Acknowledgements

Protocol for Outcome Evaluation of Ayahuasca-Assisted Addiction Treatment: The Case of Takiwasi Center

“…The ATOP-Takiwasi study was initiated in January 2016 and this paper reports the protocol used in data collection and analysis for the mixed-methods program evaluation, including post-treatment follow-up. Preliminary results have been published on select mental health outcomes achieved during treatment (Giovannetti et al, 2020) and on samples of Takiwasi patients assessed with selected measures prior to implementation of the full protocol reported on here (O'Shaughnessy, 2017;Berlowitz et al, 2019). As described below, the research team is now poized to report on the first cohort of patients followed for a full 12 months after discharge.…”

“…The qualitative component of the mixed methods design includes patient semi-structured interviews undertaken in the same temporal sequence as the quantitative measures: that is at program entry, during treatment, at discharge, and at each follow-up point. To improve understanding of the treatment setting (i.e., environment and interpersonal interactions), patient interviews are complemented by semi-structured interviews with staff, therapists and healers as well as a contextual description of the Takiwasi treatment center based on existing literature (Mabit and Sieber, 2006;Håland, 2014;O'Shaughnessy, 2017;Mercante, 2013;Dupuis, 2018;Dupuis, 2021;Politi et al, 2019). A sub-project was also initiated part way through project implementation to identify factors associated with non-completion of the program.…”

“…Researchers have investigated the inpatient population (Presser-Velder, 2000;Horák 2013;Cervi et al, 2019;Defelippe et al, 2019;Berlowitz et al, 2020;Giovannetti et al, 2020), seminar participants (Dupuis, 2018, Dupuis, 2021, and a mix of inpatients, seminar participants, and outpatient diet-retreat participants (Håland 2014;Marcus and Fotiou 2019). Although there are high rates of treatment non-completion (Defelippe et al, 2019), preliminary data are suggestive of short-term treatment efficacy (Giove Nakazawa, 2002;Mabit, 2002;Berlowitz et al, 2019;Giovannetti et al, 2020) and ethnographic inquiry has implicated the various aspects of the treatment context that may influence treatment outcomes (Bustos, 2006;O'Shaughnessy, 2017;Marcus and Fotiou, 2019).…”

“…As a TC there is a heavy emphasis on the role of community living in the therapeutic process, engendered by sharing work and maintenance duties, recreation, and personal friendships, as well as the inevitable interpersonal challenges. The other aspect of the treatment model combines "ancestral healing practices of folk healers and shamans with modern psychology" such as transpersonal psychology, the work of Carl Jung, and Gestalt therapy, among other influences (Mabit et al, 1996;Dupuis, 2018;O'Shaughnessy 2017). The treatment philosophy puts a strong emphasis on spirituality, particularly in the framework of what the institution refers to as traditional Amazonian medicine, which reflects a broader Andean-Amazonian cosmology in which all plants have a spirit (a madre) that confers a teaching (Jauregui et al, 2011).…”