An interesting recent study has looked into the positive effects of traditional music being played during ayahuasca healing ceremonies.
All patients in the study reported that icaros (traditional Peruvian songs) changed their psycho-emotional state and had a healing effect, referred to as “unblocking,” “cleansing,” or “removing”.
Several patients also said they felt safer in the presence of the songs as they were guided through recollections of otherwise troubling past experiences and emotional trauma.
The use of music in recent clinical studies on psychedelics has been insufficiently focused on and the perspectives of traditional healers using these substances should be amplified, according to the researchers.
Healing music
The Takiwasi Center in Perú uses ayahuasca (a traditional Amazonian plant medicine), psychotherapy, and icaros (traditional Peruvian songs) in ayahuasca healing ceremonies to treat men with drug and alcohol addictions.
For the first time, the positive impact of icaros on recovery has been studied by a researcher from the University of California, Riverside, with results published in the journal Anthropology of Consciousness.
All patients at the Takiwasi Center reported that icaros changed their psycho-emotional state and had a healing effect, referred to as “unblocking,” “cleansing,” or “removing”.
It is thought that the combination of monitored psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and icaros helps shift focus away from drugs while addressing social and spiritual issues as well as physical ailments.
“We found that icaros were therapeutically significant,” the authors write in their new paper, stating that the traditional songs “elicited experiences of healing by modulating patients’ emotions” while under the mind-altering influence of ayahuasca.
Several patients said they felt safer in the presence of the songs as they were guided through recollections of otherwise troubling past experiences and emotional trauma.
Effective
The use of music in recent clinical studies on psychedelics has been insufficiently focused on and the perspectives of traditional healers using these substances should be amplified, according to the researchers.
Lead researcher Owain J. Graham said the importance of music in psychedelic-assisted therapy needs further research so that music can be more effectively integrated in healing treatment options for patients suffering from addictions and other illnesses.
Previous research shows that 67% of Takiwasi Center participants who completed a 9-12 month program did not return to substance abuse, and 86% showed statistically significant improvements on an assessment tool for substance abuse treatment.
The Takiwasi Center only treats men and requires complete focus, including sexual abstinence, during treatment, though women are allowed to participate in healing ceremonies.
Read more: What Is Ayahuasca And Is It Legal In The UK?
Read more: How To Access Ketamine-Assisted Therapy In The UK
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