Journal of Humanistic Psychology
September 2, 2021
Cody Callon, Meris Williams, Adèle Lafrance
20 citations
Ayahuasca ceremony leaders recommend that participants be honest, respectful, ready, and willing, and that they have internal and external resources before drinking. Complementary practices such as psychotherapy, spiritual and contemplative practices, and creative expression aid both preparation and integration. After ceremonies, sharing experiences and working with insights and lessons help integration, while some practices are considered ineffective. The findings align with other stakeholders' views on useful preparation and integration practices.
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.
Eating disorders
January 1, 2024
Meris Williams, Annie Kingston Miller, Adele Lafrance
6 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant medicine from Indigenous Amazonian communities, is being explored as a novel treatment for eating disorders (EDs), which are difficult to resolve. Aspects of ceremonial ayahuasca use, such as purging and dietary restrictions, resemble ED behaviors, raising concerns about its suitability. Interviews with 15 ayahuasca ceremony leaders, mostly from the West/Global North, revealed categories including screening for EDs, purging and dietary restrictions, potential risks, and complementarity with conventional ED treatment. The findings suggest careful screening and extra support can promote safe ceremony experiences. More research is needed on purging and preparatory diets. The ED field could collaborate with ayahuasca ceremony leaders in a decolonizing, bidirectional bridging between Western and Indigenous healing paradigms.