Making sense of ayahuasca experiences of those in the UK · 2020-03-14 · seekers of...

BreakingConventionStudentEssay2019Knowlesi

MakingsenseofayahuascaexperiencesofthoseintheUK

Aninterpretativephenomenologicalanalysis

ByAdamKnowles

BreakingConventionStudentEssay2019Knowlesi

Pageiofii

AbstractAyahuasca,anAmazonianplant-medicinebrew,isincreasinglypopularintheUKwith

seekersofpsychological,emotional,biologicalandspiritualhealing.Ithinkpsychotherapists

well-placedtoamplify,questionandworkwithayahuascaexperiences.Iexplorewhatfour

peopleintheUKmakeoftheirayahuascaexperiencesusingpurposivesamplingtofocuson

smallgroupsusingayahuascaforhealinginritualsettings.Witheachparticipant,Iconducta

45-to60-minutesemi-structuredinterviewwiththequestion,‘Whatdidyoumakeofyour

past,personalexperienceswithayahuasca?’thenuseinterpretativephenomenological(IPA)

analysis.IPAemphasisespersonal,directexperienceovertheorising.Igroupthefindings

intofivethemesformedfromparticipants’responses:‘1.Ourtelephonelinebacktosource:

insight/changes’;‘2.Threeguyswithfeathers:interculturalexchange’;‘3.Watchloadsof

ballet:differentpathsofhealing;‘4.Getsyouoffyourhead:adrug?’;and‘5.Iendedupin

myfather'spsyche:perspective’.Participantscredittheirayahuascaexperiencesasbeing

importantfornewinsightsthathelpthemmakesubstantialimprovementsintheirlife.The

difficultymakingsenseoftheinternationalandinterculturalaspectsofayahuasca

permeatestheparticipants’commentary.Participantsregretthebarrierstohealingcreated

byillegalityandIoutlinetheproblematicbasisoftheillegalityofayahuascaintheUK.

Participantsconsiderotherthingsalongsideorinsteadofayahuascaasessentialtotheir

well-beingincludingintegrationworkafterceremony,psychotherapy,meditation,

shamanism,andyoga.WrittenbyaUK-basedexistentialpsychotherapistwithaqualitative,

phenomenologicalapproach,thisresearchmakesafreshanddistinctcontributionto

existingdiscourses.Thefindingsandargumentsarerelevanttopsychotherapy,philosophy,

psychiatry,politics,pharmacology,medicine,socialscienceandanthropology.

BreakingConventionStudentEssay2019Knowlesii

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ContentsAbstract.............................................................................................................................i

Contents............................................................................................................................ii

Introduction......................................................................................................................1

Literaturereview...............................................................................................................3

Anayahuascaprimer............................................................................................................3

Healingandtherapeuticpotential........................................................................................3

Safety....................................................................................................................................4

Legality.................................................................................................................................5

Theneedforfurtherempiricalresearch..............................................................................5

Methodology.....................................................................................................................7

Method.................................................................................................................................8

Tableofparticipantdemographics.......................................................................................8

Datacollection......................................................................................................................8

Dataanalysis.........................................................................................................................9

Rigour,validity&transparency............................................................................................9

Findings...........................................................................................................................10

Tableofcodingsperparticipant/theme.............................................................................10

1.Ourtelephonelinebacktosource:insight/changes......................................................11

2.Threeguyswithfeathers:interculturalexchange..........................................................12

3.Watchloadsofballet:differentpathsofhealing...........................................................13

4.Getsyouoffyourhead:adrug?.....................................................................................14

5.Iendedupinmyfather'spsyche:perspective...............................................................15

Discussion.......................................................................................................................16

Relevancetoandimplicationsforpractice........................................................................17

Limitations..........................................................................................................................18

Futureresearchanddevelopment.....................................................................................19

Reflectionasaresearcher..................................................................................................19

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................20

References......................................................................................................................21

BreakingConventionStudentEssay2019Knowles1

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IntroductionAyahuascaisaplant-medicinebrewimportanttoindigenouscommunitiesoftheAmazon,

uniqueinitsculture,historyandeffect(Shanon,2010,p.141).ThoseintheUKseeking

psychological,emotional,biologicalandspiritualhealingareincreasinglyattractedto

psychedelicceremonies(Sessaetal.,2017).IbelieveUKpsychotherapistsarewell-placedto

offerpreparationandintegrationservicesthatareessentialtosafeandeffectiveuseof

psychedelics.

ItwassoonaftermyinitialexperienceswithayahuascathatIstartedtrainingasan

existentialpsychotherapist.Fiveyearson,Iwanttoknowhowayahuascahasaffectedthe

livesofothersintheUKandhowpsychotherapistsmightbestsupportayahuascaasapath

toinsightandhealing.

Researchintothetherapeuticpotentialofpsychedelicsisresurgingfollowingahiatusgoing

backtothe1960s.UKresearchbytalkingtherapistsonthelonger-termapplicationsof

ayahuascaremainsrare,withevenlessfromanexistentialmindset.WrittenbyaUK-based

existentialpsychotherapistwithaqualitative,phenomenologicalapproach,thisresearch

makesafreshanddistinctcontributiontoexistingdiscourses.

Usinginterpretativephenomenologicalanalysis(IPA),Iinvestigatedwhatfourpeopleinthe

UKthinkabouttheirpast,personalayahuascaexperiences.Iconductedsemi-structured

confidentialandindividualinterviewsof45-60minutes.Ifollowedthiswithtranscriptionof

theinterviews,thematiccodingandasubsequentwrite-up.Myprojecttooksixmonths

withinthesecondhalfof2018.


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Ihaveonlywordstorepresentpsychedelicexperiencesthatcanbenuminous,expansive

andineffable.IopposeboththeimpersonalstyleprizedbyscienceandtheKafkaesque

prosetypicalofsomephilosophers.IwriteaspersonallyandclearlyasIcan.

Myexistentialoutlookemphasisestheintersubjectivenatureofthehumanexperienceand

owningone’sthoughts.Iuse‘I’and‘you’inthisessaytoreferrespectivelytomyselfasthe

writerandyouasthereader.

Let’stakeatrip.


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LiteraturereviewAnayahuascaprimer

Asabrew,ayahuascaisadecoctionoftheayahuascavineBanisteriopsiscaapi(Spruceex

Griseb.)C.V.MortonandtheleavesofthechacrunabushPsychotriaviridisRuiz&Pav.The

crushedayahuascavineandchacrunaleavesworktogether(Nutt,citedinCocozza,2014)to

produceeffectsincluding4-6hoursoftrance,euphoria,connectionandinsightsinto

problemsofliving,alongsidevomiting(ICEERS,2017,p.8)andfrequenttripstothetoilet.

Visualandauditoryeffects,symbols,imageryarecommon.Shanon(2010)providesa

compellingcartographyoftheseexperiences.

Healingandtherapeuticpotential

Arangeofliteraturedescribehealingandtherapeuticassociationswithayahuasca(ICEERS,

2017;Shanon,2010;Tafur,2017;Blainey,2015;Ryan,2015)andtheUK-basedBeckley

Foundationfindsencouragingresults(Morales-Garciaetal.,2017).Snider’squalitative

researchaddressesayahuascaandpsychotherapyinaNorthAmericancontext(Snider,

2016;Snider,2017)asdoesHarris(2017).

ThepertinentaspectthatemergesfromthesesourcesistheclashbetweenWestern

notions/mechanicsofhealingandotherdiscourses.Metzneridentifies‘profound

differencesintheunderlyingworldviewandconceptionsofreality’(Metzner,1998,

abstract).Providinganexample,Pollan(2018)theorisespsychedelicexperiencesvia

pharmacological,psychiatricandneuroscientificlenses.Ithinkweneedwiderglobal

perspectivesandamultidisciplinaryapproach.

Tupper(2009)takesadifferenttacktoscientisticliterature,speakingof‘entheogenic

healing’,where‘entheogen’meanstoentrainexperiencesofgod(s).Dev(2018)goesfurther


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toproposethatayahuascapossessesit/him/herselfaconsciousnessthatdeservesdirect

research,coiningthisidea‘interspecieslistening’(Dev,2018,title).Luke(2011)describes

‘discarnateentities’(Luke,2011,title).TheseconceptionsofLukeandDevstandapartfrom

WesternscientificmodelsandopenthewaytounderstandingsIbelievewillhelp

psychotherapistswithourclients.

ManyhavemadesubstantialattemptstosquaredifferencesbetweenWestern

science/medicineandothermodalities(Grof,2000;LabateandCavnar,2018b;Judith,2011;

Mackinnon,2012;Luke,2015;Tafur,2017;Miller,2017;LiesterandPrickett,2012).I

concludethatpsilocybinfordepression(PsychedelicResearchGroup,2019)orayahuasca

forwell-beingisnotthesameasinsulinfordiabetesoribuprofenforaheadache.Schmid

(2011,p.246)suggeststhatayahuascaisbetterthoughtofasapsychologicalcatalystthana

pharmacologicallyactivesubstance,whichmakessensetome.

ThedifferencebetweentheWesternmedicalmodelandotherhealingmodalities

constitutes‘averyfundamentaldifferencewithagoodmanyimplications’(Rogers,1976,

citedinSandersandHill,2014,p.60).Ibelieveexistentialism(vanDeurzen,2014;

Kaufmann,1960)helpfultoaddressthisdifferencesinceitaddressesontologicaland

epistemologicalconcerns.

Safety

Ayahuascaisoneofthemostpowerfulpsychoactivesubstancesknowntohumankind,butis

safewhenproperprotocolsarefollowed(ICEERS,2017;dosSantos,2013;Barbosaetal.,

2012;Johnson,RichardsandGriffiths,2008;Doering-Silveiraetal.,2005).Zinberg(1986)

explainsthevitalimportance,beyond‘substance’,ofthemindsetwithwhichpeople


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approachayahuasca,thecontextandcircumstancesoftheritual,andtheskillofthosein

theroleoffacilitators.

Ifoundnoliteraturelinkingayahuascato‘HallucinogenPersistingPerceptionDisorder’

(HPPD)(AmericanPsychiatricAssociation,2013;WorldHealthOrganization,2018)andthink

spiritualperspectivesofferalternativestopsychiatricnosologies.Whatpsychiatrists

describeasapsychoticbreakothersdescribeasaspiritualemergency(Megler,2017).

ExistentiallyImightconsiderthesamephenomenaanontologicalchallenge.

ICEERSconcludethatayahuascahasan‘acceptablephysiologicalandpsychologicalsafety

profileandwiththerapeuticpotential’(ICEERS,2017,p.10).

Legality

Whilelegalinothercountries,theUKgovernmentwebsitestatesitisillegaltotake,carry,

makeorsellpsychoactivesubstances,thenexcludesalcohol,nicotineandcaffeinefromits

definitionof‘psychoactive’(Gov.uk,2015).Itisfarfromanevidence-basedpolicy.

Szasz(1992)makesacomprehensiveandpersuasiveargumentagainsttheUKposition.My

viewalignswithSzasz’sthatgovernmentsshouldlistenmoretoscientists,andscientists

shouldallowotherstomakeuptheirownminds.

Whatevermydisagreements,Iworkwithinthelawasaprofessionalandaresearcher.

Theneedforfurtherempiricalresearch

Therehasinrecentyearsbeen‘anexplosionofhigh-qualityscientificresearchinto

ayahuasca’(Gearin,2017).Whilethisexplosioniswelcome,researchrelevanttotheUKand

fromanexistentialpsychotherapeuticperspectiveremainsrare.


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Anexistentialapproachmeansopennesstoapluralityofwaysknowing.Nosingle

perspectivecomprisesthetruthandafullunderstandingliesforeverbeyondourreach.

Furtherempiricalresearchcouldnotjustdeepenourunderstandingwithinexisting

paradigmsbutbroadenitusingahumbleandinterdisciplinarymindset.ThisiswhatIoffer

here,andIencouragemoreresearchalongthoselines.


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MethodologyAftersomeinitialreading(Silverman,2017;WilligandStainton-Rogers,2013;Braunand

Clarke,2013;Waddell,2007),Iconcludedthatquantitativemethodsthatreducerich

phenomenatonumbersviastatisticalanalysesareunsuitableformyquestion.

GivenNietzsche’sideathat‘truthisdivine’(Nietzsche,1974,p.283,§344),Iconsideredthe

transpersonalresearchmethods(Anderson,2015;AndersonandBraud,2011;Braudand

Anderson,1998;Romanyshyn,2013).Isoughtamethodologythatcoulddojusticetothe

extraordinaryexperiencesofayahuascaandperhapsincorporatethepersonal

transformationoftheresearcherasdata(Anderson,2015,p.164).

Afterconsideringmethodologiesincludingnarrativeinquiry,actionresearch,grounded

theory(Thomson,2011),heuristicinquiry(Hiles,2001),andFoucauldianDiscourseAnalysis,

IsettledonInterpretativePhenomenologicalAnalysis(IPA).

Phenomenologymeanssuspendingpastconceptionsandreductionistmodelstoget‘back

tothethingsthemselves’(Husserl,2001,p.168).Assuch,Iavoidpsychoanalytic,humanistic

andeventranspersonalpsychotherapeutictheoryheretosupportphenomenological

epoché.Iwantto‘makethescientificthemesecurebyworkingoutthesefore-structuresin

termsofthethingsthemselves’(Heidegger,2016,p.195).Itrytostayclosetomy

participants’words,meaningandinterpretationsratherthangeneralise,theoriseand

reduce.Thisistheexistentialapproachinaction.

IchoseIPAbecauseIhavesomerelevantexperienceofphenomenology,becauseitiswell-

describedifdifficulttomaster,becauseitisrespectedbymyschoolwithinRegent’s

UniversityLondon,andbecauseitencouragesresearcherreflexivity.Iremainmindfulof

scholarlycriticismofIPA.InitsopennessIPArisksbeingambiguousandunderspecified


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(Tuffour,2017,p.4),hasabiastowardeloquentspeakers,andislimitedtoparticipants’

perspectives(Giorgi,2011;Paley,2017;Pringleetal.,2011).

Method

Mypurposivesamplingsoughtfourparticipantsthatmeteligibilitycriteriadesignedto

enablesafeandeffectiveresearch.Irecruitedfrompersonalandprofessionalnetworks,

rulingoutanyonethatalreadyknewme.Aheadoftheinterview,Iinformedparticipantsof

mycommitmenttoconfidentialitybutalsotherisksoftakingpart,includingthatof

incriminatingthemselves(Finch,2001,p.41).

Tableofparticipantdemographics

Signifier Gender Age Nationality Occupation #of

ceremonies

P1 Male 42 British Bodyworker 2

P2 Male 53 British Entertainment [blank]

P3 Female 38 British Entrepreneur [blank]

P4 Female 63 British Semi-retired 25+

Datacollection

Isetupaface-to-faceinterview(Smith,FlowersandLarkin,2012,p.57)witheach

participantlasting45–60minutesthentranscribedandtimecodedtheaudiousingthe

F4Transkriptsoftware.Theresultingtranscriptstotalapproximately40,000words.


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Dataanalysis

IcodedmytranscriptsusingtheF4Analysesoftwareandgroupedmycodesintofivethemes

usingabstraction,subsuming,polarisation,contextualisation,numeration(sic)andfunction

(Smith,FlowersandLarkin,2012,pp.96-99).Toroottheanalysisinwhatmyparticipants

sayIquotetheirwordsinthethemetitles(Pringleetal.,2011,p.21).

Rigour,validity&transparency

Itisimportantnottoassessthevalidityofthisqualitativestudybycriteriameantfor

quantitativestudiessuchastheresearchbeinggeneralisable,repeatable,scalableor

externallyverifiable.Yardleyprovidesmoreappropriatecriteriaofquality(citedinSmith,

FlowersandLarkin,2012,pp.179-185).Ithinkmystudyisappropriatelyrigorous,validand

transparent.


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FindingsTableofcodingsperparticipant/theme

Theme P1 P2 P3 P4 Theme

totals

1.Ourtelephonelinebacktosource:

insight/changes

13 38 32 48 131

2.Threeguyswithfeathers:intercultural

exchange

67 31 18 18 134

3.Watchloadsofballet:differentpaths

ofhealing

19 12 15 30 76

4.Getsyouoffyourhead:adrug? 14 36 7 16 73

5.Iendedupinmyfather'spsyche:

perspective

4 17 14 17 52

Participanttotals 117 134 86 129 466


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1.Ourtelephonelinebacktosource:insight/changes

Thisthemereferstoexpressionsthattheexperienceofayahuascaleadstoinsights,manyof

whichprovokedsignificantimprovementsinparticipants’lives.Participantsgenerallyspeak

ofthepositiveimpactofayahuasca.

Providingthethemetitle,P4says:

allofthesethings,they'reourtools.Ourtelephonelinebacktosource

(P4,Paragraph25)

P1isreluctanttocreditayahuascawithsubstantialchanges.P2ismoregenerous:

Ifyoudoitcorrectly,thiscansaveyourlife(P2,Paragraph100)

P2saysayahuascahelpedhimmovepastalifelongaddictiontorecreationaldrugs.

P4agreeswithP3that:

I'drathergothroughthetoughest,horriblest,ceremonythanhavethe

rainbowsandunicorns(P4,Paragraph65)

ShamanicexperiencesledP4tochangeherlifefromonefocusedonherselftoonemore

aboutothers.


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2.Threeguyswithfeathers:interculturalexchange

Passagesunderthisthemecentreoninterculturalaspects,positiveandnegative.

P2,providingthewordstothetheme,enjoystherootingofritualinculturalhistory:

Whenthere'sthreeguyswithfeathers.Andyoujust,I'mlike,'wellthis

was<year>,actually,I'mwatchingthousandsofyearsofceremony(P2,

Paragraph148)

P1,bycontrast,reportshisexperienceofvisitinganAmazon-basedayahuascaresort:

everythingislikeaneco-resort,andit'sverynice.Butyoujustseeallof

theworkandallofthepeopleinvolved,allofthelocals,practically

enslavedforthebenefitofmyexperience.Itjustdidn'tfeelright(P1,

Paragraph201)

P1andP3founddifferencesincultureproblematicwhileP2andP4embracedthe

differenceanddiversityinfavourableterms.


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3.Watchloadsofballet:differentpathsofhealing

Participantsarekeentostressthatayahuascawasnecessarybutnotsufficientforthe

changestheymade.P1begins:

therearejustdifferentpaths(P1,Paragraph38)

P2muses:

youmightwatchloadsofballet;youmightgorunningonthebeach.

Anythingthathelpsyoubecomeconsciousofyourself.(P2,Paragraph184)

ForP3ayahuascaoffersadvantagesoverthemanyotherpathsofhealing.UnlikeP3,P4

thinkspsychotherapyandpsychedelicsgowelltogether:

[Idid]cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.Ididthatalongsidemicrodosing

mushrooms.(P4,Paragraph149)

P4didnotrevealthistothepsychotherapistatthetime.

P1thinksnon-ayahuascahealingismoreimportant,P2creditsayahuascaasaunique

componenttohealing,P3dismissespsychotherapyandP4thinksa50/50mixofayahuasca

withotherpathsofhealingworksbest.


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4.Getsyouoffyourhead:adrug?

Participantsoftencommentonthe'drugginess'orotherwiseofayahuasca.

P1struggleswithayahuascabeingadruggivenhisviewthatdrugsareharmful.

P2struggledwithlife-threateningdrugaddictionsfordecades.Theideaofayahuascaasa

drugstoppedP2tryingitforyears:

whenIsatdownwiththelady,shesaid‘Look,it'samedicine.Wecallit

medicineforareason’.AndthatdayIwaslike‘Rarraritdoesn't,getsyou

offyourhead,it'sadrugrarrar.’(P2,Paragraph54)

P4asP2preferstheterm‘medicine’to‘drug’,differentiatingitfrommanufactured

substancesandexplainingthatayahuascaismoreoftendifficultthanfun:

Ayahuascaisamedicine.It'ssomethingthatweusetohealourselves.It's

notsomethingthatpeoplecanusetogethighbecauseittastesso

horrible.(P4,Paragraph25)


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5.Iendedupinmyfather'spsyche:perspective

Iconsiderperspectiveayahuasca’smechanismofactionforhealing.P3leadswithher

startlingrevelation:

Iendedupinmyfather'spsychewhenhewasfive…basicallyhismother

disappeared…buttheydidn'ttellhimwhathadhappened(P3,Paragraph

341)

P3couldnotmakepeacewithherfatherviatherapyorre-birthing,butthisayahuasca

experiencehelped.

P1notes:

it'sjustmovingbeyondyourrange,andifyoucanget360…adifferent

vista.(P1,Paragraph297)

P2talksofrealisingasenseofsmallnessthathelpshimrecognisethathislifeismore

manageablethanhethought.P2andP3speakaboutayahuascaofferinginsightsabouttheir

fathersfromtakinguptheirperspective.P3characterisesayahuascaasaconsciousplant.

ForP4,ayahuascaisa(female)bestfriendwhoisn’tafraidtotellyouthetruth.Perhapsthe

perfecttherapist.


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DiscussionMyfirsttheme,thatinsightsfromayahuascaceremonieshelppeoplemakeimprovements

intheirlives,alignswiththeexistingliteratureandpopularnarratives(ICEERS,2017;Luke,

2015;Miller,2017;Tupper,2009;Tuffour,2017;Frecska,BokorandWinkelman,2016).P2’s

ideathatayahuascahelpedhislongstandingdrugaddictionfindssupportin(Liesterand

Prickett,2012),amongstothers.

Participantsofteninterpretayahuascaasadistinct,separateconsciousness,relevantto

(Dev,2018;Luke,2011).P4toldmethatayahuascawroteamanifestoofitsown,

channelledviaahuman(Ayahuascamanifesto,2011).

Myparticipantsdescribeddifficultceremoniesas‘terrifying’(P2),‘dark’(P3),and‘weird’

(P4).TheirandmyresponseconcurswithICEERSthata‘badtrip’ispoorlynamedandcan

havedistinctpsychotherapeuticoutcomes(MultidisciplinaryAssociationforPsychedelic

Studies,2017,p.42).

Still,psychedelicterrorisnotsomethingmanywishforevenif,forsome,itisworthit.

ICEERS(2017)supportproperscreeningandpreparationasdoothers,e.g.Lewis(2008,

abstract)andIconcur.

Regarding‘threeguyswithfeathers’,the‘urbanshamanism’ofmodernayahuasca

ceremoniesisacuriousculturalcombination(LabateandCavnar,2014;James,2015;Pollan,

2018;Tafur,2017).Thereisamomentwhenculturalexchangebecomescultural

appropriation(LabateandCavnar,2018a,title).Trichterprovidesanaccuratesummaryof

‘thebenefitsandrisksofaspreadingtradition’(Trichter,2010,p.131).Westernersneedto

bealerttodomineeringorcolonisingaspectsoftheirculture.ThisiswhatIthinkNietzsche

(2013)meansbyovercomingourselves.


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Oneimportantcomponentof‘watchloadsofballet’concernstheneedforintegrationpost-

ceremony.Itisdifficulttotransportinsightsacrosstheboundarybetweenayahuascaand

non-ayahuascaaswithtryingtorecalldreamsonceawake.Ittakesdetermination,skilland

effort.ItiswiththisintegrationIbelievepsychotherapistscanhelp.

Ayahuascaaimstoreachcertainstatesofmind,bodyandsoul.Thereareotherroutesto

somewhatsimilarstates.Grof(2000,p.189)usedbreathingtechniquesandJung(2009,p.

9)activeimagination.Therapistswithsuchexperiencearerelevanttothistopicdespitenot

usingthespecificvehicleofpsychedelics.Perhapstherearedifferentwaysupthemountain

fromwheretheviewissimilar.Ayahuasca-specificexperienceandknowledgeremains

important.

Relevancetoandimplicationsforpractice

Psychedelicmeansmind-manifesting(OxfordDictionaries,2017)andGrof(2016,p.45)

considerspsychedelicstobediagnosticinstrumentslikethemicroscopeformedicineorthe

telescopeforastronomy.

Icarriedoutthisresearchasapractisingpsychotherapistand,‘thebesttherapistisalways

awareofthetranspersonal,thoughnotnecessarilypractisinginthatmodemuchofthe

time’(Rowan,2016,p.69).

Relatedtothemefive,psychotherapyofteninvolvestheclientgaininggreateranddifferent

perspectives.Inmywork,Ihelpclientstoclarifygoodandbad,trueandfalse,realand

unreal,theirsandothers,importantandincidental(R.D.Laingcitedin,Heaton,2015,p.57).

Ithinkpsychotherapistswell-placedtoamplify,questionandworkwiththenew

perspectivesmadeavailablebyayahuascaexperiences.IntheUS,boththeMultidisciplinary


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AssociationforPsychedelicStudies(2018)andCIIS(2019)nowofferpostgraduatetrainingin

psychedelictherapy.

MyreadingandinteractionswithparticipantsleadmetoagreewithCarhart-Harriswho

encouragesprofessionalstoattendtothecontextinwhichmedicationsaregivenwithan

expandedmodelofmentalhealthcarethatencompassesbothpharmacologyand

psychotherapy(Carhart-HarriscitedinO'Hare,2017).

Allparticipantsspokeofthehealingbenefitsofayahuasca,thebarriersofillegalityandthe

needforlong-termintegrationandsupport.Formany,friends,family,booksand

conferencesmayprovideenough.ForothersintheUK,Ibelievethatqualified

psychotherapistsarebetterplacedtoofferserious,committed,long-termsupportthan

shamans,scientists,doctors,psychiatrists,nursesorundergroundtherapists.

PsychotherapistscandothisbetteriftheUKmakespsychedelicslegal,atleastforclinical

purposes,somethingsupportedbytheevidence.

Limitations

BeyondthelimitationsimplicitinIPAidentifiedearlier,thisresearchisastudyofonlyfour

participantsconductedbyafirst-timeresearcher.Idonotimplythatalargerstudywould

necessarilybebetter,justdifferent.

IthinkthereisscopeforepistemologicalchallengesmoresignificantthanIofferhere.Dev

(2018)encouragesmetoaskhowthefindingswouldchangehadImadeoneofthefindings

central;thatayahuascacanbetreatedasaseparateconsciousness.Thesemore

transpersonalapproachestoresearchareenticing,butIfeelnotyetqualifiedtoconduct

this.Ihopethisstudypavestheway.


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Futureresearchanddevelopment

Iwouldliketoseemorequalitative,phenomenologicalandtalkingtherapy-focused

researchbecauseIthinkotherresearchoftenfailstoaddresswhatismostpertinentto

clients’needsforceremony-preparationandintegration.Thedifferencesandpotential

alliancesbetweenpsychotherapyandayahuascadeservefurtherinvestigation,buildingon

thequalitativeworkofSnider(2017)andRyan(2015).

Regarding‘getsyouoffyourhead’,ayahuasca-as-a-drugisthesinglebiggestobstacleto

morewidespreaduse.IwouldliketoreadaFoucauldianDiscourseAnalysisthatsituates

ayahuascawithinmainstreamdiscoursesaroundthewarondrugsandtheinternational

drugstrade.Thisobstacleissubtlerthanthemereproblemofillegality.Whatliesbehind

theillegalityofayahuascaistheconceptionofayahuascaasadangeroussubstance.Further

researchcouldhelptoclarifyandquestionthisconception,whichmaybringmorepeopleto

theconclusionsreachedbyP2,P3andP4.

Reflectionasaresearcher

Beforeconductingthisstudy,Iknewlittleofqualitativeresearchandno-oneresearching

psychedelics.Now,Iengagedailywithaninternationalcommunityofleadingayahuasca

researchers,whichisthemostdiversesocialgatheringIhaveeverencountered.

Duringthisresearch,Igavemyfirsttalkatapsychotherapyconferenceonayahuascaand

wrotemyfirstpaper(awaitingpublication)formyaccreditingpsychotherapycollege.Ihave

completedmyfirstqualitativestudyandimmersedmyselfincontemporarydiscourseson

research.Somewhereamongstthis,ayahuascaresearchhas,alongsidemyclientwork,

becomeanimportantpartofmylife.Ilookforward,beyondtheconclusion,tothenext

chapter.


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ConclusionHavingaccompaniedmeonthistrip,letmenowreviewtheterritoriesvisited.Aftermy

introduction,literaturereviewandmethodology,inmyfindings,Ipresentthefivethemes

underwhichIgroupparticipants’interviewresponses.

Mydiscussiontakesupthemainthemesfromthefindingsandsetsthemwithinthebroader

contextofexistingliterature.Iestablishthelimitationsofthisstudy,suggestimplicationsfor

psychotherapeuticpracticeandareasforfurtherresearch.Ibelievethefindingsand

researchworthwhiletothosefromarangeofdisciplinesbeyondpsychotherapy.Ireflecton

myselfasaresearchertoacknowledgeaprofoundchangeinmeduetoconductingthis

research.

Itwasmyhonourtohearwhatmyparticipantshadtosayoftheirayahuascaexperiences,

andIwashumbledtoreceivetheirtime,energyandcare.ThesenseImadeofthoseinthe

UKtellingmeoftheirayahuascaexperiencesisthatayahuascainsightsoftenleadto

substantiallifeimprovementsviathemechanismofdifferentperspectiveswhenusedas

oneofmanydifferentpathsofhealingwithinadynamicinterculturalexchange.

Psychotherapistsareonlyjustbeginningtoexplorethisvaluableareaand,followingmy

career-switchinspired,inpart,byayahuasca,Iamjuststartingout.Ibelievethisresearchto

beonthecuttingedge,bringingperspectivesfromexistentialphilosophythatchallenge

existingdiscoursesinaproductiveway.Ihopetotakemyresearchforward.


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