About this episode
In this episode Dr. Simon Ruffell joins to discuss the research on ayahuasca for PTSD. Dr. Ruffell is a psychiatrist, researcher, and student of curanderismo (Amazonian shamanism) working at the intersection of Western psychiatry, traditional plant medicine, and Indigenous knowledge systems. He is Executive Director of Onaya, Lecturer in Psychology and Psychedelics at the University of Exeter, and Chief Medical Officer of MINDS, with a focus on integrative and relational approaches to healing and consciousness. In this conversation, Dr. Ruffell explores the emerging research on ayahuasca as a treatment for PTSD, drawing on both Western scientific models and Indigenous Shipibo knowledge systems. He outlines how ayahuasca may work through mechanisms such as increased neuroplasticity, disruption of rigid predictive models, and potential epigenetic shifts related to stress and trauma, while emphasizing that these biological explanations exist alongside Indigenous understandings of "cleaning ancestral lines." Sharing preliminary findings from his ongoing research with military veterans in collaboration with Heroic Hearts Project, Dr. Ruffell discusses significant reductions in PTSD symptoms at six-month follow-up, the powerful role of community and ceremony, and the ethical complexities of studying sacred practices through Western scientific tools. He closes with a moving story of a veteran whose healing journey illustrates both the promise and the limits of psychedelic medicine when embedded in relational and cultural context. In this episode, you'll hear: Western scientific theories for how ayahuasca may alleviate PTSD How trauma-related epigenetic changes may be transmitted across generations Preliminary results from Dr. Ruffell's study of ayahuasca for veterans diagnosed with PTSD The role of community bonding and peer support among veterans in maintaining therapeutic gains Why ayahuasca research in the Amazon includes a broader plant-based healing system—not just the brew itself How Indigenous healers interpret epigenetic findings as confirmation of longstanding ancestral frameworks The ethical considerations of bringing Western measurement tools (like EEG) into sacred ceremonial contexts Quotes: "This is what I find most interesting about our research—that it is cutting edge science but at the same time, when we conduct it with indigenous healers, we get a whole new perspective on what could be happening when it comes to interpreting the results and also making decisions of what to research as well." [14:09] "According to measures of PTSD on the scales that we're looking at, over 80% of the participants that were scoring for PTSD before their ayahuasca retreats and no longer scoring for PTS
