Sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in healthy ceremony attendants: A replication study
In a naturalistic replication with 73 ceremony attendants, a single ayahuasca session produced sub‑acute increases in life satisfaction and awareness and, at four weeks, reduced stress, anxiety and somatisation and increased non‑judging, with stronger psychedelic (e.g. ego‑dissolution) experiences predicting sub‑acute mental‑health gains and no differences between first‑time and experienced users. No reduction in depression was found, and the authors note placebo‑controlled trials are required to confirm therapeutic effects.
Authors
- Johannes Ramaekers
- Nathalie Mason
- Morten Uthaug
Published
Abstract
Background and aims There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the psychedelic plant tea, ayahuasca, holds therapeutic potential. Uthaug et al. (2018) demonstrated that a single dose of ayahuasca improved mental health sub-acutely and 4-weeks post-ceremony in healthy participants. The present study aimed to replicate and extend these findings. A first objective was to assess the sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in first-time and experienced users. A second aim was to extend the assessment of altered states of consciousness and how they relate to changes in mental health.
Method
Ayahuasca ceremony attendants (N = 73) were assessed before, the day after, and four weeks following the ceremony.
Results
We replicated the reduction in self-reported stress 4-weeks post ceremony, but, in contrast, found no reduction in depression. Also, increased satisfaction with life and awareness the day after the ceremony, and its return to baseline 4 weeks later, were replicated. New findings were: reduced ratings of anxiety and somatization, and increased levels of non-judging 4-weeks post-ceremony. We replicated the relation between altered states of consciousness (e.g., experienced ego dissolution during the ceremony) and mental health outcomes sub-acutely. The effects of ayahuasca did not differ between experienced and first-time users.
Conclusion
Partly in line with previous findings, ayahuasca produces long-term improvements in affect in non-clinical users. Furthermore, sub-acute mental health ratings are related to the intensity of the psychedelic experience. Although findings replicate and highlight the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, this needs to be confirmed in placebo-controlled studies.
Research Summary of 'Sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in healthy ceremony attendants: A replication study'
Introduction
Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian plant brew that combines a DMT-containing plant with MAO-inhibiting Banisteriopsis caapi, producing multi-hour psychedelic effects that can include ego dissolution, mystical-type experiences and emotional insight. Earlier naturalistic and clinical studies have reported sub-acute and longer-term reductions in depression, anxiety and stress as well as increases in mindfulness, life satisfaction and positive psychosocial change after single ayahuasca sessions; however, findings have been heterogeneous and the role of the acute altered-state experience in producing lasting benefit remains uncertain. Van Oorsouw and colleagues set out to replicate and extend prior work by assessing whether a single ayahuasca ceremony produces sub-acute (24–48 h) and longer-term (4 weeks) changes in mental health, mindfulness and life satisfaction in healthy ceremony attendants. They additionally sought to test whether intensity and quality of altered states of consciousness—measured with the Ego Dissolution Inventory (EDI) and the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness scale (5D-ASC, focusing on Oceanic Boundlessness (OB) and Anxious Ego Dissolution (AED))—predict changes in outcomes, and whether effects differ between first-time and experienced ayahuasca users.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
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- APA Citation
van Oorsouw, K. I., Uthaug, M. V., Mason, N. L., Broers, N. J., & Ramaekers, J. G. (2021). Sub-acute and long-term effects of ayahuasca on mental health and well-being in healthy ceremony attendants: A replication study. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 5(2), 103-113. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2021.00174
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