New PublicationsPsychology Today: Osho Cult, Psychotherapist and cult survivor Nicola Ranson recalls escaping a violent cult.Dr. Gina Simmons Schneider, psychotherapist and cult survivor Nicola Ranson discusses her experience and eventual escape from the Osho/Rajneesh cult, which she details in her memoir A Slice of Orange. Ranson joined the movement at age 24, seeking personal growth during a vulnerable life transition marked by a lack of family support and career uncertainty. Drawn to the charismatic guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) and his blend of Eastern mysticism and Western psychotherapy, she relocated to the group's massive Oregon commune.
The movement ultimately collapsed in 1985 following criminal investigations into the leadership for orchestrating a bioterrorist attack that poisoned over 750 local residents. Ranson reveals how the cult maintained its influence by conditioning members to ignore their intuition, isolate from outsiders, and reframe any internal doubts as personal ego issues. It took her a decade to fully disentangle herself from the community's psychological grip.
After finding herself homeless and shell-shocked at age 30, Ranson's recovery was aided by building healthy friendships with outsiders and open-minded former members. She subsequently pursued a career in psychotherapy and social work, dedicating herself to educating others about the dangers of coercive control and toxic group dynamics.
Ongoing FocusLegislative & LegalNH Union Leader: Know the Law: NH law recognizes coercive control as abuse
Recent updates to New Hampshire law represent a significant shift in how the state addresses domestic violence by officially recognizing "coercive control" as a legally actionable form of abuse. Historically, securing a civil protective order typically required evidence of physical violence, direct criminal threats, or property damage. Now, the law acknowledges that severe abuse frequently occurs without leaving physical marks.
Under the updated provisions (such as RSA 173-B), coercive control is defined as a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions intended to harm, punish, or frighten an individual. This encompasses behaviors that unreasonably interfere with a person’s free will and personal liberty, such as relentless psychological manipulation, strict financial control, and isolating a victim from their friends and family.
This legal expansion is vital because non-physical coercive control often serves as the foundation of a dangerous relationship and is a strong predictor of future physical violence. By allowing courts to consider these controlling patterns of behavior when issuing civil protective orders, New Hampshire law empowers survivors to seek legal intervention—such as restraining orders, temporary child custody, and housing protections—before a situation escalates to physical assault. Ultimately, the law recognizes that systematically stripping away a partner's autonomy is a profound form of domestic abuse.
Lytham St Annes News: 476-Year-Old Kirkham Grammar Gets New Global Owners
Kirkham Grammar School, a 476-year-old independent school in Lancashire, has been acquired by the international education group Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Sanstha (MMYS). The acquisition follows a comprehensive financial review by school governors, who determined that the previous ownership model was no longer sustainable due to escalating economic pressures.
These financial challenges included rising overall operational costs, higher National Insurance contributions, and the recent implementation of VAT on independent school fees.
MMYS, which operates schools across Australia, India, and the United States, is known for promoting "Consciousness-Based Education". This approach integrates traditional academic lessons with Transcendental Meditation to reduce student stress and enhance overall learning and wellbeing. Despite the change in ownership, school leaders emphasize that daily operations will remain unaffected. Headteacher Kirsten O'Donoghue and Chair of Governors Paul Ribchester assured stakeholders that the school’s academic excellence, pastoral care, and historic heritage will be fully protected under the new management.
Furthermore, the transition secures crucial long-term funding for the institution. MMYS has pledged to invest heavily in upgrading classrooms, boarding facilities, sports infrastructure, digital learning tools, and staff professional development. The deal will also open up new global opportunities for pupils, particularly within the fields of STEM, engineering, and innovation. Ultimately, this takeover safeguards the future of the school while expanding the academic and personal horizons of its pupils.
Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) is an independent, non-profit organization based in Brussels, Belgium, that focuses on international human rights advocacy, particularly freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The organization was founded in 2001 by Willy Fautré, a Belgian human rights activist and former parliamentary chargé de mission. It is officially registered as a lobbying group within European Union institutions.
Core Mission and Activities
HRWF monitors global human rights issues, maintaining a worldwide network of correspondents and a database of FoRB prisoners. Its operations center around:
Institutional Lobbying: Advocating for human rights policies at the European Parliament, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Minority Advocacy: Defending the rights of religious and linguistic minorities, and tracking human rights violations in countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Research and Publishing: Producing field mission reports, academic papers, and news digests that document religious persecution and intolerance.
Stance on New Religious Movements and Controversies
A defining—and heavily debated—aspect of HRWF's profile is its extensive advocacy on behalf of "new religious movements" (NRMs), many of which are frequently classified by critics, exit counselors, and some European governments as "cults" or "sects."
• Opposition to "Anti-Sect" Laws: HRWF actively campaigns against state-sponsored "anti-sect" legislation. Fautré has authored numerous articles and academic papers criticizing the government policies of countries like France and Belgium, which actively monitor and prosecute cultic abuses.
Defense of Controversial Groups: HRWF frequently lobbies for the religious liberties of highly controversial organizations, including Scientology, the Unification Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Shincheonji Church. For example, HRWF has published extensive reports condemning the practice of "exit counseling" or "de-conversion" of Unification Church members in Japan, legally classifying the interventions as kidnapping and human rights violations.
Criticism from Government Watchdogs: Because of these alliances, HRWF has faced criticism from secular government watchdogs. In a 2007 report, MIVILUDES (the French Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and Action Against Sectarian Aberrations) stated that HRWF operates closely with cult lobbyists in Brussels, noting that the NGO focuses heavily on denouncing countries that fight against sectarian abuses. Sociologists and academic researchers have similarly observed that HRWF frequently aligns with other NRM-friendly organizations (such as CESNUR) to post favorable information and lobby on behalf of controversial groups.
Abuse of Trafficking Laws Against Spiritual CommunitiesCESNUR is seriously concerned by the growing abuse of laws intended against human trafficking to target religious and spiritual communities. 19 leading scholars and religious liberty activists have signed a letter (available for download) endorsing an article published by Massimo Introvigne in “Bitter Winter” on June 27, which you can read here.
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families in making the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
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