As a result of an investigation spurred by a Grey Faction complaint, Tara Tulley, a social worker and member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) will have her license to practice revoked by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners. Tulley is a member of the ISSTD’s Organized and Extreme Abuse Special Interest Group, formerly known as the Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse Special Interest Group.
The complaint, submitted last year, brought Tulley’s prior malpractice and impaired mental status to the Arizona licensing board’s attention. Relying in large part on documents obtained via public records requests from the Utah Social Work Board, where Tulley previously practiced, the complaint highlighted the results of an investigation undertaken by the Utah board. Among other things, the board found that Tulley engaged in “demon revocation” therapy wherein she supposedly removed Masonic curses from clients in the presence of deliverance ministers, causing such distress in one client that they began stabbing themselves in the throat with a toothpick to get rid of the “demons.” In addition, the board reported that Tulley once pulled out a gun and waved it around during a therapy session and violated therapist-client boundaries as a matter of course. In concluding their investigation, the Utah board opted to reject Tulley’s licensure renewal application rather than impose any disciplinary action or revoke her license. By this point, Tulley had already obtained a new social worker license in Arizona, and because she was not disciplined by the Utah board, she was not required to report the rejection to the Arizona board.
In raising concerns about Tulley’s mental state, the complaint referenced statements made by Tulley in a forum for ISSTD members, including claims that 80% of her clients are victims of ritual abuse and mind control, and that she herself was a victim of Satanic ritual abuse — even claiming that the cult branded her uterus with Satanic symbols. No other ISSTD members pushed back on such nonsensical claims, because within the ISSTD is a culture of conspiracy.
A hearing on February 11, 2022 related to this complaint (as well as one other against Tulley that was dismissed) resulted in the Arizona board expressing grave concerns regarding Tulley’s misrepresentation on her Arizona licensure application. The application requires prospective licensees to indicate if they are under investigation by a licensing board in any state; although she had been notified by the Utah board that they were undertaking an investigation prior to her completing the application, Tulley committed perjury by reporting that she was not under any investigation. Arizona board members indicated during the meeting that they would not have approved her application had they known about the investigation in Utah and the nature of the substantiated allegations. Based on these facts, and concerns around Tulley’s impaired judgment, the board introduced and unanimously approved a motion to revoke Tulley’s license. She will have an opportunity to voluntarily surrender her license or undergo a formal hearing. If she voluntarily surrenders her license, this counts as a license revocation.
An audio recording of the hearing is available here (the relevant portion begins at approximately the 25 minute mark). A transcript of the statement read by Grey Faction Director Evan Anderson is below, followed by relevant documents. Additional coverage can be found here.
Thank you to the board for allowing me to make a statement here today. The reason I filed my complaint against Ms. Tulley is because I believe, unfortunately, that she has caused significant damage to former clients and may inflict additional harm on her current and future clients. I do not believe Ms. Tulley is doing these things intentionally — I believe she feels she is solving problems and improving lives. Instead, I believe Ms. Tulley is not mentally fit for practice.
According to the Utah licensing board, Ms. Tulley engaged in habitual and routine violations of social worker ethics. She had dual relationships with clients. She performed what are essentially exorcisms on clients in order to “relieve them” of Masonic curses. She smoked marijuana with clients prior to therapy sessions. In at least one instance, she pulled a gun out during a therapy session and began waving it around, no doubt petrifying her client. Perhaps most disturbing, Ms. Tulley’s therapeutic practices led to a client stabbing themselves in the throat. Again, this is according to the Utah social work board, not me. Reviewing the evidence for all of this, the Utah Social Work board denied Ms. Tulley’s license renewal application, stating:
Your pattern of using demon and chant revocations with an extremely vulnerable DID patient group shows a genuine lack of judgment and awareness on your part that supports a conclusion that the best interests of the public are not served by renewing your license as an LCSW in the State of Utah. This reckless and dangerous form of therapy, which is not based on recognized knowledge relevant to social work, created confusion, anxiety, and fear in a number of your clients. In one especially alarming case, one of your patients started stabbing her throat because she believed she had demons in her throat after going through demon revocation sessions with you.
Elsewhere, Ms. Tulley has promoted the conspiracy theory of Satanic ritual abuse — she claims that there are multigenerational Satanic cults that routinely engage in bizarre forms of abuse and mind control in order to gain absolute power over their victims. In fact, Ms. Tulley herself has claimed to be a victim of such a cult, going so far as to state that the cult branded her uterus with Satanic symbols. In Utah, Ms. Tulley ran group therapy sessions — 80% of participants, according to her, were victims of ritual abuse and mind control.
I understand the gravity of revoking a social worker’s license. It’s not something to take lightly. Social workers do incredibly important work, and there aren’t enough of them as it is. But taking together Ms. Tulley’s past actions, her expressed beliefs and QAnon-like conspiracy theories, as well as her own compromised mental state, I regretfully feel that Ms. Tulley is not able to abide by the social worker code of ethics, no matter how badly she may wish to.
In conclusion, I agree with the Utah social worker board: the best interests of the public are not served by Ms. Tulley maintaining licensure — not in Utah, not in Arizona, not anywhere. Thank you for your time.
Document Title | Date | Categories | Type | Link |
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(ISSTD forum thread) A song to forget programming | November 26, 2018 | Elana Christiansen, Gil Shepard, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Rosita Cortizo, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) About the term “mind control” | December 15, 2018 | Elana Christiansen, Gil Shepard, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Michael Salter, Shelley Hua, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Acupuncture in the eyes | October 29, 2018 | Alison Miller, ISSTD Forum, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Alison Miller’s Reply to Evan Anderson | November 6, 2019 | Adah Sachs, Alison Miller, Ellen Lacter, Ericha Scott, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Neil Brick, Sandra Buck, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley, Willa Wertheimer | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Chapter on Sadism by Valerie Sinason | September 11, 2020 | Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Common Acts of Ritual Abuse with Spiritual Motives Elements | September 11, 2020 | Alison Miller, David Leonard, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Rebecca Purcell, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason, William Randle | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Consultation supervision | October 26, 2018 | Amber Morrighan, Cynthia Wilson, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Rosita Cortizo, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Examples of Mind Control | October 25, 2020 | Alison Miller, David Leonard, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Neil Brick, Susan Hykes, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Genital Mutilation in RA | January 31, 2019 | Ericha Scott, Harvey Schwartz, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Melody Stiles, Michael Salter, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Group play therapy with littles | December 30, 2018 | ISSTD Forum, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Group work with RAMCOA peeps | November 16, 2018 | Alison Miller, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Michael Salter, Sue Richardson, Susan Hykes, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Heads up with Grey Faction | November 29, 2020 | Alison Miller, Eileen Aveni, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Lynette Danylchuk, Michael Lang, Neil Brick, Rosita Cortizo, Shelley Hua, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley, Warwick Middleton | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Healing the unimaginable chapter 16 | October 10, 2018 | Alison Miller, Gil Shepard, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Hostile Alters | June 20, 2019 | Adah Sachs, ISSTD Forum, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Media coverage of ongoing and organised abuse | November 2, 2018 | Ann Smith, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Michael Salter, Nancy Rivas, Robyn Van der Zee, Shelley Hua, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Message from the ISSTD Board | October 9, 2020 | Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Jessica Culp, Kate McMaugh, Lynette Danylchuk, Michael Lang, Michael Salter, Rosita Cortizo, Sue Richardson, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason, Warwick Middleton, William Randle, Winja Buss | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Mind control (2) | December 16, 2018 | Alison Miller, Gil Shepard, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Michael Salter, Rosita Cortizo, Shelley Hua, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) New Moral Panic Article About Ritual Abuse | October 4, 2019 | Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Lynette Danylchuk, Neil Brick, Shelley Hua, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) New Online Book Anatomy of a Crypto-Fascist Sect | October 4, 2019 | Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Nancy Rivas, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Parts ‘Locked Up’ Inside by Alleged Abuser | September 19, 2019 | ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Rebecca Purcell, Shelley Hua, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Programmed Suicide Date | September 20, 2019 | Adah Sachs, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Rebecca Purcell, Rosita Cortizo, Shelley Hua, Susan Piowaty, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Question about mind control (2) | November 11, 2018 | Alison Miller, Gil Shepard, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Lorraine Garcia, Michael Salter, Sue Richardson, Susan Hykes, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Revisiting Threats to Therapist | October 8, 2019 | Alison Miller, Deborah Christensen, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Rosita Cortizo, Sue Richardson, Tara Tulley | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Severe DID BDD and TBI | February 12, 2019 | Alison Miller, Elana Christiansen, Ellen Lacter, ISSTD Forum, Peter Stathakos, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) The Term Programming | April 28, 2019 | Ellen Lacter, Harvey Schwartz, ISSTD Forum, Michael Salter, Tara Tulley, Valerie Sinason | ||
(ISSTD forum thread) Voluntary Hysterectomy | January 19, 2019 | Elana Christiansen, ISSTD Forum, Kate McMaugh, Susan Pease Banitt, Tara Tulley | ||
Tara Tulley – AZ License Revocation | July 29, 2022 | ISSTD, Tara Tulley | ||
Tara Tulley – GRAMA records | January 4, 2021 | ISSTD, Tara Tulley | ||
Tara Tulley – GRAMA records final | January 3, 2021 | ISSTD, Tara Tulley |