Ayahuasca Ritual and Spiritual Practices for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: the Takiwasi Model and Experience
Jacques Mabit, Fabio Friso, Matteo Politi
June 16, 2025 DOI: 10.1163/9789004729759_023 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Rehabilitation Substance abuse Psychotherapist Anthropology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that Amazonian Ayahuasca traditions are integrated into Takiwasi's treatment model through a complex scheme of plant intakes, rituals, spirituality, psychotherapeutic integration, and coexistence. |
Abstract
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 disorders with Ayahuasca and other traditional medicines, and its clinical experience is playing an important role in the evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of such ancient medicines to treat modern diseases. This chapter analyzes how Amazonian Ayahuasca traditions are integrated into Takiwasi treatment model in a complex scheme of plant intakes, rituals, spirituality, psychotherapeutic integration, and coexistence. Focus is placed on the ritual practices for administering this entheogen to clients, the way both traditional healers and Western psychologists are trained in Ayahuasca-assisted therapy, Takiwasi’s ideology about illness and disease, and the preparatory and post-session integration activities performed that accompany treatment with this sacred brew. Traditions of Amazonian medicine incorporated as central elements of therapeutic practice begin with purification through purgative plants and other procedures, including dietary restrictions and sexual abstinence. Ritual and spirit relations are central to the Takiwasi therapy which emphasizes a shamanic approach to development of new perspectives integrated through group workshops, individual psychotherapy, and their concretization in community life.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |