Efficacy of Takiwasi's addiction treatment

Dear friends, Australian researcher David O'Shaughnessy has just published an article on the efficacy of addiction treatment in Takiwasi. The article is available at the following link: Within-treatment changes in a novel addiction treatment program.

Abstract
The therapeutic use of psychedelics is regaining scientific momentum, but similarly psychoactive ethnobotanical substances have a long history of medical (and other) uses in indigenous contexts. Here we aimed to evaluate patient outcomes in a residential addiction treatment center that employs a novel combination of Western and traditional Amazonian methods.

The study was observational, with repeated measures applied throughout treatment. All tests were administered in the center, which is located in Tarapoto, Peru. Data were collected between 2014 and 2015, and the study sample consisted of 36 male inpatients who were motivated to seek treatment and who entered into treatment voluntarily. Around 58% of the sample was from South America, 28% from Europe, and the remaining 14% from North America. We primarily employed repeated measures on a psychological test battery administered throughout treatment, measuring perceived stress, craving frequency, mental illness symptoms, spiritual well-being, and physical and emotional health. Addiction severity was measured on intake, and neuropsychological performance was assessed in a subsample from intake to at least 2 months into treatment.

Statistically significant and clinically positive changes were found across all repeated measures. These changes appeared early in the treatment and were maintained over time. Significant improvements were also found for neuropsychological functioning. These results provide evidence for treatment safety in a highly novel addiction treatment setting, while also suggesting positive therapeutic effects.

O’Shaughnessy, D.M., Berlowitz, I., Rodd, R., Sarnyai, Z., Quirk, F. Within-treatment changes in a novel addiction treatment program using traditional Amazonian medicine. Published in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, Vol. 11: 1-18, January 2021. doi:10.1177/2045125320986634

Initiation Plants in Drug Addiction Treatment:
The Purgahuasca Therapy

At Takiwasi the ceremonial use of Ayahuasca, plants diet, and other plant-based techniques that proceed from traditional Amazonian medicine are combined with Western psychotherapeutic and biomedical approaches mainly for the treatment of addiction.

A new research article by anthropologist Miroslav Horák focuses on the utilization of a preparation from the vine Ayahuasca alone, known as Purgahuasca, as part of our drug addiction treatment program. In the tradition of the Awajún indigenous group, the Purgahuasca represents an initiation ceremony, so that through the intake of this psychoactive preparation children and adolescents can discover their vocation and learn the path to follow in their adult life.

Findings from this study reveal that Takiwasi’s patients recognize the importance of the Purgahuasca ritual in their personal recovery. Appropriate conservation tools should be created to preserve the Purgahuasca ritual for future generations, as it represents a useful therapeutic tool and an important part of the intangible cultural heritage of Peru.

“Initiation Plants in Drug Addiction Treatment: The Purgahuasca Therapy”. Authors: Miroslav Horák, Nahanga Verter, Kristina Somerlíková. Published in Anthropology of Consciousness, February 2021.

Frontiers in Pharmacology special edition

The first research articles related to the call “Beyond the Pharmacology of Psychoactive Plant Medicines and Drugs: Pros and Cons of the Role of Rituals and Set and Setting” have been published.

Among the Topic Editors of this new article collection under the section Ethnopharmacology of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, we find Matteo Politi and Fernando Mendive from Takiwasi’s research department.

The Mind of Plants Symposium

The Mind of Plants brings together a collection of short essays, narratives and poetry on plants and their interaction with humans. Authors from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences write about their connection to a particular plant, reflecting upon their research in a style accessible for a general audience.

Our scientific director Matteo Politi offered a contribution on the Ushpwasha Sanango (Tabernaemontana undulata), a master plant used by healers in traditional Amazonian plants diet that has the purpose to reconnect our memory with the heart and allow the remembrance of events of affective importance, such as child traumas, to be able to heal them.

An online symposium will be held on April 8, 2021, to bring together all the contributors of the Mind of Plants to share their reflections and various approaches to plants. Stories, poetry and sound across a diversity of human languages and geographical landscapes.

The symposium will be hosted on a platform which will also entail video streaming and photos of plants, faithful to the interspecies collaboration that was the hallmark of the project.

Retreat/Diets at Takiwasi 2021

The dates of our Retreats/Diets for 2021 are the following:

• 14 - 24 April
• 12 - 22 May
• 09 - 19 June
• 14 - 24 July
See all the dates

The Retreat/Diet (commonly referred to as "dieta" in traditional medicine), is the deepest therapeutic practice of traditional Amazonian medicine. It consists of a 8-day retreat in isolation, in a very simple hut in the jungle, with the ritualized ingestion of the so-called "master plants", accompanied by a special diet and strict physical and psychological norms.

This process allows to expand perception, re-connect with repressed emotions, cleanse and strengthen the body, and connect with the holy dimension. It favors dream production, remembrance of past situations and experiences that weren’t well-processed and deep introspection.

For more information and to start the registration process please write to: terapia@takiwasi.com

How You Can Help Us

If you wish to support the activities of the Takiwasi Center, there are several ways to do it.

You can choose to give your contribution to the protection and conservation of Amazonian teacher plants through the Project Adopt an Ayahuasca, by adopting an Ayahuasca vine or another teacher plant.

Other ways to support us are by contributing to cover for the cost of the treatment and rehabilitation of our patients that suffer with drug addiction and have limited economic resources.

Takiwasi Center Prolongación Alerta 466, Tarapoto, Peru Tel: +51 (0)42 522818 / +51 (0)42 525479 www.takiwasi.com takiwasi@takiwasi.com

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