What expert analysis says ↑ Top
In September 2023, Dr. Steven Hassan — founder of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center and one of the most-cited cult-recovery experts in the United States — published a seven-minute video applying his BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional control) to ISTA. He concluded that the organisation exhibits patterns of authoritarian control and labelled it “problematic.” Hassan’s analysis is one of the cornerstones of the documented case for caution — a timestamped summary of what he actually says is in our media archive.
The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults (ICCV) issued a public statement on ISTA in September 2023, warning of manipulation, group-sex “healing” rituals, and reports of animal abuse during workshops. The ICCV released an updated statement in November 2025 after reviewing ISTA’s own public response, concluding that the original concerns remain.
Cult journalist Anke Richter presented evidence about ISTA to the Victorian Parliament Inquiry into Cults & Organised Fringe Groups in Australia. The relevant segment is timestamped here.
What independent journalism has documented ↑ Top
The most comprehensive recent investigation is “The Neo-Tantric Sex Group That Promised to Change” in The Cut / New York Magazine (28 February 2025), which documents coercion, group-sex rituals, and consent abuses inside ISTA from named former participants.
Other major investigations include:
- Radio New Zealand — “Complainants Warn Against ‘Sacred Sexuality’ Courses” (Oct 2022): former NZ students and facilitators describe emotional and sexual abuse.
- Haaretz (Israel) (July 2022): in-depth investigation linking sacred-sexuality therapists, including ISTA personnel, to assault allegations.
- OnlySky (Nov 2022): cult-analysis examination of ISTA’s power structure and finances, by reporter Becky Garrison.
- die tageszeitung (TAZ) (Germany, April 2024): feature on systemic abuse across the neo-tantra scene, spotlighting ISTA’s methods.
- Politis (Cyprus) (Nov 2025): ISTA events in Paphos, with survivor accounts.
- DV (Iceland) (Nov 2024): warnings about ISTA workshops amid claims of abuse and animal sacrifice.
- 20 Minuten (Switzerland) (Sept 2024): a former Miss Switzerland unwittingly promoted an ISTA-affiliated festival and later publicly distanced herself on learning of the allegations.
- Bali News (June 2025): ISTA trainings promoted in North Bali, with broader allegations.
A coverage timeline spanning 2022 through 2025, in seven countries and at least six languages, is itself a signal: this is not a single disgruntled complaint or a one-jurisdiction local scandal.
What former participants describe ↑ Top
Named former participants and assistants have spoken on the record:
- Cara Cordoni and an anonymous participant (“Lina”) on the A Little Bit Culty podcast (Apr 2026, two-part interview), describing ISTA’s marketing, “consent” rhetoric, the intensity of the workshops, and the moments that made each of them see ISTA differently.
- Cara Cordoni again on the IndoctriNation podcast (“Cult Hopping Chronicles pt. 2”), unpacking the mechanisms of control.
- A panel at the Decult Conference 2024 (Christchurch, NZ), with Bronwyn Rideout (NZ Skeptics), Dave Booda (3SC — Safer Sex-Positive & Spiritual Communities), and video input from activists Shany Kedar and Mordechai Braunstein.
- Cara Cordoni and Dave Booda (3SC) with cult-recovery counsellor Chris Shelton on Speaking of Cults — “Good Sex and Bad Groups” (Apr 2025): a detailed look at how ISTA and similar groups use large group awareness training tactics.
If you have left an ISTA workshop and are looking for support, the Safer Sex-Positive & Spiritual Communities (3SC) volunteer survivor-advocacy organisation was formed specifically in response to reports of harm at ISTA and the affiliated Highden Temple in New Zealand.
Red flags to know before attending ↑ Top
The patterns below are documented across multiple independent sources cited above. They are warning signs, not certainties — but if you encounter several of them when researching a specific workshop, the journalism, expert analysis, and survivor accounts all suggest it is worth pausing before signing up.
- Sleep deprivation as part of the “process.” The ICCV statements describe long days followed by short nights as a deliberate technique to lower psychological resistance.
- Consent reframing. Multiple survivor accounts describe being told that saying “no” reflects personal blockages to be worked through, rather than a valid boundary.
- Group sexual rituals presented as healing. Documented across The Cut, Haaretz, OnlySky, and the ICCV.
- “Sexual healing from a male leader” framings. Reported in both the OnlySky and Haaretz investigations.
- Pressure to advance to the next workshop level while still in the emotionally elevated state induced by the current one.
- Discouragement from speaking publicly afterwards — framed as protecting the “sacred space” rather than as silencing.
- Confused organisational structure. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court memo (June 2024) names ISTA’s president (Richard Priddis) and describes allegations that ISTA serves as Priddis’s alter-ego, with workshop income diverted to offshore investments.
Decide for yourself ↑ Top
This page is a summary. The underlying evidence — full media coverage, expert statements, legal documents, survivor video testimony — lives on the istaAwareness.life homepage, organised into:
- Statements & legal documents — expert statements, ICCV statements, court documents.
- Key investigative articles — in-depth coverage from The Cut, OnlySky, Substack, and more.
- Podcasts & interviews — survivor testimonies, expert panels, parliamentary testimony.
- International media coverage — reporting from New Zealand, Israel, Indonesia, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Cyprus.