Experience of treatment with ayahuasca for drug addiction in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

This article presents the experience of the Institute of Applied Amazonian Ethnopsychology (IDEAA), which was created by a group of Spaniards in the Brazilian Amazon in order to study and implement the use of ayahuasca in processes of personal growth and addiction treatment. It begins with a brief description of their basic assumptions, as well as the sources of knowledge underlying the practice, such as transpersonal psychology, Santo Daime, shamanism, and Eastern disciplines. The following section shows the relationship of activities carried out in the rituals, then goes more deeply into the healing process, through a therapeutic model based on minimal accompanying intervention. Through an analysis of the content, we are introduced to the fundamental themes of ayahuasca sessions with addicts, which are discussed and related to the dynamics of transformation. The text concludes with clinical field observations that have emerged after years of practice.