News
International Multidisciplinary Congress of Medicinal Plants
Jacques Mabit, MD, founder and president of the Takiwasi Center has been invited to participate in the 1st International Multidisciplinary Congress of Medicinal Plants "Louis Girault in memoriam" that will take place in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, from August 31 to September 5, 2018.
The 1st International Multidisciplinary Congress of Medicinal Plants is organized by the Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research of the University of San Simón de Cochabamba and by Integrando-Kuska, in homage to Louis Girault (1919-1975), French anthropologist, author of the book "KALLAWAYA: Traveling healers of the Andes", an important cultural contribution to the preservation and protection of our ancient Andean medicine.
The following speakers will participate in the Congress: Dr. Roberto Campos, UNAM, Mexico; TH. Carlos Gonzales, Spain; Dr. Mario Argandoña, Bolivia; Dr. Hernán Olivera; Bolivia; MT. Carlos Prado, Bolivia; Ka. Porfirio Otaso, Bolivia. In this opportunity Dr. Jacques Mabit will present the lecture entitled "Traditional Amazonian medicine and its contemporary application in mental health".
Traditional Amazonian medicine and its contemporary application in mental health - Summary of the lecture
If a few decades ago the great pandemics were the world priority in health issues, today mental health problems are taking the lead with serious diseases reaching an "epidemic" level such as unipolar depression or addictions. The resources of Western pharmacology in this field tend to turn pathologies chronic and generate very important side effects. Psychotherapy techniques, faced with the limitations of conventional models, are opening up to new approaches. In this opening the therapeutic knowledge of the ancestral cultures that contribute a holistic dimension, an efficient approach at the same time physical, psycho-emotional and spiritual are becoming more and more important. These medicines offer resources that go beyond the cultural context in which they were constituted and show a unique expertise in the exploration of the different states of consciousness. It is with these perspectives that we propose to explore the possible articulations between modern science and the knowledge and wisdom of indigenous peoples, taking into account their potentialities and limitations.
Download the pdf presentation (Spanish): International Multidisciplinary Congress of Medicinal Plants