suggesting that psychedelics could transform approaches to mental health care and enhance outcomes in public health initiatives.
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.
Mendelova univerzita v Brně eBooks
January 1, 2021
Tereza Rumlerová, Olivia Marcus, Jesús M. González Mariscal et al.
2 citations
The diet is a traditional Amazonian practice involving strict rules of isolation, diet, and sexual abstinence, during which 'master plants' or 'doctor plants' are taken for healing and learning. Two types exist: therapeutic/medicinal diets for physical, energetic, and emotional problems, and shamanic diets as part of long-term training to become a healer. The research was conducted at Takiwasi Center in Tarapoto, Peru, a nonprofit treating substance use disorders by combining traditional Amazonian medicine with psychotherapy. Since 1996, over 1,900 people from various countries have participated in eight-day retreats that begin with a purgative plant and an ayahuasca ceremony, which induces both vomiting and an expanded state of consciousness.
Substance use & addiction journal
January 1, 2026
Olivia Marcus, Brian Rush
Growing evidence from population surveys, observational studies, and clinical trials suggests that psychedelics may help treat substance use disorders and improve well-being, though methodological concerns limit the validity and generalizability of findings. Symptom reduction appears linked to pharmacological, spiritual, and interpersonal processes. The review calls for more transparent clinical research, larger studies tracking long-term outcomes, and greater investment in observational, naturalistic, and population-level research to address safety, real-world effectiveness, accessibility, and ethical issues, including respect for Indigenous and traditional communities.