Course: Ayahuasca Healing, Science and Indigenous Knowledge 2026

April 1st – July 8th 2024, 10:30am-12pm PST/1:30pm-3pm EST

This course will be taught by leading experts in the field of ayahuasca research and renowned Indigenous leaders. The goal of the course is to address the current challenges and new perspectives on the use of ayahuasca in a global context, not only from an academic standpoint but also drawing from Indigenous voices and their experience with ayahuasca. Students will be introduced to current issues on the internationalization of ayahuasca and its impacts. The course will address Amazonian traditional healing modalities; ayahuasca and Western psychotherapy, the commodification of ayahuasca;​​therapeutic and clinical research; conservation, environmental legislation and the legal framework of ayahuasca worldwide. This course will also be dedicated to honor the voices and experiences of Brazilian Indigenous leaders, addressing issues that are most dear to Indigenous communities that consecrate ayahuasca. Our Indigenous professors will explore the dilemmas posed by western civilization, such as exploitative extractivism, cultural appropriation, and the discredit of ancestral knowledge. They will also talk about ayahuasca shamanism and its role for the political, spiritual and cultural resistance of Indigenous Peoples. This innovative course will bridge the gap between academic and traditional knowledge, connecting the ceremonial use of sacred plants and psychedelic science. Following Chacruna’s tradition, this course will unite a community of kindred people to get together and exchange notes around the most complete and up-to-date debates on ayahuasca and its challenges in current times.

We ask that students register for this course on Eventbrite using an email associated with their Youtube Account. We will need this email to share the video lectures during this course.

Price $950

Price $480 for CE credits
CE Credits Offered: 24 total

Scholarship Application
You can read more about the course, professors, and class details here!

Student Learning Objectives

At the end of the program, participants will be better able to…

• Critique some of the assumptions, narratives, orientations and stories commonly underlying plant medicine scenes as they intersect with healing culture
• Analyze common commercial/popular discourses on ayahuasca. Where do the different elements originate from and what are their theoretical and ideological sources?
• Discuss the impacts and dilemmas of psychedelic capitalism and the commodification of ayahuasca on traditional practices and local communities in the Global South

• Analyze critically the international expansion of ayahuasca and the relationships established between interest groups and stakeholders within this field
• Demonstrate an understanding of the shortcomings of both observational and controlled-laboratory research into ayahuasca

• Discuss the future of ayahuasca, both in terms of research and therapeutic application, and consider the ethical issues associated with these
• Analyze different regulation processes of the religious use of ayahuasca and its controversies.
• Compare the regulation of ayahuasca in Brazil and the United States
• Explain possible ways in which plant teachers may contribute to a psychotherapy process
• Create ways to respectfully integrate different ritual contexts of plant medicines to a psychotherapy process
• Compare Western and Indigenous perspectives on the environment and the importance of preserving Amazonian forests and territories
• Demonstrate the relationship between territory, sacred plants, health, and shamanism among Indigenous peoples
• Describe the basics of biology and ecology of ayahuasca vine
• Critically analyze conservation aspects of ayahuasca vine
• List plants used in the preparation of ayahuasca
• Explain the chemical properties of plants used in the preparation of ayahuasca
• Analyze the harmful impacts of colonization on the ritual practices of indigenous people who are guardians of sacred plants
• Discuss the importance of the cosmologies, philosophies and political struggles of indigenous peoples for the preservation of ayahuasca and other sacred plants and their associated knowledge
• Discuss some of the diverse ways that indigenous people have contributed to the history of psychedelics in different settings
• Critically analyze how Shamanic approaches are being incorporated into the psychedelic renaissance

Information on Continuing Education Credits for Health Professionals

• CE credits for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
• LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
• SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes.
• For questions about receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact alejandra@chacruna.net
• For questions about CE, contact Spiritual Competency Academy at info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.
  

CE Credit Requirements

• Student must be in attendance with their camera on for the entirety of the class session
• Student must be actively participating in the class session (asking questions, contributing to discussion, etc.)
• Student must fill out an evaluation and assessment form at the end of the course, which will be provided by Chacruna
• Collective CE credits will be awarded at the end of the course given that all of the above requirements are met

*please note that you must purchase a ticket for CE credits on Eventbrite in order to receive CE credits

*please note that if you miss a class, you will not be awarded any CE credits and you cannot be refunded for CE credits

*please note that the first and last class do not count towards CE credits

To view our recording policy and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit this page.
Refund Policy click here.

If you have general questions about this course, please contact Alejandra, who is Chacruna's Program Coordinator, at alejandra@chacruna.net