The research, understanding, and implementation of psychedelic therapies is characterised by a layered complexity that arises from the dynamic interactions between pharmacological and extra-pharmacological factors, and the embeddedness of psychedelics within broader societal, legal, and regulatory systems ill-equipped to accommodate them. This complexity is compounded by an epistemic...
Under the influence of psychedelics, people often report encountering "entities" who seem to have their own autonomous agency. Depending on the cultural milieu, these entities are reported to take a variety of forms, including spirits, elves, ancestors, or fragments of the self. Encounters with such beings hold a central place in many traditions of psychedelic practice around the world. And...
Abstract Background & aims This conceptual paper explores the intersection of attachment theory, psychedelic research, and enculturation dynamics. We aim to understand how both attachment patterns and psychedelic use may jointly influence worldview transformations and enculturation processes. Methods We synthesize theoretical perspectives and empirical findings from multiple fields, including...
Abstract Background and Hypothesis Visual hallucinations (VH) are a core symptom of both Lewy body diseases (LBDs; eg, Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies) and serotonergic psychedelics (SPs; eg, psilocybin and mescaline). While these conditions differ in etiology, overlapping phenomenology, and neural mechanisms suggest shared pathways. This review explores similarities and...
Le terme « ayahuasca » – qui signifie « liane des esprits » ou « liane des morts » en quechua – désigne à la fois une plante précise (Banisteriopsis caapi) et la préparation aqueuse dont elle est toujours l’ingrédient, unique ou principal. Cette boisson, aux puissants effets psychoactifs et émétiques, utilisée le plus souvent à des fins initiatiques, thérapeutiques ou divinatoires, constitue un...
AbstractThere are communities in which hearing voices frequently is common and expected, and in which participants are not expected to have a need for care. This paper compares the ideas and practices of these communities. We observe that these communities utilize cultural models to identify and to explain voice-like events—and that there are some common features to these models across...
A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may drive important therapeutic benefits,...
The effects of so-called "psychedelic" or "hallucinogenic" substances are known for their strong conditionality on context. While the so-called culturalist approach to the study of hallucinations has won the favor of anthropologists, the vectors by which the features of visual and auditory imagery are structured by social context have been so far little explored. Using ethnographic data...
Following decades of prohibition and widespread concern about their mind-altering properties, there is increasing public, scholarly, and clinical interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances. Serotonergic substances in particular (DMT, psilocybin, and LSD) are now being tested as treatments for such ailments as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. This thematic...
Abstract Hallucinatory experience is a broad spectrum, not confined to what medicine has called psychosis. An anthropological comparative approach can consequently be useful in shedding light on how we understand voices in psychosis and enriching our understanding of this phenomenon. In opposition to the Western biomedical context, among indigenous groups in the Americas, hallucinations are...
Although so-called “psychedelic” substances have recently experienced a revival of interest in their therapeutic properties, the underpinnings of their effectiveness remain poorly understood. Based on data collected during ethnographic fieldwork in a Peruvian Amazon clinic, this article proposes an anthropological approach to their therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of addiction. Using an...
The use of psychedelics in the collective rituals of numerous indigenous groups suggests that these substances are powerful catalysts of social affiliation, enculturation, and belief transmission. This feature has recently been highlighted as part of the renewed interest in psychedelics in Euro-American societies, and seen as a previously underestimated vector of their therapeutic properties....
Bien que les substances dites « hallucinogènes » ou « psychédéliques » telles que l’ayahuasca connaissent depuis peu un regain d’intérêt pour leurs propriétés thérapeutiques, notamment dans le champ de la santé mentale, les ressorts de leur efficacité restent mal connus. En s’appuyant sur les données recueillies au cours d’une enquête ethnographique menée dans une clinique d’Amazonie...
Abstract The recent renaissance of psychedelic science has reignited interest in the similarity of drug-induced experiences to those more commonly observed in psychiatric contexts such as the schizophrenia-spectrum. This report from a multidisciplinary working group of the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research (ICHR) addresses this issue, putting special emphasis on hallucinatory...
Dans le débat qui l’oppose aux époux Wasson, Claude Lévi-Strauss présente l’expérience hallucinogène comme strictement informée par la culture. Bien que cette thèse soit largement partagée par les anthropologues, ces derniers sont restés peu diserts sur la manière dont les représentations partagées d’un groupe social structurent l’effet des hallucinogènes. Cet article vise à dessiner quelques...
El creciente interés de los occidentales por la bebida psicotrópica ayahuasca y la participacion en rituales exóticos ha llevado en las últimas décadas a la multiplicación de los “centros chamánicos” en la Amazonía peruana. Entre estos, el centro Takiwasi es una comunidad terapéutica que acoge cada año a cientos de clientes nacionales y extranjeros. Esta institución, creada por un médico...
Takiwasi est à la fois une clinique de traitement des addictions et l’un des principaux « centres chamaniques » d’Amazonie péruvienne. Chaque année, une clientèle internationale participe à des stages impliquant l’usage ritualisé de préparations émétiques, du breuvage psychotrope ayahuasca ainsi que des retraites dans la jungle, des conférences et des groupes de parole. Les activités proposées...
Fondée en 1992 par un médecin français, Takiwasi est à la fois une clinique de traitement des addictions et l’un des principaux centres du « tourisme chamanique » en Amazonie péruvienne. Depuis sa création, l’institution a développé un dispositif à visée thérapeutique caractérisé par la réappropriation d’éléments de la pharmacopée indigène (quechua Lamista), tels que les plantes émétiques ou...