Professional Training Wait List Open Now

The last month has been a flurry of activity in anti-cult advocacy. The handing down of the Victorian Inquiry's recommendations was closely followed by a data breach in which survivors email addresses were sent in CC not BCC, thus outting those who had tried so hard to protect their confidentiality and anonymity. On that CC list were others: journalists, people opposing cult law reform. Potentially even cult leaders themselves. It was a fraught and stressful time for survivors. In that flurry of activity, including a whole lot of media we've yet to republish here on this website, we've been hard at work. Given the reports recommendations that sector-wide training occur, and given our Beyond Belief White Paper was quoted heavily in that recommendations paper as the basis for the group-based coercion concept, its time to gear up. We are now opening our waiting list for our 2027 training. Two of the Beyond Belief co-authors -- Renee Spencer, president of Cult Information and Family Support) and Clare Heath-McIvor, president of SOCCHG -- will be leading a team of presenters who can train your team to recognise and respond to an insidious form of abuse that often hides in plain sight. Group-based coercion is separate and distinct from intimate partner coercive control, though people in cults and high-control groups often face this too. This adds an extra layer of devastation and difficulty as these people try to escape. This is just one reason why expert training is vital.

Our training can be delivered as short modules, or detailed programs depending on your needs. This expertise can ready you and your organisation to recognise and support victims in your local area, and be ready for sector-wide reforms that can help prevent this type of abuse. Our cult experts can train you in the six domains of group-based coercion, recognising the structural risks and patterned harms, and teach you how to spot the subtle signals that someone might be in a cult or high-control group. Of course, we have cult consultants who can assist you in responding to the unique and sometimes dangerous situations that can arise when you try to intervene. We are excited to partner with cult-aware mental health practitioners and trainers to deliver quality, professional training and development, and respond to this serious harm.

Where possible, we will be delivering specialised information that is relevant to your local area, and can provide ongoing consultant support so your organisations is ready to respond to any new legislation, and any victim who walks through your doors. From Family Violence and housing services, to child protection, education, and community support, you are going to want to be in the loop on this. Beyond Belief, the Group-Based Coercion Model, is belief-neutral and behaviour focused. It upholds freedom of belief and religion while also recognising that sustained, patterned harm across multiple domains of life, amounting to totalistic control and domination, is a separate issue altogether. To put your name on the waiting list, email us at socchg@gmail.com