Gain advice for developing best practices for drinking and serving ayahuasca. Learn about the benefits, limitations and risks of treating ayahuasca as a medicine.


Taught by medical doctor and long-term ayahuasca drinker Dr. Brian Anderson, M.D., this course provides an empowering integration of medical and practical advice for drinking and serving ayahuasca.

In this short course, you’ll learn about:

  • The limitations and risks of medicalizing ayahuasca.
  • Differences between spirituality, shamanism and Western medicine.
  • Types of best practice for ayahuasca drinkers and communities.
  • The importance of community for the healing process.




"Presenting a depth of information in visually beautiful settings, the Kahpi ayahuasca courses instruct and delight."

Tom Roberts (PhD) Author of the book, The Psychedelic Future of The Mind.




Ayahuasca has become an increasingly popular type of alternative medicine for people in Western societies. But ayahuasca is no ordinary medicine. It requires a different way of thinking about medicine. Physician Brian Anderson has been drinking ayahuasca for ten years and has also spent time researching ayahuasca as an anthropologist. He brings a wealth of medical knowledge and practical wisdom about the benefits and risks of this non-ordinary spiritual medicine for individuals and communities.

Dr. Anderson also teaches us early psychiatric research into ayahuasca and how communities of ayahuasca drinkers in South America offer models for ayahuasca communities around the world. In this course, you'll learn about the potential risks and rewards of integrating ayahuasca with a Western medical model. You'll also gain advice on safety precautions and ways to prepare for and integrate ayahuasca experiences. 

Learn about the importance of community for the process of ayahuasca healing from an avid ayahuasca drinker and trained medical doctor.

Course curriculum

  • 01
    Introduction
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    • Introducing Dr. Anderson (2:24)
    • Introducing The Course (7:22)
  • 02
    The Untold Histories of Ayahuasca in Allopathic Medicine
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    • Early Psychiatric Writings on Ayahuasca (15:30)
    • Ayahuasca and Allopathy as complementary Medical Systems in Latin America: Brazil and Peru (7:34)
    • Ayahuasca and Allopathy as complementary Medical Systems in Latin America: Colombia (13:47)
    • The Significance of Personal Experience: Phenomenology and Biology (11:03)
    • Personal Experience and Public Debate (5:19)
    • The Significance of Personal Experience: Two Scientists (11:26)
  • 03
    Implications of Using Ayahuasca as “Medicine”
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    • Spirituality, Shamanism, and Allopathic Medicine (16:26)
    • When Spiritual Traditions become Medicalized: Possible Benefits (14:08)
    • When Spiritual Traditions become Medicalized: Possible Risks (13:08)
    • Differentiating “Serving Medicine” and “Practicing Medicine” (9:56)
  • 04
    Best Practices for Ayahuasca Healing
    Show details
    • Challenges of Applying the Concept of “Best Practices” to Ayahuasca (18:02)
    • Medical Ethics and the Regulation of Alternative Medicine: A Case Study (12:43)
    • Resources for Ayahuasca communities to Develop their Own Best Practices: Part 1 (8:51)
    • Resources for Ayahuasca communities to Develop their Own Best Practices: Part 2 (13:23)

Dr. Brian Anderson

Meet Your Instructor

Dr. Brian Anderson is a resident physician (Medical Doctor) in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. He has been drinking ayahuasca for ten years. He earned his MD at Stanford University. He has an MSc in Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society from the London School of Economics where he wrote his thesis "Classifying Ayahuasca: The Role of Subjective Experience in Psychiatric Research with Psychedelics." He has a BA in Biochemistry with a minor in Latin American and Latino Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Beginning in 2005, he has conducted ethnographic research with communities of substance users in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Brian Anderson

Access All 12 Kahpi Courses Today For Just $9 Per Month

Enroll in "Ayahuasca and Allopathic Medicine" Together With All 12 Kahpi Courses in One Great Deal.

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Access All 12 Kahpi Courses Today For Just $9 Per Month

Enroll in "Ayahuasca and Allopathic Medicine" Together With All 12 Kahpi Courses in One Great Deal.

Start Today

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