Who seeks ayahuasca and why? Participant profiles and engagement patterns in a community-based practice (2014–2026)
About the study
Community-based ayahuasca use has spread across Europe, accompanied by recurring public concern about intensive or escalating involvement. Yet little is known about who takes part, what brings them, and how long they stay. Francisco Castellanos-Fernández (La Maloka, ICEERS, and the Sociedad Española de Medicina Psicodélica) and Francina Sole-Mauri (University of Lleida) address that question using three administrative sources from La Maloka, a non-profit, non-religious association that has held ayahuasca ceremonies near Barcelona since 2014: registration records for 1,134 members (2014–2025), 359 health intake forms (2025), and ceremony attendance logs covering 309 people (2023–2026).
The resulting profile is one of middle-aged adults (mean age 46.7) with high life satisfaction (7.4 out of 10) and a low prevalence of current psychological disorder (10.3%), although 63.8% had previously been in psychological therapy. Personal growth was the dominant motivation (72.5%), well ahead of symptom relief, and 80.5% had prior experience with psychedelics. Participation was typically occasional: 54% attended a single ceremony, the median time participants kept attending was 0.7 years, and the data show no sign of escalation.
Cluster analysis identified four participant profiles. The two largest, which together account for 83% of the sample, comprise psychologically stable people; only about 9% showed characteristics consistent with clinical populations. The authors therefore propose differentiated community protocols — standard support for most participants and enhanced pathways for those presenting clinical complexity — and note that the records any organized community already keeps can describe who participates and track engagement over time. The study documents who arrives at these settings and how long they stay; it does not evaluate the effects of ayahuasca or record adverse events, and its findings come from a single site.
Abstract
Community-based ayahuasca use has spread across Europe, yet the literature barely documents who participates, with what motivations, and for how long. This retrospective study analyzes three administrative datasets from La Maloka, a non-religious community practice operating near Barcelona since 2014: registration records (N = 1,134; 2014–2025), health intake forms (N = 359; 2025), and ceremony attendance logs (N = 309; 2023–2026). The authors combined descriptive statistics, survival analysis of how long participants kept attending, and cluster analysis to identify subgroups. Participants were mostly middle-aged adults (mean age 46.7; 55.3% men) with high life satisfaction (mean 7.4 out of 10) and a low prevalence of current psychological disorder (10.3%); nevertheless, 63.8% had previously received psychological therapy. Personal growth was the main motivation (72.5%), and non-clinical motivations accounted for 83.5%; clinical motivations included addiction (6.6%), depression (6.2%), trauma (1.8%), and grief (1.8%). Prior experience with psychedelics was reported by 80.5%. Participation was typically occasional: 54% attended a single ceremony, only 2.6% attended ten or more, and the median time to disengagement was 0.7 years (1.1 years among those who attended two or more ceremonies), with no sign of escalation. In an exploratory model, older age emerged as the only significant predictor of longer engagement. Cluster analysis distinguished four typologies: therapy-experienced well-being seekers (49%), healthy explorers (34%), participants with higher clinical need (9%), and older participants with physical health concerns (8%); no difference in engagement duration was detected among them. The authors highlight several limitations: the study covers a single site, health and motivation data were self-reported and come mainly from members who were active in 2025, attendance records span only 38 months, and the design does not allow causal inference. Taken together, the findings support differentiated rather than uniform community protocols and show that routinely kept administrative records offer a practical monitoring approach for other community groups. Castellanos-Fernández declares his membership of La Maloka and his affiliation with ICEERS; according to the article, neither organization had any role in the study design, analysis, interpretation, or the decision to publish.
Photo by Apollo on Flickr.