Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 15, 2026
Laura Monteagudo-Romero, Isotta Triulzi, Tommaso Dondoli et al.
The use of traditional medicinal plants in therapeutic settings has gained increasing attention for their potential in mental health and addiction treatment. This study explores the ethnomedical use of Brunfelsia grandiflora (chiric sanango) within the therapeutic framework of the Takiwasi Center in the Peruvian Amazon, where it is integrated into strict plant-based dietary regimens ("dietas")...
June 16, 2025
Jacques Mabit, Fabio Friso, Matteo Politi
1 citation
The psychoactive brew Ayahuasca has a central role in the traditional medicines of the indigenous people of the Amazon basin and in recent decades has generated significant research interest among the academic community along with the revival of psychedelic medicine. The therapeutic community Takiwasi, located in Peru, leads this movement in its dedication to treatment of substance use...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
May 15, 2025
Marc Sherwin, Fabio Friso, Jörg Fachner et al.
4 citations
Abstract Musico-healing practices play a key role in indigenous and mestizo traditional medicine in the Amazon. The curative songs or icaros used by the curanderos (traditional healers) of the Peruvian Upper Amazon are administered alongside the psychoactive plant decoction ayahuasca in ritual settings. This Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis examines musical experiences of 6 participants...
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
September 1, 2024
Svět Lustig Vijay, Magdalena Harris, Fabio Friso et al.
1 citation
Ayahuasca, an entheogen from the Amazon rainforest, has garnered growing interest for treating substance dependence. To date, there is little research concerning the act of ayahuasca-related purging (mainly vomiting), which is considered to be central to healing during ayahuasca rituals. This study explored practitioner perspectives on purging during ayahuasca rituals at the Takiwasi Center in...
Ecosystems and People
April 18, 2024
David Manuel‐navarrete, Serena Deluca, Fabio Friso et al.
7 citations
The use of psychedelic substances is increasingly associated with nature-relatedness. We explore whether entheogenic uses of ayahuasca in settings co-produced between Indigenous and Western knowledges may also foster relationality and sustainability transformations across ontology, praxis, and epistemology. A survey with 74 English-speaking individuals who attended Amazonian healing ceremonies...
Planta Medica
November 1, 2022
Matteo Politi, Giorgia Tresca, Luigi Menghini et al.
19 citations
The herbal preparation ayahuasca has been an important part of ritual and healing practices, deployed to access invisible worlds in several indigenous groups in the Amazon basin and among mestizo populations of South America. The preparation is usually known to be composed of two main plants, Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, which produce both hallucinogenic and potent purging and...
Anthropology of Consciousness
September 26, 2022
Owain J. Graham, Gary Rojas Saucedo, Matteo Politi
11 citations
Abstract Research on psychedelic‐assisted psychotherapy has shown that music affects therapeutic outcomes at a fundamental level. The development of such therapies calls for research on the use of music with consciousness‐altering substances, especially in contexts informed by their traditional use. Informed by ethnographic reports, our project answers this call, investigating the phenomenology...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2021
Matteo Politi, Fabio Friso, Gary Saucedo et al.
18 citations
Takiwasi is a therapeutic community for the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) that combines traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM) with modern psychotherapy. One of the plant medicines from TAM used in this protocol is purgahuasca. It is a decoction of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi alone, whose use is traditional among the Awajún and other ethnic groups in Peru. The research began with...
Mendelova univerzita v Brně eBooks
2021
Tereza Rumlerová, Olivia Marcus, Jesús M. González Mariscal et al.
2 citations
Sanz-Biset & Cañigueral, 2011), son aún escasas las publicaciones al respecto.El dispositivo de la dieta está compuesto por una serie de estrictas normas, que implican el aislamiento, pautas rigurosas de alimentación y cuidados de la actividad sexual.No se puede tomar alcohol ni tener relaciones sexuales (incluida la masturbación), además de numerosas restricciones alimenticias entre las que se...
2020
Alberto Dubbini, Jacques Mabit, Matteo Politi
Objetivo. Este artículo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una descripción general del papel de la espiritualidad, de la fe y de las experiencias místicas en el tratamiento de los trastornos por uso de sustancias (TUS) presentando el caso de la comunidad terapéutica Takiwasi, donde se utilizan plantas psicoactivas, y considerando otras terapias pertenecientes a las medicinas complementarias y...
Therapeutic Communities The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities
May 30, 2019
Victoria Defelippe, Anna Schlütter, Annelen Meriaan et al.
7 citations
Purpose Substance abuse is a major public health concern, with over millions of people suffering from it worldwide. Although there is an abundance of treatment options, many of these rehabilitative trajectories are subject to “drop-out”. In addition, “drop-out” is a significant risk factor for relapse. There is an urgent demand for effective treatment, which would enable patients to reduce...
Revista Peruana de Medicina Integrativa
March 25, 2019
Gary Saucedo Rojas, Fabio Friso, Jaime Torres Romero et al.
8 citations
Objetivo. Describir el perfil de usuarios, pacientes atendidos y tratamientos brindados en el Centro Takiwasi por medio del sistema de información PPLUS, entre los años 2013-2018. Materiales y métodos. Estudio descriptivo. De acuerdo con los objetivos bajo los cuales el sistema PPLUS ha sido concebido, se recolectó información sobre la cantidad de registros, número de usuarios del sistema,...
Cultura y Droga
July 3, 2018
Matteo Politi, Fabio Friso, Jacques Mabit
19 citations
Objective. This article aims to give an overview of the major American centers using traditional herbal medicine or their derivatives in the treatment of substance dependence. Methodology. For the purpose of this article we have considered a small number of plants hailing from South, Central and North America. The research has been based on scientific literature, information exchange with...
Horticulture International Journal
May 9, 2018
Matteo Politi, Fabio Friso
9 citations
I The Center for Drug Addiction Treatment and Research on Traditional Medicines -Takiwasi, is a 25 years' Non-Governmental-Organization (NGO) specialized in the treatment of drug addiction and mental health disorders based on modern psychotherapy and biomedical approach, as well as the use of herbal Traditional Amazonian Medicine (TAM). Part of this latter therapeutic resources are obtained...