Observational studyPsychopharmacology2020
Therapeutic potential of ayahuasca in grief: a prospective, observational study.
Observational study in Psychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed.
- Ayahuasca-assisted meaning reconstruction therapy as an early resource for bereavement: a non-randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Psychological flexibility as a mechanism of change in psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depression: results from an exploratory placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Embracing change: impermanence acceptance mediates differences in death processing between long-term ayahuasca users and non-users.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- A new insight into ayahuasca's adverse effects: Reanalysis and perspectives on its mediating role in mental health from the Global Ayahuasca Survey (GAS).PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- DMT and harmala alkaloids: an exploratory study of oral Acacia based formulations in healthy volunteers.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Review
- Neurobiological research on N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and its potentiation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition: from ayahuasca to synthetic combinations of DMT and MAO inhibitors.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Review
- A Critical View on New and Future Antidepressants.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Review
- Psychedelic therapies reconsidered: compounds, clinical indications, and cautious optimism.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Review
- Ayahuasca-assisted meaning reconstruction therapy for grief: a non-randomized clinical trial protocol.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- From antidepressants and psychotherapy to oxytocin, vagus nerve stimulation, ketamine and psychedelics: how established and novel treatments can improve social functioning in major depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Long-term benefits to psychological health and well-being after ceremonial use of Ayahuasca in Middle Eastern and North African immigrants and refugees.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- The Psychedelic Future of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2023Review
- Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- 'Everybody's creating it along the way': ethical tensions among globalized ayahuasca shamanisms and therapeutic integration practices.Interdisciplinary science reviews : ISR · 2023Article
- Molecular Pathways of the Therapeutic Effects of Ayahuasca, a Botanical Psychedelic and Potential Rapid-Acting Antidepressant.Biomolecules · 2022Review
- N,N-dimethyltryptamine and Amazonian ayahuasca plant medicine.Human psychopharmacology · 2022Review
- Ayahuasca as a Decoction Applied to Human: Analytical Methods, Pharmacology and Potential Toxic Effects.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleRecent studies have assessed the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca for the treatment of depression with promising preliminary results.
objectivesHere, we examine the course of grief over 1 year of follow-up in a bereaved sample that attended a center in Peru to participate in indigenous Shipibo ayahuasca ceremonies. We also explore the roles of experiential avoidance and decentering as mechanisms of change.
methodsBereaved participants who attended the ayahuasca center responded to an online survey that included the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, Symptom Assessment-45, WHO Quality of Life-Bref, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and Decentering. Baseline assessment was completed by 50 individuals (T0). Of these, 39 completed the post-assessment at 15 days (T1), 31 at 3 months (T2), 29 at 6 months (T3), and 27 at 12 months (T4) after leaving the retreat. Pearson's analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the severity of grief and mechanisms of change during the period of T0 and T1.
resultsA significant decrease in Texas Revised Inventory was observed at all time points (T1: Cohen's d = 0.84; T2: Cohen's d = 1.38; T3: Cohen's d = 1.16; T4: Cohen's d = 1.39). We found a relationship between experiential avoidance (r = 0.55; p < .01), decentering (r = - 0.47; p < .01), and a reduction in the severity of grief.
conclusionsOur results suggest that the ceremonial use of ayahuasca has therapeutic value by reducing the severity of grief. Acceptance and decentering are both psychological processes that mediate the improvement of grief symptoms.
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