The British Journal of Psychiatry
2015
Ben Sessa, Matthew W. Johnson
58 citations
Summary After a 40-year hiatus there is now a revisiting of psychedelic drug therapy throughout psychiatry, with studies examining the drugs psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of drug dependence. Limitations to these therapies are both clinical and legal, but the possibility of improving outcomes for patients with substance dependency imposes an obligation to research...
Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling Advancing theory and professional practice through scholarly and reflective publications
March 1, 2014
Robert Prue, Richard W. Voss
11 citations
This essay frames an invitation to pastoral counselors and pastoral theologians to examine connections and perhaps interactions between themselves and traditional shamanic healers who use ayahuasca in their healing ceremonies. Indigenous people in South America have used ayahuasca for centuries, and the ritual has become common among the mestizo populations in urban areas of the Amazon,...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2014
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Rolf Verres
154 citations
This qualitative empirical study explores the ritual use of ayahuasca in the treatment of addictions. Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychedelic plant compound created from an admixture of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the bush Psychotria viridis. The study included interviews with 13 therapists who apply ayahuasca professionally in the treatment of addictions (four indigenous healers and nine...
Current Drug Abuse Reviews
June 1, 2013
Gerald Thomas, Philippe Lucas, N. Rielle Capler et al.
327 citations
This form of ayahuasca-assisted therapy appears to be associated with statistically significant improvements in several factors related to problematic substance use among a rural aboriginal population. These findings suggest participants may have experienced positive psychological and behavioral changes in response to this therapeutic approach, and that more rigorous research of...
Homœopathic Links
March 11, 2013
Chetna Shukla
Ayahuasca needs little introduction. The proving took me to Brazil and I took the journey with shamans and I had a beautiful rendezvous with myself. Thereafter I have used it also as a homeopathic remedy in individuals who know their nature but could not transform (stuck) and especially in drug addicts (cocaine, alcohol, allopathic drugs).
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
July 1, 2012
Mitchell B. Liester, James I. Prickett
78 citations
Ayahuasca is a medicinal plant mixture utilized by indigenous peoples throughout the Amazon River basin for healing purposes. The "vine of the soul" or "vine of death," as it is known in South America, contains a combination of monoamine oxidase inhibitors and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). When ingested together, these medicines produce profound alterations in consciousness. Increasingly,...
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
June 10, 2012
Daniel I. Brierley, Colin Davidson
133 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic botanical mixture originating in the Amazon area where it is used ritually, but is now being taken globally. The 2 main constituents of ayahuasca are N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogen, and harmine, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) which attenuates the breakdown of DMT, which would otherwise be broken down very quickly after oral consumption. Recent...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
June 17, 2010
Josep María Fábregas, Débora González, Sabela Fondevila et al.
228 citations
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage used for magico-religious purposes in the Amazon. Recently, Brazilian syncretic churches have helped spread the ritual use of ayahuasca abroad. This trend has raised concerns that regular use of this N,N-dimethyltryptamine-containing tea may lead to the medical and psychosocial problems typically associated with drugs of abuse. Here we assess potential drug...