Is childhood trauma linked to challenging ayahuasca experiences? New study has surprising answer

Recent research published in the journal Drug Science, Policy and Law challenges the common belief that childhood trauma affects the experience of ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic. Surprisingly, the study finds no connection between prior childhood trauma and the intensity of challenges faced when under the influence of ayahuasca. Additionally, these challenging experiences do not appear to be linked to psychological growth following the experience, suggesting that the benefits of such challenges are not guaranteed for everyone.

Ayahuasca is a traditional South American brew used both in spiritual ceremonies and for medicinal purposes by indigenous and mestizo populations in the Amazon basin. This concoction is primarily made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis shrub, the latter of which contains N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful psychedelic substance.

When ingested, ayahuasca induces altered states of consciousness, including vivid visions and introspective experiences that can last several hours. Traditionally, these experiences are guided by experienced shamans and are often sought for healing and spiritual growth.

The surge in popularity of ayahuasca beyond its traditional geographic and cultural boundaries, especially among Westerners, has sparked a keen interest in its potential therapeutic benefits. Many users report pursuing ayahuasca to alleviate mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, alongside these potential benefits, ayahuasca can also induce challenging experiences, characterized by intense emotional and physical discomfort. Given the profound and sometimes difficult nature of these experiences, it is critical to understand the factors that might influence their onset and intensity, as well as their therapeutic efficacy.

“My interest in this topic comes from my curiosity about the interaction between traditional healing practices and modern mental health treatments and from my interest in trauma. Ayahuasca, a brew with potent psychedelic properties, has been used for a long time in indigenous ceremonies and has been investigated by Western researchers for a few decades,” said study author Ksenia Cassidy, the co-founder and manager of the Psychedelic Humanities Lab at the New School for Social Research.

“It seems that many Westerners seeking ayahuasca experiences do so with the goal of improving their mental health, especially regarding potentially treatment-resistant conditions such as depression, problematic substance use, and PTSD. For the purposes of this study, we were interested in whether childhood trauma is associated with acute challenging experiences during ayahuasca use, and whether those acute challenging experiences might be associated with psychological growth and other benefits afterward.”

The researchers recruited a final sample of 160 participants through various digital platforms, including social media sites like Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as websites focused on psychedelic research and community networks. The recruitment materials described the study in general terms, seeking to understand the types of experiences people have with ayahuasca and to better grasp its effects. Interested individuals were required to be at least 18 years old and to have had at least one noticeable experience with ayahuasca to participate in the study.

Once consent was obtained, participants completed a demographics questionnaire. This questionnaire collected data on age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, highest level of education, current annual income, psychiatric diagnoses, psychiatric medication use, and history of psychotherapy. Additionally, the survey asked about lifetime substance use and the number of ayahuasca experiences.

Following the demographic questionnaire, participants were asked to complete the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale, which is designed to measure exposure to trauma before the age of 17. This tool covers various traumatic events and asks participants to rate the impact of these events and how much they confided in others at the time of the trauma.

The Challenging Experiences Questionnaire was then used to evaluate the level of challenge participants perceived during or after their ayahuasca experiences. This questionnaire includes items that assess emotional and physical distress and other phenomena related to challenging experiences, with responses ranging from none to extreme.

Finally, the Ayahuasca-Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory was adapted from the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory to assess the perceived benefits of the ayahuasca experiences, focusing on growth and change reported by the participants.

The results revealed that a history of childhood trauma was not associated with an increase in challenging experiences during ayahuasca sessions. This suggests that the intensity and nature of ayahuasca-induced challenges do not necessarily depend on one’s trauma history.

“Contrary to what we expected, childhood trauma was not associated with acute challenges during ayahuasca effects,” Cassidy told PsyPost. “Many people might believe having childhood trauma could cause you to have more challenging experiences when using a psychedelic, and these results suggest that might not be the case.”

“It was surprising to find that the expected correlation between the extent of previous trauma and the intensity of challenges faced during the acute effects of ayahuasca did not hold up. Existing literature had hinted at such a correlation, making our findings against this trend particularly notable.”

In addition, experiencing challenges during ayahuasca sessions was not significantly correlated with any long-term psychological benefits. This suggests that the difficulties encountered during these sessions do not inherently result in personal development or improvement in psychological well-being, which contrasts with some anecdotal claims and previous smaller-scale studies suggesting that overcoming psychedelic-induced challenges could foster significant personal insights and growth.

“We also found that challenging experiences during ayahuasca effects weren’t associated with psychological growth afterwards, suggesting that going through a challenging experience doesn’t necessarily lead to gaining benefits from it,” Cassidy explained. “Just as individuals react differently to trauma, and in our case, to a challenging ayahuasca journey, a positive or beneficial outcome of a psychological challenge is not guaranteed.”

But the study’s reliance on self-reported data poses limitations, including potential biases in memory recall and the accuracy of self-assessment. Furthermore, the study did not examine the long-term risks and outcomes of ayahuasca use, nor did it assess the role of therapeutic integration following the psychedelic experience. Future research could benefit from a more diverse sample and a deeper exploration into the different types of trauma and their specific impacts on the psychedelic experience.

“We know integration and community support modulate the benefits people can gain from psychedelic experiences, but we did not assess those in this study, meaning we could not look at whether people who engaged in more community-based integration practices might have seen more growth after challenging ayahuasca experiences; looking at these relationships is an important potential direction for future research,” Cassidy explained.

“These areas are still under-researched and could be key to understanding how to maximize the benefits of ayahuasca use, especially for trauma-exposed populations. There is a chance of potential adverse outcomes such as re-traumatization if traumatic material comes up during psychedelic experiences in absence of appropriate support during and after the event. This emphasizes the role of preparation and integration, in addition to appropriate setting, in psychedelic use.”

Regarding the long-term goals for this line of research, Cassidy said she plans “to delve deeper into how different factors such as the nature of one’s attachment style, the nuances of integrating the psychedelic experience, the specific types and contexts of traumatic events including the age at which they occurred, influence the outcomes of psychedelic use. This could contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how to harness psychedelics’ therapeutic potential safely and effectively.”

This is an opinion and not a study outcome, but while ayahuasca and other psychedelics offer promising avenues for healing and growth, this promise may be conveniently overhyped by those looking to capitalize on offering psychedelic services of various kinds,” the researcher added. “The use of psychedelics comes with complexities and potential risks; this highlights the necessity for thorough preparation, careful facilitation (if choosing a facilitated setting), and informed integration to support oneself or other individuals through their experiences, as well as the need for constant self-education and – improvement. Pushy advertisements by for-profit companies with exclusively monetary goals in mind can and have harmed people.”

The study, “Childhood trauma, challenging experiences, and posttraumatic growth in ayahuasca use,” was authored by Ksenia Cassidy, C.J. Healy, Eva Henje, and Wendy D’Andrea.