Frontiers in Public Health
October 9, 2026
Cecile Giovannetti, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Brian Rush et al.
Background Indigenous peoples experience substantial mental health and substance use disparities while remaining underserved by conventional healthcare systems. Despite growing evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapies, Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous-led models of psychedelic care remain underrepresented. This paper describes the establishment and implementation of the Yaqui...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 24, 2025
Cecile Giovannetti, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
5 citations
Abstract Background The Yaqui Intercultural Medicine Clinic was established in 2020 to provide accessible, culturally-attuned treatment for substance use and mental health disorders among an Indigenous Yaqui community in Mexico. The treatment program integrates ayahuasca ceremonies and psychotherapeutic support within a community-based outpatient treatment service. This observational pilot...
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
November 2, 2023
Fernando Mendive, Cecile Giovannetti, Sara García Arce
4 citations
Background: There exists an underexploited opportunity to develop innovative therapeutic approaches to SUDs based upon the complementarity between modern and traditional health systems.Objectives: Illustrate the feasibility and potentiality of such an approach through the comprehensive description of Takiwasi Center's treatment model and program, where health concepts and practices from...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2023
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Cecile Giovannetti, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
9 citations
This paper describes three case studies from an outpatient intercultural therapeutic program founded and run by Yaqui health professionals and traditional healers to serve members of the Yaqui tribe residing in Sonora, Mexico. This pilot therapeutic program has been designed specifically for Indigenous individuals, incorporating the ceremonial use of naturally derived psychedelics in addressing...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 4, 2020
Cecile Giovannetti, Sara García Arce, Brian Rush et al.
55 citations
Recent research highlighted the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant brew used ritually in traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM). The present study evaluates the impact of integrating ayahuasca and TAM with psychotherapy on depression and anxiety in an inpatient addiction treatment program. Male patients (N = 31) were evaluated pre and post treatment using the Beck Anxiety...