Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Anxiety

by Rachel Harris

Used for thousands of years by indigenous tribes of the Amazon rain forest, the mystical brew ayahuasca is now becoming increasingly popular in the West. Psychologist Rachel Harris here shares her own healing experiences and draws on her original research (the largest study of ayahuasca use in North America) into the powerful medicine’s effects on depression, addiction, PTSD, and anxiety. In this wide-ranging and personal exploration, Harris details ayahuasca’s risks and benefits, helping readers clarify their intentions and giving psychotherapists a template for transformative care and healing.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Plants

376 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2017

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Patricia L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have not drunk the tea I feel I have because of this book.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Harris has written a well balanced, well researched (both empirically and subjectively) book about Ayahuasca and the experience of drinking it. I do find it rather amusing that a person as intelligent and open as Dr. Harris is seems to have so much difficulty reconciling her views as a scientific materialist (my term) with her spiritual experience. Everyone has a different journey, though and, I suppose, that for as long as we exist people will debate whether spirituality is more than just chemicals firing in our brains. Personally, I feel (and think) that there is more to the universe than we can possibly know and many things that seem incompatible in the universe exist in it together anyway. Go figure.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Anxiety, was enlightening, but disturbing. The book provides a history of this substance, ayahuasca, a brew that originated in Peru, made from a vine that’s typically concocted by Shamanic leaders. Traditionally it’s been used in spiritual ceremonies to be consumed as a tea within indigenous populations throughout South America. It’s use is known to go beyond the spiritual to address a range of issues such as improving luck, curing health problems, finding love, communicating with spirits, and cultivating the meaning of life. It’s known for its hallucinogenic properties.

Ayahuasca has made it’s way to the West, partly due to an article that appeared in National Geographic in 2006. The article described it’s usefulnesses for treating PTSD, addiction, depression and childhood trauma. It’s popularity soared, with ‘retreats’ popping up in South America designed to attract Western visitors. There are also a handful of churches in the US that use the brew in ceremonies; are legally allowed to (technically it is an illegal substance) having attained protection under the guise of religious practices.

Author Rachel Harris, a therapist who has consumed the brew several times in 'ceremonies', describes in her book: the history of ayahuasca, her ayahuasca ceremonial experiences, and the results of an unscientific study she conducted with ayahuasca users. I don’t use the word users lightly—that’s how it appears after reading the book. Most people do not have one experience with the brew, but several. Furthermore, experiences are described by the author herself, as ‘trips’. She describes a bad trip in chapter six, The Shadow Side, a ceremony in Costa Rica that left her paranoid and physically unwell for several weeks.

“When I returned from the retreat center in Costa Rica after my good bad trip, I continued to feel dissociated with my body and low energy. I went to my acupuncturist, and luckily he knew about ayahuasca, so I didn’t have to explain about the ceremonies…The good news was that he knew how to “fix that.” He put needles in three points: below my navel, my heart center, and at the crown of my head. He repeated this treatment twice a week for a few weeks, and it did help. I felt that my energy field was better aligned with my physical body...But I still wasn’t quite right in a way that I couldn’t understand” (p 166).

Reading of this sounds horrible, not only the bad trip but the experience of acupuncture afterwards that still didn’t appear to provide relief. There are more disturbing scenarios in the chapter, like the way Shamanic leaders have been known to take advantage of women including rape and have exploited their power with both sexes. Though Harris, does mention how one Western organization, The International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Services, is attempting to address these reported incidents with a set of written guidelines in an effort to ensure “no harmful interactions take place”, I don’t feel reassured (p 169). It seems ironic too that there is a risk for people seeking relief from trauma of having a potentially traumatic experience from a ceremony. It’s like trauma on top of trauma. Counterintuitive.

Also disturbing is how numerous people Harris interviews report having more than one experience—some report several. Even though Harris describes the substance as non-addictive, these are repeat users. One section of the book in discussing the effectiveness of ayahuasca for depression did mention that it’s reported to provide relief, yet its positive effects were not always sustained. “What’s the answer?” Harris asks. More ceremonies with ayahuasca she writes, which is what the churches allowed to administer ayahuasca in the United States do. These churches offer ceremonies twice per month to administer ayahuasca for this purpose (p 224). This doesn’t seem to be a solution.

In fairness, the book was helpful in providing insight into this practice that provides potential methods to treat childhood trauma as well as addiction, depression and PTSD. It opens up the idea too for conducting more rigorous research and study into the use and benefits of ayahuasca. The book is also helpful in a cautionary way; based on what Harris describes many of the practices and ceremonies around ayahuasca appear irresponsible and ad hoc. It appears at these early stages, traditional ayahuasca ceremonies have been adapted and exploited to fit into Western values and conditions. Though concerning, learning more about alternative practices and approaches like the ones described in Listening to Ayahuasca is worthwhile. However, I won’t be attending an ayahuasca ceremony anytime soon.

[Glenn Goossens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the perspective Rachel Harris brought as a therapist with a background in scientific research. Her experience with the human potential movement at Esalen shines through in that she is willing to hold the seemingly contradicting world views of the scientific and shamanic world without discerning one or the other. Harris uses a lot of quotes from people she interviewed which makes it hard to read. It’s something that’s often done in ethnological research but here it feels overused. I would’ve loved if she expressed things more in her own words or used those people to craft stories. She sometimes goes on tangents so I also feel the book could’ve been more concise.

[Blz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, I can only recommend!

[Tristy at New World Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endorsements:
“Finally, finally, finally — an ayahuasca book I can recommend without reservation.” — James Fadiman, PhD, author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys

“An excellent book on the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca; clearly written and well researched, it is an important addition to the literature on the subject.” — Jeremy Narby, PhD, author of The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge

“Rachel Harris brings. . . the perspective of an astute observer, the rigor of a scientist, the compassion of a therapist, and the insight that only a participant can offer. Anyone contemplating an ayahuasca experience, or who counsels such a person, would be well advised to first consult this profound and important book.” — Philip Goldberg, author of American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

“Rachel Harris has produced a uniquely brave study of ayahuasca use and users, through the experiences of others and, most significantly, her own explorations.” — Diana Slattery, PhD, author of Xenolinguistics: Psychedelics, Language, and the Evolution of Consciousness

“At once accessible and well informed, this work represents a much-needed guidepost for health professionals who may encounter ayahuasca users in their practice, as well as for spiritual seekers with an interest in entheogens.”
— Albert Garcia-Romeu, PhD, Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book that, once the real hard research on ayahuasca has been done, authors will credit with catching their interest. Its merits are manifold, but it is also replete with soft-headedly credulous talk about "chakras" and "energy fields" and past-life regressions. Good heavens. While I was expecting this book to be a full-throated endorsement of ayahuasca as some kind of mystical panacea, I am pleased to have been wrong on that account. Harris' watchword in this respect is circumspection, and much credit is due her for the book's finely nuanced depiction of the how and why of ayahuasca's use. The therapeutic potential of ayahuasca is immense; one hopes that the day of its widespread safe use will be here sooner rather than later.

[Fanny F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is obviously a book about about Ayahuasca, and a great one. For a person that have already experienced the plants magical qualities (in the correct way) this book might not give that much more information.. Though, I will most defintely handle it over to my Very sceptical (*chatolic, anti-drug, finance) husband and hopefully it will convince him that this is not a drug but a medicin, if used in the correct way. This book also make it clear that we all are suffering to some extent and that there are ways to let go of that tight leash that we have put on ourselves. Great research by Harris.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to hear about a divine shamanism practice from a Very white woman, this book is for you. Otherwise, if you're interested in learning about ayahuasca from the people who can truly teach you, please avoid this book. This book is as White America as you can get when it comes to madrecita

[Derek Frasure · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does the tough work of threading together western therapeutic perspectives (ranging from psychopharmacology to Jungian psychoanalysis) with shamanic, mystical healing traditions. Harris is up front about the metaphysical crisis ayahuasca has precipitated in her life and the likely tension it will bring for rationalist westerners. I found her honesty and the data she's collected worthwhile, and I only found myself wishing there was more here (but she can't help the fact that little medical research has been done). A revised edition of this book in a decade when more research is in will be worthy of a five-star review.

[Irini Kallides · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aya means souls or spirits of dead people. Huasca means vine. Ayahuasca seems to open the door between worlds so access to those who have passed over becomes available. After ayahuasca ceremonies people frequently report life-changing conversations with loved ones who have died. The words are of psychologist Rachel Harris. Makes me really curious!

[Xolisa Mapatwana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author balanced personal storytelling with thorough research, keeping my otherwise short attention span engaged! She approached Ayahuasca—a hyped-up Western phenomenon—with scientific curiosity and respect for its traditional roots. While I didn’t mind it, her reliance on personal stories might not satisfy people seeking greater scientific depth.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational, but I didn't like the author's voice - that's a personal problem, of course. I found her slightly annoying, which made the reading experience less fun, but I mean her no insult nor harm.

[Evin Kubicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about other’s experiences on ayahuasca, but didn’t like the author’s need to say how she thought psychotherapy is necessary a million times - it is her profession so it felt kind of gross.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Goes through various peoples' experiences through journeying with Mother Ayahuasca. Absolutely beautiful book. I hope that we can use this medicine more for people who need it.

[Rob de Jeu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Building the case dor Ayahuasca as real healing method

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished my library loan and highlighted a lot. I'm going to buy the book so that I can hold the information closely.

[Bonnie Fournier · Rating 2 out of 5]

NOT WHAT I was looking for. More like Eat, Pray, Love. Much more information than I wanted at this point in time. So really it belongs in my never finished list

[Amanda Tague · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good parts, but a hard read the way it is written.

[Jacky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written and beautiful book that speaks so truthfully to the experience of ayahuasca as a westerner. Cannot recommend enough to anyone interested in journeying with this sacred medicine.