Decades of research, insight, and lived experience. ICSA’s online library offers free access to academic articles, survivor narratives, conference talks, webinars, and curated resources for anyone seeking to understand high-control groups and coercive dynamics.

Decult is a volunteer-run charity dedicated to increasing public understanding, reducing stigma, and improving support for people impacted by coercive groups. Decult is involved with media liaison and advocacy for survivor-focused reporting, community events, public speaking, and education programmes. Join them for their next event, Decult 2026.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to recovery, based on a tested model of post-cult counselling, and years of research and clinical experience from Dr Gillie Jenkinson. It is designed to help survivors of diverse abusive settings, including religious and spiritual, political, gangs, business, therapy and wellness and one-on-one relationships.

In this book Wade Mullen introduces us to the world of impression management--the strategies that individuals and organisations utilize to gain power and cover up their wrongdoings. Mullen reveals a pattern that accompanies many types of abuse, almost as if abusers are somehow reading from the same playbook. Useful in how it explores classic organisational abuse strategies.

Join medical doctor Caroline (Caz) Ansley (co-lead of the CIPNetwork), Liz Gregory (manager of the Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust) and Lindy Jacomb (top dog of Olive Leaf Network NZ) as the trio traverse the cultiverse. This podcast and radio show (running since 2022) aims specifically to educate the health and social sector workforce, with many episodes being directly relevant to professionals in New Zealand.

Unravelling cult narratives thread by thread. A survivor-led podcast focused on recovery, rebuilding, and reclaiming life after high-control environments.

As an open-access, online publication, the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM) provides a dedicated platform for advancing rigorous scholarship on coercive influence, high-control groups, psychological manipulation, and systemic abuse. At ICSA, research is central to our mission. We maintain that interdisciplinary, methodologically sound inquiry is essential for understanding the psychological, social, and structural dynamics of high-control environments.

The mission of Living Cult Free is to highlight survivor voices, strengthen self-agency, and provide education that builds resilience against coercion and abuse.

Psychotherapist and former cult-survivor Daniel Shaw's theory of traumatic narcissism describes the deeply damaging impact of a "traumatizing narcissist" who subjugates others through control and exploitation, rather than focusing on the narcissist's own character traits. Common in suits, this trauma denies the victim's ability to think independently, creating a state of dependency, shame, and fear.

Drawing on a combination of extensive research, individual testimonies, and years of hands-on experience, Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys describe clearly the nature of spiritual abuse, and the best ways of countering it. Recovery is possible.

The Cult Vault, which has featured over 400 episodes, offers a platform for survivors of cults and coercive environments to share their insights and stories. The podcast is hosted by Kacey Baker, who holds a Masters Degree in the Psychology of Coercive Control. Based in the UK, the The Cult Vault is the culmination of Kacey’s dedication to educating the public on the complexities of cults and coercive control.

Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are..a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time.

The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) advances research and open dialogue on psychological manipulation and cultic influence, providing education, support, and collaboration for survivors, families, and professionals. They strive to empower individuals and communities through knowledge, critical discourse, and global engagement to create safer societies and stronger protections.

Take Back Your Life from Dr Janja Lalich explains the seductive draw that leads people into such situations, provides insightful information for assessing what happened, and hands-on tools for getting back on track. Written by a world leading expert, academic sociologist and former cult-survivor.

In the first in-depth research of its kind, the author interviewed sixty-five people who were born in or grew up in thirty-nine different cultic groups spanning more than a dozen countries. In Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over, Dr Janja Lalich and Karen McLaren explore the unique experiences and challenges faced by those born and raised in cultic environments.

From the emotional and criminal carnage of Auckland's Centrepoint, to Osho's ashram in India, a tantric yoga school in remote Thailand, and to Gloriavale on the West Coast of the South Island, Anke Richter uncovers a disturbing pattern of violence and suffering. Cult Trip explores what really goes on inside cults, and how to reckon with their aftermath.

Host Sarah Steel takes a storytelling, deep dive approach, looking at the history of a sect's leaders, the recruitment of members, their experiences, psychological aspects, and notable incidents during its existence. Based in Australia, Let's Talk About Sects uses long form journalism at its best to unpack specific groups through detailed examination, alternating with interviews with survivors. This database of episodes is a treasure trove of truth-telling about cults all over the world.

The Lalich Center's vision is to improve the lives of those affected by cults and coercive relationships by increasing understanding, reducing stigma, and advancing professional practice. They develop accessible, evidence-based resources and deliver trauma-informed education and training for professionals and service providers supporting individuals recovering from cults and coercive control.

Written by a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism, Dr Alexandra Stein, Terror, Love and Brainwashing draws on the author's 25 years of study and research to explain how almost anyone, given the right set of circumstances, can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts.

This book has helped thousands of ex-members and their families, and professionals understand the use of mind control techniques in cults. A former cult member, now a counsellor helping those affected by destructive cults, Dr Steven Hassan exposes the troubling facts about cults' recruitment, their use of psychological manipulation, and their often subtle influence on government, the legal system, and society as a whole.

In Do As I Say, Sarah Steel, the creator of the popular 'Let's Talk About Sects' podcast, tells the human tale of cultic harm behind the sensationalism. Sharing deeply personal stories, gathered over years of interviews with survivors, and some shocking tales about the world's most famous cults, she sheds light on the high cost of unchecked coercive behaviours to individuals and communities at large.

A weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control, from US cult specialist and therapist Rachel Bernstein.