Four Weekly Ayahuasca Sessions Lead to Increases in "Acceptance" Capacities : A Comparison Study With a Standard 8-Week Mindfulness Training Program
Soler, Joaquim (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psiquiatria i de Medicina Legal)
Elices, M. (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental)
Dominguez-Clave, Elisabet (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psiquiatria i de Medicina Legal)
Pascual Mateos, Juan Carlos (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psiquiatria i de Medicina Legal)
Feilding, Amanda (The Beckley Foundation)
Navarro-Gil, Mayte (Universidad de Zaragoza)
Garcia-Campayo, Javier (Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet (Saragossa))
Riba, Jordi (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)

Fecha:	2018
Resumen:	Background: The therapeutic effects of the Amazonian plant tea ayahuasca may relate to its ability to enhance mindfulness capacities. Ayahuasca induces a modified state of awareness through the combined action of its active principles: the psychedelic N,N- dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and a series of centrally acting β-carbolines, mainly harmine and tetrahydroharmine. To better understand the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, here we compared the impact on mindfulness capacities induced by two independent interventions: (a) participation in four ayahuasca sessions without any specific purpose related to improving mindfulness capacities; and (b) participation in a standard mindfulness training course: 8 weeks mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), with the specific goal of improving these skills. Methods: Participants of two independent groups completed two self-report instruments: The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the Experiences Questionnaire (EQ). The MINDSENS Composite Index was also calculated, including those EQ and FFMQ items that have proven to be the most sensitive to meditation practice. Group A (n = 10) was assessed before and after the last of four closely spaced consecutive ayahuasca sessions. Group B (n = 10) was assessed before and after completion of a standard 8-week MBSR course. Results: MBSR training led to greater increases in overall mindfulness scores after the 8-week period. MBSR but not ayahuasca led to increases in the MINDSENS Composite Index. However, the ayahuasca sessions induced comparable increases in the Non-Judging subscale of the FFMQ, specifically measuring "acceptance. " Improving this capacity allows for a more detached and less judgmental stance toward potentially distressing thoughts and emotions. Results: The present findings suggest that a small number of ayahuasca sessions can be as effective at improving acceptance as more lengthy and costly interventions. Future studies should address the benefits of combining ayahuasca administration with mindfulness-based interventions. This will allow us to investigate if ayahuasca will improve the outcome of psychotherapeutic interventions.
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	Ayahuasca ; Mindfulness ; Acceptance ; Non-Judging ; Human
Publicado en:	Frontiers in Pharmacology, Vol. 9 (march 2018) , ISSN 1663-9812

Erratum: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/252363
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00224
PMID: 29615905

8 p, 546.5 KB

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