Decult 2026 will be here next month. We are lucky enough to talk to the conference's very first speaker Aaron Strong.Aaron Sharp is a psychologist and former member of high-control Pentecostal churches. He became involved with the Potter’s House Christian Fellowship at around 15 years of age and remained within high-control Pentecostal environments for approximately 25 years. After leaving in his early 40s, he began the difficult process of rebuilding his identity, beliefs and direction in life. In 2016, he began studying psychology at university and went on to complete postgraduate training in professional and clinical psychology. He is now a registered psychologist completing the Clinical Psychology Registrar Program in Australia. His professional interests include religious trauma, coercive control and recovery from high-control groups. Aaron also speaks publicly about his own experience of indoctrination, leaving, and rebuilding a life after religion. In 2026, he is speaking at the DECULT Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, about his journey into, through and out of high-control religion.DECULT 2026 speaker profile: https://decult.net/speaker/aaron-sharp/New Directions Psychology: https://www.newdirectionspsychology.com.au/

She was approached by an undercover recruiter in a Canberra bookshop in 2011, and within months she was deep in the belly of the beast of the Providence movement, a Korean religious group that's been accused of cult-like behaviour. Now on the other side of her time with Providence, Liz Cameron has written books and spoken publicly about what it's like to be brainwashed. She speaks with Saturday Morning ahead of her appearance at Decult 2026 in Christchurch next month.

RNZ (radio publique néo-zélandaise) annonce que la deuxième édition de la conférence Decult se tiendra les 24 et 25 octobre à Christchurch, avec l'ouverture confiée à la première évêque anglicane māori de la région. Susan Wallace, évêque du diocèse anglican de Te Waipounamu, ouvrira le premier jour de ce colloque intitulé « Voix du courage

This bonus podcast is about the upcoming Survivor Community Day on Labour Day the 26th October. Listen to what you can expect on the day from those who are running it.Post-Decult Conference Survivor Community DayMonday 26 October (Labour Day) | 10:00am–3:00pmLocation: Multicultural Recreation and Community Centre, Hagley Park, Ōtautahi Christchurch CentralAttending Decult 2026 as someone with lived experience of a high-control or cult-like group can bring up a wide range of emotions. To help create space for rest, connection and gentle processing after the conference, the Olive Leaf Network, Uncult Ōtautahi Christchurch, and the Re:Woven Charitable Trust are pleased to offer a dedicated Post-Decult Conference Survivor Community Day.This free event has been thoughtfully curated for former members and survivors of high-control or cult-like groups who are attending Decult 2026. Whether you're feeling energised, emotionally full, reflective, or simply looking to connect with others who understand, you're warmly invited to join us for a day of grounding, creativity and community.Throughout the day, participants will have opportunities to connect with others at their own pace in a welcoming, trauma-informed environment. Experienced therapists will be present throughout the day to provide support, and there will be opportunities for both individual reflection and gentle group processing.The day will include a range of supportive experiences, including:A catered lunchTrained therapists available throughout the dayIndividual and group reflection and processing opportunitiesCreative art therapy experiences, including creative journalling, clay modelling, poetry writing, and Kintsugi-inspired artGentle somatic breathwork sessionsTime to rest, connect, and simply be with others who share similar lived experiencesThere is no cost to attend this event; however, registration is essential. Please register in advance so we can accurately plan catering and prepare sufficient art materials for everyone attending.We look forward to welcoming you to a day of care, connection, and restoration as we gently transition from the Decult Conference back into everyday life.

In 2026, we return bigger and bolder. International and local experts, educators, advocates and storytellers will come together for two powerful days —

Wayne Turipa walked away after three decades as the church shifted from faith to politics. Now he's helping men heal.

Te Waipounamu's first wahine Māori Anglican bishop will open a cult conference in Christchurch in October, as survivors and their supporters work to raise public awareness about the physical, psycholo...

Te Waipounamu's first wahine Māori Anglican bishop will open a cult conference in Christchurch in October, as survivors and their supporters work to raise public awareness about the physical, psycholo...

This week is part 2 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group ISTA, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In part 2 with Anke, she explains how the founder of International School of Temple Arts had constructed a sort of harem culture and was sleeping with all the women, where the line is between normal dating in a community vs. coercion, and how her journalistic investigation into a different tantra group while still actively in this one finally set off her alarm bells.They discuss what’s positive about the tantric world, how the flip side of sex-positive groups can be a pressure to act sex positive when you don’t actually FEEL sex positive, and why she started cult conference Decult. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is part 2 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group ISTA, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In part 2 with Anke, she explains how the founder of International School of Temple Arts had constructed a sort of harem culture and was sleeping with all the women, where the line is between normal dating in a community vs. coercion, and how her journalistic investigation into a different tantra group while still actively in this one finally set off her alarm bells. They discuss what’s positive about the tantric world, how the flip side of sex-positive groups can be a pressure to act sex positive when you don’t actually FEEL sex positive, and why she started cult conference Decult. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT

YouTube video by Cult Expert - Dr. Steven Hassan

Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In this week’s episode she shares how she began as a journalist investigating cults, but when she went to a tantric sex festival, she had a peak experience with ecstatic dancing that made her never want to go back to her old way of life. She’ll talk about doing her first training in tantric pleasure, which got her deeper into ISTA and the idea of tantric polarity and exploring her feminine energy that she’d felt she’d been missing, and how the intensity and the highs she felt in these communities made real life seem boring. Plus, how there often aren’t a lot of sexual communities to choose from in general, which can create room for the sketchier ones to flourish. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In this week’s episode she shares how she began as a journalist investigating cults, but when she went to a tantric sex festival, she had a peak experience with ecstatic dancing that made her never want to go back to her old way of life. She’ll talk about doing her first training in tantric pleasure, which got her deeper into ISTA and the idea of tantric polarity and exploring her feminine energy that she’d felt she’d been missing, and how the intensity and the highs she felt in these communities made real life seem boring. Plus, how there often aren’t a lot of sexual communities to choose from in general, which can create room for the sketchier ones to flourish. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In this week’s episode she shares how she began as a journalist investigating cults, but when she went to a tantric sex festival, she had a peak experience with ecstatic dancing that made her never want to go back to her old way of life. She’ll talk about doing her first training in tantric pleasure, which got her deeper into ISTA and the idea of tantric polarity and exploring her feminine energy that she’d felt she’d been missing, and how the intensity and the highs she felt in these communities made real life seem boring. Plus, how there often aren’t a lot of sexual communities to choose from in general, which can create room for the sketchier ones to flourish. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT

This week we interview therapist & cult expert Rachel Bernstein (LMFT), who will be keynote speaker at the upcoming Decult Conference. Join the Cult Chat trio for this heart-warming episode with Rachel as she shares wisdom from over 30 years working clinically with cult survivors. The conversation ranges from how to support families to deal with loved ones in a cult, to the unexpected strengths survivors can display, and to the small examples that healing and recovery is occurring. Show notes https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/index.html https://decult.net/conference-2026/ https://www.podpage.com/indoctrination/ If you’d like to contact us to tell us your story or to give us some ideas about future episodes, reach us by emailing info@cultchat.org.nz To learn more about the organisations which our hosts run when we are not Cult-Chatting, check out: Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust https://www.gloriavaleleavers.org.nz/ Olive Leaf Network https://nz.oliveleaf.network/ Cult-Informed Professional Network https://www.cipnetwork.org/ You can follow Cult Chat on our socials Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultchat/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cult_chat/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CultChat

This June, we’re raising NZ$10,000 to help cult-affected New Zealanders who can’t afford to attend Decult 2026.