The death of a loved one is ultimately a universal experience. However, conventional interventions employed for people suffering with uncomplicated grief have gathered little empirical support. The present study aimed to explore the potential effects of ayahuasca on grief. We compared 30 people who had taken ayahuasca with 30 people who had attended peer-support groups, measuring level of grief and experiential avoidance. We also examined themes in participant responses to an open-ended question regarding their experiences with ayahuasca. The ayahuasca group presented a lower level of grief in the Present Feelings Scale of Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, showing benefits in some psychological and interpersonal dimensions. Qualitative responses described experiences of emotional release, biographical memories, and experiences of contact with the deceased. Additionally, some benefits were identified regarding the ayahuasca experiences. These results provide preliminary data about the potential of ayahuasca as a therapeutic tool in treatments for grief.

In the past decade, an increasing number of clinical trials are reporting evidence that psychedelics or serotonergic hallucinogens (such as lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and ayahuasca/dimethyltryptamine) could be effective in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The mechanisms responsible for these effects are not fully understood but seem to involve changes in bran dynamics in areas rich in serotonergic 5-HT receptors and in personality. In the present text, we present a brief and critical overview of the current research in this field, pointing out both promises and limitations of these studies.

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RationaleMany psychedelic experiences are meaningful, but ineffable. Engaging in meaning-making regarding emerging symbolic content and changing previous schemas have been proposed as mechanisms of change in psychedelic therapy.ObjectiveFirstly, we suggest the implementation of a Restorative Retelling (RR) technique to process and integrate the psychedelic experience into autobiographical memory, in a way that fosters meaning-making. We also show how ayahuasca has the potential to evoke key psychological content in survivors, during the process of grief adjustment following the death of a loved one.MethodsThe rationale for the implementation of RR to process psychedelic experiences and a case study of a woman suffering from Complicated Grief (CG) after her mother’s suicide are presented.ResultsEvaluations conducted before the ayahuasca experience and after RR suggest the effectiveness of ayahuasca and RR in reducing symptoms of CG and psychopathology.ConclusionThis case report illustrates an effective adaptation of the RR technique for processing the psychedelic experience. The significance of the study and its limitations are discussed.