Pilot Evaluation of a Residential Drug Addiction Treatment Combining Traditional Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca and Psychotherapy on Depression and Anxiety
Cecile Giovannetti, Sara García Arce, Brian Rush, Fernando Mendive
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs August 4, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2020.1789247 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Male patients in an inpatient addiction treatment program |
| Interventions | Ayahuasca traditional Amazonian medicine psychotherapy |
| Topics | Addiction Anxiety Ayahuasca Depression |
| Keywords | Beck anxiety inventory Depression economics Mental health Beck depression inventory Clinical psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 55 |
| Key findings | Integrating ayahuasca and traditional Amazonian medicine with psychotherapy led to significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores among male patients in an inpatient addiction treatment program. |
Abstract
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 Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, motivation, quality of life, spirituality, and treatment satisfaction were also measured and analyzed by means of two tailed t-test, one way ANOVA and Spearman test. From pre- to post-treatment, patients showed significant reductions in scores of anxiety (from 20.8 to 11.6, p p p p < .001) upon discharge, which correlated with their reduction in scores of anxiety and depression. While future results will evaluate the efficacy of this treatment on measures of addiction at follow-up, the present results build upon previous research to bring further support to the use of Ayahuasca and Amazonian medicine in mental health treatments with a transpersonal focus.