Bruno Rasmussen Chaves
| Bruno Rasmussen Chaves | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruno Daniel Rasmussen Chaves Brazil |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Brazilian |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Federal University of São Paulo (MD, 1984; Internal Medicine, 1986; Gastroenterology, 1988) |
| 💼 Occupation | Physician, researcher, clinical educator |
| 📆 Years active | 1984–present |
| 👔 Employer | Santa Casa Hospital, Ourinhos; private practice, Ourinhos |
| Known for | Ibogaine-assisted therapy; hospital-based ibogaine treatment protocols; psychedelic medicine research |
Bruno Daniel Rasmussen Chaves is a Brazilian physician, researcher, and educator specializing in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and ibogaine-assisted therapy. He has more than 30 years of clinical experience involving ibogaine treatment for substance use disorders, trauma-related conditions, and neurological rehabilitation, and has participated in more than 2,500 medically supervised ibogaine treatments since beginning his clinical practice with the compound in 1997.[1]
A graduate of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rasmussen has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications on ibogaine and psychedelic medicine.[2] He served as lead physician on the first MDMA-assisted psychotherapy clinical trial for PTSD conducted in Latin America[3] and is certified in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
He is co-founder and former director of the Global Ibogaine Therapists Alliance (GITA), an international nonprofit organization focused on safe and ethical ibogaine practice, and co-author of GITA's Clinical Guidelines for Ibogaine-Assisted Detoxification. He is also co-founder of Veracruz and NeuroCrux, organizations focused on pharmaceutical-grade ibogaine manufacturing, research, and physician education.
Rasmussen maintains a private medical practice in Ourinhos, São Paulo, Brazil, and is a member of the clinical care team associated with Santa Casa Hospital in Ourinhos, where medically supervised ibogaine treatments are conducted in a hospital setting.
Education and early career
Rasmussen earned his medical degree from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in 1984. He subsequently completed specializations in Internal Medicine in 1986 and Clinical Gastroenterology in 1988 at the same institution.
Following graduation, he worked as a physician specializing in intensive care medicine and later served as chief of the Emergency Room of the Medical Clinic of São Paulo Hospital. Beginning in 2012, he collaborated voluntarily with the Program for the Orientation and Assistance for Drug Dependents (PROAD-UNIFESP), a multidisciplinary addiction medicine program at UNIFESP.
Ibogaine work in Brazil
Legal context
Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid traditionally derived from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga, a shrub native to Central Africa. Commercial and pharmaceutical production may also utilize alkaloids obtained from Voacanga africana, a West African tree that has become an important source for sustainable ibogaine manufacturing.
While classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, ibogaine has never been prohibited in Brazil. It occupies a distinctive legal position: it is neither scheduled nor formally recognized as a medicine, but can be imported as a non-registered pharmaceutical for personal use with a physician's prescription under ANVISA guidelines established in 1997.[4]
This legal environment made Brazil one of the few countries where ibogaine treatments could be conducted openly in medical settings. Brazil has been described as one of a small number of countries, alongside Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, where ibogaine can be prescribed for therapeutic use.[4]
Clinical practice
Rasmussen's interest in ibogaine emerged during the early 1990s while searching for treatment options for a family member with crack cocaine dependence. In 1994, he met Howard Lotsof, the American researcher credited with identifying ibogaine's anti-addictive properties following his own experience with the compound in 1962. The encounter connected Rasmussen with an emerging international network of researchers and clinicians working to advance the therapeutic use of ibogaine.[5]
He began formally treating patients with ibogaine in 1997. By 2022, he had participated in more than 2,500 medically supervised treatments. His patient population has consisted primarily of individuals dependent on crack cocaine and powder cocaine, alongside opioid and polydrug users.[1][5]
Treatment protocol
Rasmussen has advocated for hospital-based ibogaine administration with comprehensive medical monitoring. His standard treatment model includes extensive clinical and psychiatric evaluation, screening for medical comorbidities and contraindications, elimination of high-risk drug interactions, and cardiac screening including electrocardiogram and electrolyte testing.[6][7]
Treatment is administered during a hospital stay with continuous monitoring, followed by integration-oriented care. His approach contributed to the hospital-based treatment protocols that informed Brazil's evolving regulatory framework for ibogaine-assisted therapy.
Clinical practice at Santa Casa Hospital
In addition to his private medical practice in Ourinhos — where he provides care in internal medicine and gastroenterology — Rasmussen is a member of the clinical care team associated with Santa Casa Hospital in Ourinhos. Patients at that facility undergo medical evaluation, cardiac screening, psychiatric assessment, and continuous monitoring within the hospital environment.
The hospital-based model refined through his clinical work has contributed to broader discussions regarding standards of care, patient safety, and regulatory frameworks for ibogaine-assisted therapy in Brazil and internationally.[7][8]
International clinical work
In addition to his work in Brazil, Rasmussen has contributed to the development of medically supervised ibogaine treatment programs and physician training initiatives in multiple countries, including clinical settings in Thailand and Mexico.[1]
Organizations
Veracruz and NeuroCrux
Rasmussen is co-founder of Veracruz, a Brazil-based organization focused on pharmaceutical-grade ibogaine manufacturing, clinical research, treatment protocol development, and physician training. Veracruz has worked to develop scalable production methods for GMP-grade ibogaine derived from sustainably sourced Voacanga africana, intended to reduce pressure on wild populations of Tabernanthe iboga.
NeuroCrux, based in the United States, was established to support international awareness, education, advocacy, and strategic development related to ibogaine-assisted therapy where permitted by law. The organization serves as a bridge between Brazilian research and manufacturing initiatives and international stakeholders.
Global Ibogaine Therapists Alliance
Rasmussen is a co-founder and former director of the Global Ibogaine Therapists Alliance (GITA), an international nonprofit organization established to promote safe and ethical ibogaine therapy through practitioner education, research support, and public advocacy.[9] He co-authored the Clinical Guidelines for Ibogaine-Assisted Detoxification published by GITA, which has been distributed as a foundational resource for ibogaine practitioners internationally.
Research and publications
Rasmussen has seven publications listed on ResearchGate with more than 235 citations.[2] His academic work began formally in 2012 through a multidisciplinary research collaboration at UNIFESP that included psychiatrist Dartiu Xavier, neuroscientist Eduardo Schenberg, and psychologist Maria Angelica Comis.
2014 retrospective study
The most widely cited of Rasmussen's publications, a 2014 study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, examined 75 patients including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack cocaine, and polydrug users. The study reported a 61% abstinence rate with no serious adverse reactions or fatalities. Median abstinence was 5.5 months after a single treatment and 8.4 months after multiple treatments.[10]
The study provided early peer-reviewed evidence of ibogaine outcomes in stimulant and polydrug dependence and was later cited in regulatory discussions in São Paulo state.[5]
2017 phenomenological study
Published in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, this study documented the subjective experience of ibogaine treatment through semi-structured interviews with 22 patients, analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants were primarily cocaine and crack cocaine users aged 22–53, followed up an average of 17 months after treatment.[11]
2017 qualitative study
A companion qualitative study, also published in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies in 2017, found improvement in quality of life after ibogaine treatment, including among patients who relapsed. The study reported that relapses among treated patients were shorter and less severe than those occurring before treatment.
2020 MDMA-assisted psychotherapy pilot trial
As lead physician, Rasmussen conducted what has been described as the first MDMA-assisted psychotherapy clinical trial for PTSD in Latin America — an open-label pilot study focused on patients with severe PTSD secondary to sexual abuse, published in 2020.[3]
2022 case report: ibogaine microdosing
A July 2022 paper in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, co-authored by Rasmussen, explored sub-perceptual ibogaine dosing as a potential intervention in a patient with bipolar depression.[12]
2022 bibliometric analysis
Co-authored with colleagues at the University of São Paulo, this bibliometric analysis used VOSviewer software to evaluate ibogaine publications in the Scopus database from 1991 to 2020.[13]
2024 scientometric analysis
Published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, this scientometric analysis examined 1,523 references across three decades from 1993 to 2022, identifying researchers from five continents contributing to the ibogaine literature.[14]
MDMA research
Beyond ibogaine, Rasmussen has contributed to MDMA-assisted therapy research in Latin America. He is certified in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy by MAPS and served as lead physician on the first MDMA-assisted psychotherapy phase 2 pilot trial conducted in Latin America — an open-label study focused on PTSD secondary to sexual violence.[3]
Regulatory and policy impact
The 2014 retrospective study co-authored by Rasmussen was cited when Brazil's São Paulo State Council on Drug Policy (CONED-SP) published resolutions in January 2016. These were among the first governmental guidance documents in Brazil regarding ibogaine, stipulating that treatment should be performed in a hospital environment with medical, psychiatric, and psychological follow-up.[5]
Brazil has produced a substantial volume of psychedelic research relative to other countries, with ibogaine's legal status identified as a key enabling factor.[4]
Media and public engagement
Rasmussen has been profiled in mainstream and specialist media discussing ibogaine-assisted therapy. Coverage has included The New York Times (2024),[15] Newsweek (2023),[7] the Chacruna Institute,[5] the MAPS Bulletin,[4] and Lucid News.[6]
He has presented at international conferences including Psychedelic Science 2017 (MAPS), the Global Ibogaine Conference (Tepoztlan, 2016), the European Ibogaine Forum (2017), Fluence Training (2024), and Beyond Addiction 2025.[16][17]
Selected bibliography
- Schenberg EE, de Castro Comis MA, Chaves BR, da Silveira DX. (2014). "Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: A retrospective study." Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(11): 993–1000. doi:10.1177/0269881114552713
- Schenberg EE, Alexandre JF, Chaves BDR, Tófoli LF, da Silveira DX. (2017). "A phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience elicited by ibogaine." Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 1(2): 74–83.
- Jardim AV, Jardim DV, Chaves BDR, et al. (2020). "MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for victims of sexual abuse with severe PTSD: an open label pilot study in Brazil."
- Fernandes-Nascimento MH, Ferreira KV, Chaves BDR, Wang YP. (2022). "Ibogaine microdosing in a patient with bipolar depression: a case report." Journal of Psychedelic Studies.
- Fernandes-Nascimento MH, Negrão AB, Ferreira-Viana K, Chaves BDR, Wang YP. (2022). "Three-decade research development of ibogaine use for the treatment of substance-related disorders: a bibliometric analysis."
- Chaves BDR, Wang YP. (2024). "Three Decades of Research on the Development of Ibogaine Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Scientometric Analysis." Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 56(5): 670–680.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Bruno Rasmussen Chaves, M.D. – Speaker biography". Global Ibogaine Conference. Retrieved 2024. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bruno Rasmussen Chaves – Research profile". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2024. Check date values in:
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Leite, M. (2021). "The Case of Brazil: After Ayahuasca, Ibogaine Opens Up Opportunity for First-Class Research in the Global South". MAPS Bulletin.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Is Ibogaine Treatment in Brazil Finally Stepping Out From the Underground?". Chacruna Institute. February 2018.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Offshore Ibogaine Clinics in Mexico, Portugal, and Brazil". Lucid News. October 2024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Cardoso, A. (April 2023). "Ibogaine for Addiction: We Need to Have a Serious Talk". Newsweek.
- ↑ "Brazil's Psychedelic Renaissance: The Role of Ibogaine in Addiction Treatment". Global Psychedelic Week. May 2025.
- ↑ "Global Ibogaine Therapists Alliance". Retrieved 2024. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Schenberg, EE; de Castro Comis, MA; Chaves, BR; da Silveira, DX (2014). "Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: A retrospective study". Journal of Psychopharmacology. 28 (11): 993–1000. doi:10.1177/0269881114552713.
- ↑ Schenberg, EE; Alexandre, JF; Chaves, BDR; Tófoli, LF; da Silveira, DX (2017). "A phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience elicited by ibogaine". Journal of Psychedelic Studies. 1 (2): 74–83.
- ↑ Fernandes-Nascimento, MH; Ferreira, KV; Chaves, BDR; Wang, YP (2022). "Ibogaine microdosing in a patient with bipolar depression: a case report". Journal of Psychedelic Studies.
- ↑ Fernandes-Nascimento, MH; Negrão, AB; Ferreira-Viana, K; Chaves, BDR; Wang, YP (2022). "Three-decade research development of ibogaine use for the treatment of substance-related disorders: a bibliometric analysis".
- ↑ Chaves, BDR; Wang, YP (2024). "Three Decades of Research on the Development of Ibogaine Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Scientometric Analysis". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 56 (5): 670–680.
- ↑ Jacobs, Andrew (March 5, 2024). "Powerful Psychedelic Gains Renewed Attention as a Treatment for Opioid Addiction". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Bruno Rasmussen MD – Speaker biography". Beyond Addiction 2025. 2025.
- ↑ "Dr. Bruno Rasmussen Chaves – European Ibogaine Forum". 2017.
External links
- Bruno Rasmussen Chaves – ResearchGate profile
- Global Ibogaine Therapists Alliance (GITA)
- "Is Ibogaine Treatment in Brazil Finally Stepping Out From the Underground?" – Chacruna Institute (2018)
- "The Case of Brazil" – MAPS Bulletin (2021)
- 2014 retrospective study – Journal of Psychopharmacology
- 2017 phenomenological study – Journal of Psychedelic Studies
- Beyond Addiction 2025 speaker profile
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