Research
Traditional knowledge and research on ayahuasca
What we know about ayahuasca comes above all from the Amazonian peoples who safeguard it; science has joined in over recent decades. Here we bring both perspectives together, always with the original source.
Traditional knowledge
Indigenous sciences
For many Amazonian peoples, ayahuasca is not a substance but part of a complex knowledge system: a medicine, a way of learning and of relating to the territory and to the sacred. Recognising that knowledge, and those who safeguard it, is the first step towards reciprocity.
Cultural Heritage of the Nation
The Peruvian State declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca practised by native Amazonian communities to be cultural heritage, in order to protect its ritual use from decontextualised and commercial uses.
Instituto Nacional de Salud · PeruTraditional use of ayahuasca in health
Institutional information on the place of ayahuasca in traditional Amazonian medicine.
Brazil · 2010CONAD Resolution no. 1/2010
It recognises the religious use of ayahuasca in Brazil (Santo Daime, União do Vegetal, Barquinha) and establishes deontological principles: non-profit, no advertising and no commercialisation.
Brazil · IPHANCultural inventory of ayahuasca
The process promoted by Brazilian ayahuasca traditions to have their ritual use recognised as intangible cultural heritage.
Acre, Brazil · 20255th Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference
A gathering of Indigenous peoples whose letter calls for free, prior and informed consultation, denounces biopiracy and affirms Indigenous peoples as the legitimate decision-makers on ayahuasca.
Girona · 2026World Ayahuasca Forum
A forum co-designed with Indigenous peoples, one of whose main themes was the recognition of Indigenous sciences as a bridge between worlds.
Photo: Anthony Baratier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ayahuasca and addiction
Leaving addiction behind
Thousands of people around the world, including many in our own community, have left addictions behind through accompanied processes with ayahuasca. It is lived knowledge that Amazonian traditions have held for generations.
Where we have taken part: IDEAA
Psychiatrist Josep Maria Fábregas, an addiction specialist, founded IDEAA (Instituto de Etnopsicología Amazónica Aplicada) in the Brazilian Amazon in 2000. Its programme combines ayahuasca ceremonies with psychotherapy, yoga, meditation and community life. Some members of AYNI have taken part in this programme; one of the association’s guides successfully completed their recovery process there in 2004.
Another reference, independent of AYNI: in Peru, the Takiwasi Centre, founded in Tarapoto in 1992 by the physician Jacques Mabit, has combined traditional Amazonian medicine and psychotherapy in addiction treatment for more than thirty years.
The scientific evidence reflects it: field and observational studies with ayahuasca consistently find lower use of alcohol and other drugs. What is still missing with ayahuasca is controlled clinical trials; with other entheogens such as psilocybin they already exist and point in the same direction.
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Associations between ayahuasca consumption in naturalistic settings and current alcohol and drug use
Global Ayahuasca Survey, 8,629 people: having taken ayahuasca is associated with higher odds of drinking little or not at all and of no recent use of other drugs, both in people with and without a prior disorder.
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Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada
Retreats in a Canadian community, supported by MAPS: less cocaine, alcohol and tobacco use and psychological improvements at six months.
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Short-Term Treatment Effects of a Substance Use Disorder Therapy Involving Traditional Amazonian Medicine
Takiwasi Centre (Peru): improvements in a residential treatment combining Amazonian medicine, psychotherapy and community life.
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Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca
Members of ayahuasca religions in Brazil: addiction severity equal to or lower than the comparison group, and no sign that ayahuasca causes dependence.
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Ayahuasca en el tratamiento de adicciones. Estudio de cuatro casos tratados en IDEAA, desde una perspectiva interdisciplinaria
A study of four cases treated at IDEAA: improvement rested on rebuilding one’s own life story from the ayahuasca experience, integrated in the group and in community life.
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Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder
Placebo-controlled trial: psilocybin with psychotherapy markedly reduced heavy drinking days over eight months. It is the strongest evidence to date for a classic entheogen in addiction.
The tools of the process
The entheogenic experience opens a door; what sustains it is the path that accompanies it. In our experience, and in what studies describe, deep change comes when that experience is integrated into wider personal work, and over time these practices become one's own tools for life:
The ecstatic experience
Experiences of unity, meaning and transcendence that allow addiction to be seen from another place. In trials and surveys with entheogens, their intensity is associated with better outcomes.
Personal work and transpersonal psychology
Frameworks such as Stanislav Grof's help to understand and integrate expanded states of consciousness.
Meditation and yoga
Daily practices that sustain attention, calm and the body. Meditation has controlled trials behind it for relapse prevention.
Community
Sharing circles, peer support and a network that gives continuity to the process.
Accompaniment and integration
Preparation, therapeutic support and integration of what has been lived, before, during and after.
Studies it draws on
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Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Substance Dependence
Treated people, Indigenous healers and therapists agree: ayahuasca supports recovery within a structured process, with preparation, psychotherapy and integration.
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Ayahuasca's entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from 'addiction'
Efficacy is entwined with ritual, community, accompaniment and changes in daily life.
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Pilot study of the 5-HT2A receptor agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction
With psilocybin and support, most participants stopped smoking; those with a more intense mystical experience had better outcomes.
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Cessation and reduction in alcohol consumption and misuse after psychedelic use
People who overcame problematic drinking after an entheogenic experience attribute it to the mystical-type experience and its personal meaning.
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Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use
Similar results with cannabis, opioids and stimulants: lasting reductions in use associated with the lived experience.
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Relative Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Standard Relapse Prevention, and Treatment as Usual for Substance Use Disorders
Controlled trial: mindfulness-based relapse prevention reduced use at 12 months compared with treatment as usual.
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Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research
A reference work of transpersonal psychology on expanded states of consciousness and their integration.
If you are going through an addiction, the first step is a careful assessment: ayahuasca can interact dangerously with other substances and medicines, so a prior interview, health screening and professional support are needed. How we accompany.
Safety
Risk reduction
Ayahuasca Technical Report
A synthesis of the evidence on traditional use, pharmacology, legal status, and therapeutic and adverse effects.
ICEERS AcademyAyaSafety
Training for guides: health screening, emergency protocols and informed consent.
Global Ayahuasca Survey · 2022Adverse effects of ayahuasca
Which physical and psychological adverse effects are reported, and how often.
Review · 2017Ayahuasca, DMT and psychosis
Why screening for personal and family history is essential.
KahpiGeneral information guide
Articles on science, culture and safety.
AYNIHow we accompany
How we apply preparation, screening, integration and referral.
Legal framework
In Spain, neither prohibited nor regulated
Ayahuasca is not prohibited in Spain, but nor is it regulated. See the full legal framework →
Studies
Scientific research
Links to the original publication (DOI or PubMed). Each summary, written by AYNI, also sets out the study's limitations: this is still a young field of research. That something has not been proven does not mean it is not true: often it means there is not yet enough scientific evidence.
Several studies find greater resilience and psychological flexibility in people who take ayahuasca (see the International section).
ICEERS and Hospital de Sant Pau
Research led or authored by the ICEERS team (Barcelona) and by Jordi Riba's group at Sant Pau.
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Therapeutic potential of ayahuasca in grief: a prospective, observational study
Prospective study of bereaved people who took part in ayahuasca ceremonies: fewer symptoms of grief, anxiety and depression, with benefits lasting up to a year. Observational study without a randomised control group.
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Potential Use of Ayahuasca in Grief Therapy
A third of bereaved people who took part in ayahuasca ceremonies reported experiences of encountering the person who had died, which helped them accept the loss.
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Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study
A longitudinal study that compared ritual ayahuasca users with controls and found no signs of psychological or neuropsychological impairment. Observational design, without random assignment.
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Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca
It assessed addiction severity among members of ayahuasca religious groups in Brazil compared with controls: scores were the same or lower. Cross-sectional study with possible selection bias.
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Human Pharmacology of Ayahuasca: Subjective and Cardiovascular Effects, Monoamine Metabolite Excretion, and Pharmacokinetics
It characterises the pharmacokinetics of DMT and the cardiovascular and subjective effects in healthy volunteers. It observed moderate increases in blood pressure.
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Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers
A placebo-controlled trial in healthy volunteers (Hospital de Sant Pau) on subjective effects and tolerability at increasing doses. Small sample.
Brazilian research
Universities and research groups in Brazil: UFRN, USP Ribeirão Preto, UNIFESP, and studies with members of Santo Daime and the UDV.
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Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
A randomised placebo-controlled trial (UFRN) in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression: a single dose reduced symptoms compared with placebo at 7 days. Small sample, short follow-up and difficulty maintaining blinding.
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Ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine, and psychosis: a systematic review of human studies
A review of psychotic risk: episodes are infrequent but possible, particularly where there is a personal or family history. It underlines the importance of prior screening.
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Antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects of ayahuasca, psilocybin and LSD: a systematic review of clinical trials published in the last 25 years
A systematic review with favourable preliminary results in depression, anxiety and addiction, based on a small number of studies with small samples.
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Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report
A preliminary open-label study (USP Ribeirão Preto) with 6 patients: reduction in depressive symptoms over 21 days. No control group.
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A Six-Month Prospective Evaluation of Personality Traits, Psychiatric Symptoms and Quality of Life in Ayahuasca-Naïve Subjects
A six-month follow-up of people who were joining ayahuasca religious groups: some psychological improvements and no relevant deterioration. Small sample, no control group.
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Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members
A study in members of Santo Daime on anxiety, panic-like symptoms and hopelessness during the acute effect, with reductions in some measures. Small sample and a specific religious context.
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Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context
A multicentre study with adolescents from the UDV: their use of other drugs was the same as or lower than that of controls. Cross-sectional design.
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Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil
A pioneering study (Hoasca Project) with long-standing members of the UDV: no evident negative effects and good psychosocial functioning. Cross-sectional design and small sample.
MAPS
Studies supported by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.
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Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada
A preliminary observational study in therapeutic retreats supported by MAPS: self-reported improvements and reduced use of some substances. No control group, small sample.
International
Global surveys, naturalistic studies, reviews and meta-analyses from other centres.
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Prospective examination of the therapeutic role of psychological flexibility and cognitive reappraisal in the ceremonial use of ayahuasca
People who take ayahuasca ceremonially: after three months, greater psychological flexibility and better mood. The reappraisal experienced during the ceremony weighed most in that improvement.
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Resilience and Brain Changes in Long-Term Ayahuasca Users: Insights From Psychometric and fMRI Pattern Recognition
People with long-term ayahuasca use show greater resilience than the comparison group, and associated brain changes on functional MRI. It is a cross-sectional study: it cannot establish that ayahuasca is the cause.
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The Effects of Ayahuasca on Psychological Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review
A systematic review of studies from 2017 to 2023 on ayahuasca in psychological disorders. It stresses the need for larger and more rigorous trials.
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Psychedelic therapy for depressive symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of psilocybin, ayahuasca and LSD with psychological support: short-term reductions in depressive symptoms and less conclusive results at 6–8 weeks.
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Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey
An international survey on adverse effects: physical effects (above all vomiting) were very common, and subsequent mental health problems less so. Self-reported data and a non-representative sample.
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Ayahuasca use and reported effects on depression and anxiety symptoms: An international cross-sectional study of 11,912 consumers
An analysis of the Global Ayahuasca Survey: many people with pre-existing depression or anxiety reported improvement. Cross-sectional, self-reported design, with possible biases.
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Pilot Evaluation of a Residential Drug Addiction Treatment Combining Traditional Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca and Psychotherapy on Depression and Anxiety
A pilot study at Takiwasi: reduction in depression and anxiety during residential treatment. Small sample and uncontrolled design.
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Ayahuasca: Psychological and Physiologic Effects, Pharmacology and Potential Uses in Addiction and Mental Illness
A narrative review of the pharmacology, effects and possible uses in addiction and mental health. It notes that the evidence is still preliminary.
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Short-Term Treatment Effects of a Substance Use Disorder Therapy Involving Traditional Amazonian Medicine
An evaluation of the addiction treatment at the Takiwasi Centre (Peru), which combines Amazonian medicine and psychotherapy: short-term improvements. No control group.
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Sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on affect and cognitive thinking style and their association with ego dissolution
A naturalistic study (Maastricht University) in ceremonies: improvements in mood and cognitive flexibility after the session. No control group or randomisation.
More studies: studies compiled by ICEERS · MAPS research on ayahuasca · Global Ayahuasca Project
Organisations
References
ICEERS
International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service.
USAMAPS
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.
BrazilNEIP
Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos.
USAChacruna Institute
Psychoactive plants, culture and reciprocity with Indigenous peoples.
PeruTakiwasi
Addiction treatment centre using traditional Amazonian medicine.
SpainFERM — Red Micelio
The federation of which AYNI is a member.