Ariana Kam

University of Washington

2 papers in the library · publishing 2025

Papers

A qualitative study of long-term members of ayahuasca spiritual communities in the United States: Motivations, practices, experiences and beliefs

Journal of Psychedelic Studies November 18, 2025 Joseph T. la Torre, Ariana Kam, Todd Youngs et al.

Long-term participants in ayahuasca spiritual communities in the United States describe these groups as spaces for healing trauma, addiction, and psychological distress, offering belonging and cultural identity. These communities blend Western biomedical views of psychedelics with entheogenic spiritual frameworks, creating a hybrid healing paradigm centered on ritual, music, and shared intention. Members often move from self-focused healing toward relational growth and altruistic action, becoming facilitators and stewards. They navigate interpersonal tensions that foster emotional growth and operate in a legal grey zone, balancing risks of practice and identity. Joining such a community requires careful discernment regarding values, group dynamics, and safety. U.S. ayahuasca communities differ from individualized clinical psychedelic models by emphasizing community, spirituality, and mutual transformation.

DOI: 10.1556/2054.2025.00467 Full text Sociology Medicine

A Thematic Analysis of the Subjective Effects and Phenomenology of Ibogaine Administered in a Clinical Setting

Research Square November 5, 2025 Joseph la Torre, Step Cheung, Ariana Kam et al.

In a study with 236 participants, the largest sample to date, researchers asked open-ended questions to people in an ibogaine-assisted treatment program in Mexico. Common themes emerged: emotional amplification, life review, perceptual and sensory changes, visionary states, and a sense that ibogaine has its own character or agency. The findings provide a detailed, empirically grounded portrait of ibogaine's subjective effects and show its capacity to evoke structured, meaningful, and potentially transformative states of consciousness. The study's strengths include its large sample, rapid data collection, a safe clinical setting, careful participant preparation, and open-ended questions that captured the full range of experiences.

DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8022144/v1 Full text Phenomenology philosophy Thematic analysis Perception Interpretative phenomenological analysis +6