Insights for Modern Applications of Psilocybin Therapy from a Case Study of Traditional Mazatec Medicine
Jesús M. González Mariscal, Paulina E. Sosa‐cortés
Anthropology of Consciousness August 14, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12168 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A foreign person who attended a Mazatec ritual specialist |
| Topics | Psilocybin Shamanism |
| Keywords | Indigenous Ceremony Perspective graphical Consciousness Recreation Environmental ethics Psychotherapist Traditional medicine |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Research on psychoactive plants and mushrooms requires a transdisciplinary and intercultural perspective to appreciate the complexity of indigenous healing processes and the limits of recreational or purely clinical approaches. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT The "people of knowledge" of traditional Mazatec medicine have preserved until today the ritual use of psilocybin mushrooms as part of their health care systems. The renewed interest in the effect of psilocybin on human consciousness for both therapeutic and recreational purposes usually obviates the historical and cultural background of indigenous peoples, as well as the legitimation of their practices and knowledge. In this article, through the case study of a foreign person who attended a Mazatec ritual specialist to participate in a ritual night ceremony known as velada , we show the importance of approaching research on psychoactive plants and mushrooms from a transdisciplinary and intercultural perspective, so that we can appreciate the profound complexity of the healing processes that take place in traditional indigenous contexts, as well as the limits of recreational uses or exclusively neopositivist and clinical approaches.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin Mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) Intoxication with Myocardial Infarction 18-year-old man | 1998 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Relief from intractable phantom pain by combining psilocybin and mirror visual-feedback (MVF) Person with leg amputation and phantom-limb pain | 2018 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication | 2005 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series Individuals with chronic neuropathic pain | 2022 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Psilocybin and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | 2014 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Psychedelics as a tool for a more connected and sustainable world? Considering the importance of rituals, boundaries, and commitment. International Journal of Drug Policy September 5, 2024
- Anthropology of Psychedelics Anthropology of Consciousness April 20, 2025
- Psychedelic fungi Current Biology June 1, 2025
- Introduction: philosophy and psychedelic psychiatry Philosophical Perspectives on Psychedelic Psychiatry September 13, 2024
- Psilocybin, From Ancestral Use to Therapeutic Potential: A Multidimensional Review of Its Pharmacological Basis and Current Perspectives Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental September 1, 2026
and 3 more in the library
Cites 6
- Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder JAMA Psychiatry November 4, 2020
- Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry November 15, 2006
- Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin. Neurotherapeutics July 1, 2017
- Psilocybin und Psilocin, zwei psychotrope Wirkstoffe aus mexikanischen Rauschpilzen Helvetica Chimica Acta 1959
- Ethical Concerns about Psilocybin Intellectual Property ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 2021
and 1 more in the library