Traditional Amazonian medicine in addiction treatment: qualitative results

David M. O’Shaughnessy; Zoltán Sarnyai; Frances Quirk; Robin Rodd

doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100086

Traditional Amazonian medicine in addiction treatment: qualitative results

David M. O’Shaughnessy^*, Zoltán Sarnyai, Frances Quirk, Robin Rodd

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Traditional Amazonian medicine, and in particular the psychoactive substance ayahuasca, has generated significant research interest along with the recent revival of psychedelic medicine. Previously we published within-treatment quantitative results from a residential addiction treatment centre that predominately employs Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, and here we follow up that work with a qualitative study of within-treatment patient experiences. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were conducted from 2014 to 2015, and later analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings support the possibility of therapeutic effects from Amazonian medicine, but also highlight the complexity of Amazonian medical practices, suggesting that the richness of such traditions should not be reduced to the use of ayahuasca only.

Original language	English
Article number	100086
Number of pages	8
Journal	SSM - Qualitative Research in Health
Volume	2
Early online date	1 Jun 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100086
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2022

Keywords

Addiction
Substance abuse
Traditional Amazonian medicine
Ayahuasca
Dieta
Takiwasi
Vegetalismo

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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OShaughnessy_2022_SSM_Traditional-Amazonian-medicine_CC
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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Cite this

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title = "Traditional Amazonian medicine in addiction treatment: qualitative results",

abstract = "Traditional Amazonian medicine, and in particular the psychoactive substance ayahuasca, has generated significant research interest along with the recent revival of psychedelic medicine. Previously we published within-treatment quantitative results from a residential addiction treatment centre that predominately employs Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, and here we follow up that work with a qualitative study of within-treatment patient experiences. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were conducted from 2014 to 2015, and later analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings support the possibility of therapeutic effects from Amazonian medicine, but also highlight the complexity of Amazonian medical practices, suggesting that the richness of such traditions should not be reduced to the use of ayahuasca only.",

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AU - O’Shaughnessy, David M.

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AU - Quirk, Frances

AU - Rodd, Robin

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Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - Traditional Amazonian medicine, and in particular the psychoactive substance ayahuasca, has generated significant research interest along with the recent revival of psychedelic medicine. Previously we published within-treatment quantitative results from a residential addiction treatment centre that predominately employs Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, and here we follow up that work with a qualitative study of within-treatment patient experiences. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were conducted from 2014 to 2015, and later analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings support the possibility of therapeutic effects from Amazonian medicine, but also highlight the complexity of Amazonian medical practices, suggesting that the richness of such traditions should not be reduced to the use of ayahuasca only.

AB - Traditional Amazonian medicine, and in particular the psychoactive substance ayahuasca, has generated significant research interest along with the recent revival of psychedelic medicine. Previously we published within-treatment quantitative results from a residential addiction treatment centre that predominately employs Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, and here we follow up that work with a qualitative study of within-treatment patient experiences. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were conducted from 2014 to 2015, and later analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings support the possibility of therapeutic effects from Amazonian medicine, but also highlight the complexity of Amazonian medical practices, suggesting that the richness of such traditions should not be reduced to the use of ayahuasca only.

KW - Addiction

KW - Substance abuse

KW - Traditional Amazonian medicine

KW - Ayahuasca

KW - Dieta

KW - Takiwasi

KW - Vegetalismo

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DO - 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100086

M3 - Article

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JO - SSM - Qualitative Research in Health

JF - SSM - Qualitative Research in Health

M1 - 100086

ER -

Traditional Amazonian medicine in addiction treatment: qualitative results

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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