Overview
- Provides a systematic and dense reflection on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca
- Brings the therapeutic use of ayahuasca to a new level of public examination and academic debate
- Stimulates discussion on methodological, ethical, and political aspects of research and will enhance the development of this emergent field of studies
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About this book
This book offers a series of perspectives on the therapeutic potential of the ritual and clinical use of the Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca in the treatment and management of various disorders. This book presents biomedical and anthropological data on the use of ayahuasca and provides critiques on how it is used for treating depression, PTSD, anxiety, substance dependence, and eating disorders. The volume also explores ayahuasca’s role in the psychological well-being and quality of life of humans, and discusses possibilities of it enhancing cognition and coping with grief. The book examines ayahuasca’s association with psychotherapy and also highlights the challenges of integrating plant medicines into psychiatry. Further, the book expands on some preliminary research with animals, suggesting that ayahuasca acts at multiple levels of neural complexity. The study on the neurogenic effects of ayahuasca alkaloids opens a new avenue of research with potential applications ranging from psychiatric disorders to brain damage and dementia. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals will find this book relevant to their work regarding substance abuse and alternative medicine.
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Keywords
Table of contents (13 chapters)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Clancy Cavnar has a doctorate in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. She currently works in private practice in San Francisco, and is Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is also a research associate of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). She combines an eclectic array of interests and activities as clinical psychologist, artist, and researcher. She has a master of fine arts in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, a master’s in counseling from San Francisco State University, and she completed the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is author and co-author of articles in several peer-reviewed journals and co-editor, withBeatriz Caiuby Labate, of eight books. For more information see: http://neip.info/pesquisadore/clancy-cavnar
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Ayahuasca Healing and Science
Editors: Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Clancy Cavnar
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55688-4
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55687-7Published: 16 April 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55690-7Published: 16 April 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55688-4Published: 15 April 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXV, 249
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations, 7 illustrations in colour
Topics: Neurosciences, Pharmacology/Toxicology