Integrative Mental Health University

For Health Care Providers and Seekers

Are you in the know about the best way to take advantage of this potent brew that can expand consciousness and be a healing force?

Location: You watch a pre-recorded 80 minute webinar online and a 70 minute Q&A discussion with Susana Bustos, PhD.  

Time:  Watch online when convenient.

Your Take Home:  You will be able to better

• Understand the positive potential of Ayahuasca
• Understand the kinds of risks involved with taking Ayahuasca
• Increase discernment about whether Ayahuasca is a good choice for you
• Get a list of things to look for in choosing the right set and setting
• Articulate your intention for using Ayahuasca
• Fully comprehend the value of right preparation
• Learn about the emotional material that may surface when taking Ayahuasca
• Get resources for help with integration for you, your loved one or clients
• Identify “red flags” that you or a loved one might need support in integration
•   Articles and additional resources will nurture further exploration.

What is Ayahuasca?

An increasing number of people around the world are seeking healing, inner growth, and direct spiritual experience through Ayahuasca, brewed from specific plants from the Amazon basin that induce visionary experiences. Ayahuasca has been used by traditional shamanic cultures in the Amazon for hundreds of years. It is now being scientifically studied in countries including USA, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador for its potential positive effects on recovery from addiction, chronic depression, anxiety, and other psycho-emotional problems.

Ideally, Ayahuasca intake follows strict rules for preparation, is taken under the supervision of a qualified guide, in a legal context, and with a peer support system in place. This supports a beneficial integration of the experience.

Riding this enthusiasm, a combination of factors (e.g. films, radio, youtube and TV interviews, and social media) have popularized Ayahuasca as a “magic bullet.” This has led people to take Ayahuasca under risky circumstances resulting in increasing numbers of cases of psychotic breakdowns, depression, and profound inner struggles. 

Susana Bustos, PhD, Instructor

Susana has over fifteen years of experience in Peru and the USA facilitating the proper preparation, usage, and integration of the extreme states of consciousness Ayahuasca can lead people into.  She previously taught  at the California Institute of Integral Studies preparing guides/ sitters.  She is now a trainer of facilitators at UC Berkeley's NEW Center for the Study of Psychedelics.

Susana  was trained in her home country Chile, as a Clinical Psychologist and Music Therapist. She maintains a private practice as an Integrative Counselor and Spiritual Emergence Coach®.    She also offers workshops, lectures internationally, and leads groups into the Amazonian rainforest. Susana was the past-Director of the Spiritual Emergence Network in the USA.

Susana’s long-term passion for indigenous cultures and their relationship to the natural world, along with her interest in the therapeutic potentials of non-ordinary states of consciousness, led her to the Peruvian Amazon in 1999. Since then, she has been studying Vegetalismo and other indigenous shamanic practices from the Americas. She has (also) periodically worked as a researcher, therapist, and clinical supervisor at Takiwasi, a renowned center for the treatment of drug addiction, which integrates indigenous and Western medicine.

Emma Bragdon, PhD. is the Executive Director of Integrative Mental Health University. She facilitates IMHU’s Courses for Spiritual Emergence Coach® Certification. This involves 5 online webinars on “How to Effectively Support Someone in Spiritual Emergency” as well as a LIVE Practicum on location.  Emma introduces Susana Bustos, PhD. in the above vid.