Investigator: Dipl. Psych Anya Loizaga-Velder, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Contact: Anya Loizaga Velder
This qualitative study will involve interviewing 10 health professionals who work with ayahuasca as an adjunct for substance abuse treatment in order to gain a deeper understanding about the therapeutic process of ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addiction, as well as identifying major differences in conceptualization and practice of the addiction treatments. Loizaga-Velder will also interview five health professionals who are working or have worked with other psychedelics as adjuncts to treatment of addiction. A follow up study of 10 subjects who have participated in ayahuasca intervention for addiction will also be conducted. The research seeks to examine how ayahuasca is used in different contexts of addiction treatment and the institutional, psychological and social conditions that provide for a successful treatment outcome for ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addiction. This research is part of the Ritual Dynamics and Salutogenesis project (RISA); www.risa.uni-hd.de.
