A conversation between the executive director of Takiwasi, psychologist Jaime Torres, and Francisco Ortín, president of the Union of Therapists Cooperative from Spain. Throughout the conversation, the following topics are explored: what Amazonian medicine is, ayahuasca and why it is important to make a responsible and truly therapeutic use of it; common mistakes when seeking solutions through ayahuasca outside a therapeutic setting; the personal steps Jaime had to take in his spiritual and professional journey.
Author : Cooperativa Unión de Terapeutas
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
Our Research Manager, Matteo Politi, spoke with Illuminismo Psichedelico about the traditional uses of medicinal plants and the possibilities and limitations of including them within Western medical approaches through processes of research, standardization, and biomedical regulation. The relationship between human beings and plants has changed profoundly over time. Is it possible to envision a transformation and reinterpretation of traditional Amazonian practices within the global context, taking into account intercultural dialogue and ethical challenges?
Author : Illuminismo Psichedelico
Audio : Italian
Subtitle : -
We are pleased to present the 5th edition of the Training in the Takiwasi Therapeutic Model. The growing interest and continuous requests from therapists wishing to learn about our model motivate us to keep promoting these learning spaces in a safe, therapeutic, and effective environment. The training we propose for 2026 (September 28 – October 10) combines resources from Traditional Amazonian Medicine and experiential workshops aimed at personal development. In addition, the program is enriched with theoretical seminars and the transmission of specific tools from our Therapeutic Model, offering a balanced and nurturing experience on different levels. More information: Seminario de Formación .
Author : Fabio Friso
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
At Takiwasi, we have recently opened the possibility of outpatient treatment for women with addiction problems, thus responding to the numerous requests received in recent years. In 2023, we took an important first step with a one-month intensive seminar exclusively for women, which achieved very encouraging results. In 2025, we went further by integrating women into a mixed format, participating in medicinal plant sessions and therapeutic workshops alongside the men of our therapeutic community, under a semi-residential modality and with specialized support. Looking ahead to November 2026, we are preparing a new one-month intensive seminar for women with problematic substance use, aimed at providing them with tools for deep, integral, and sustainable healing, based on therapeutic processes and the traditional use of medicinal plants.
Author : Fabio Friso, Martín Huamán
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
Conversation with Eduard Casas Bertet, social educator and president of the Associated Group for Health Services (GASS Association, Spain), about the differences between conventional approaches and alternative therapies—including the use of Amazonian medicinal plants—for addiction treatment. The essential role of the spiritual dimension in rehabilitation processes is addressed, along with reflections on the possibilities and challenges involved in integrating medicinal plant use into addiction treatment in Europe.
Author : Martín Huamán
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
The 33 years of experience at Takiwasi demonstrate that Amazonian traditional medicine can significantly enrich psychotherapeutic work, both in healing processes and in personal development, provided it is used in the appropriate context and manner. The use of medicinal plants, together with other healing techniques, makes it possible to address issues with greater depth and to integrate the bodily and energetic-spiritual dimensions, which conventional psychotherapy can hardly reach. In this way, healing acquires a more integral, complex, and lasting character.
Author : Martín Huamán
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
Contemporary Amazonian culture, transformed by globalization, has lost part of its relational and ecological dimension. Among Indigenous peoples such as the Urarina, the use of plants still preserves a wisdom that integrates health, spirituality, and community, encompassing both human and non-human beings. Faced with the advance of extractivism and cultural erosion, there is a call to recover an ecological health based on reciprocity and respectful dialogue with ancestral knowledge. Talk in Spanish with Emanuele Fabiano, a researcher specialized in Amazonian anthropology and in the social and cosmological effects of extractive processes.
Author : Martín Huamán
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -
What does it mean for a soldier to surrender and retreat? In the military, these two words are unthinkable. Yet Trevor, a former infantry officer and U.S. Army captain, discovered at Takiwasi a place where “surrender” and “retreat” take on a deeply healing meaning. In this testimony, he shares his first experience at Takiwasi where he underwent a master plant dieta in the jungle, guided by our therapeutic team with decades of expertise. A sincere and transformative testimony about the transition from military life to the path of self-knowledge, and how Takiwasi offers a unique opportunity for silence, introspection, and truly meeting yourself.
Author : Fabio Friso, Martín Huamán
Audio : English
Subtitle : Español, Français
In this webinar, we explore the intersection of traditional knowledge and modern clinical research in addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with a special focus on military veterans. Michèle Anne Barocchi, director and co-founder of MAPS Italy, is in conversation with Matteo Politi, research manager at Takiwasi, as she shares the latest academic findings on psychedelic-assisted therapies along with her personal insights related to PTSD. Joining them is Arnaud Montagne, therapist at Takiwasi, who presents the outcomes of the therapeutic retreat program for military veterans in the Peruvian Amazon.
Author : Martín Huamán
Audio : English
Subtitle : Español
Webinar led by María Virginia Erazo, Gestalt Psychotherapist specialized in the treatment of addictions and member of the Takiwasi team, who addresses the fundamental role of the maternal bond in the development and overcoming of this issue. During the talk, clinical case examples are shared to provide a more concrete understanding of how maternal dynamics create processes of dependency and codependency.
Author : Martín Huamán
Audio : Spanish
Subtitle : -