Impact Trainings
Reviews and Complaints

I also joined the training while I was new in recovery and I watched my sponsor go through and saw the change in her. The first 2 I felt did teach me a lot that got me thinking about a lot that I found helpful in my life. All the while wondering why the trainers, specifically Hans, were attacking other group members for others choices. I understand they were trying to make a point. But in the most degrading and condescending way. The core ideas of love, trusting yourself, and living with integrity, I very much agreed with. However, time after time I saw the hypocrisy. Selling cds with the songs they play for a ridiculous price. When they had downloaded and copied and profit illegally. Especially with the amount of money spent...nothing was gifted.
I became fairly disenchanted after hearing Hans and another trainer mocking religions, making light of suicide attempts and continually saying if you don't complete the entire training then you don't care about yourself, after beating into us the idea of trusting your inner knowing. Hypocrisy again, because not finishing the training means they lose thousands of dollars.
Another disconcerting thing was that some processes they claimed to be unique to impact, I actually did in treatment in therapy sessions. And Hans' "wisdom" was regurgitated from others such as Wayne Dyer and others. Always inferring that they alone had all the answers. Although I did gain helpful tools, the shadiness of the institution, outweighs the benefits by far. Intimidation is the name of the game.
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I went through the Impact Training decades ago (early 90s), in Boise. It was a generally positive experience, allowing deep - though temporary - bonds with the other participants, and some insight into my less-than-helpful thought and behavior patterns.

Some of the techniques (easily discoverable through links on this page) were in the nature of dramatic confrontation, which I can imagine might be destructive to someone suffering from certain types of mental illness, although I did not observe that in anyone I knew in the program.

The evident material trappings of Hans and Sally (fine suits, nice cars) were a turnoff to me, but I did not experience an attempt to garner undue personal loyalty, as I'd expect in a cult. There was also no attempt to maintain a connection (extract money or time) after the program ended, as I'd expect in a cult.

There was very heavy pressure to "enroll" others into the program, and I did not like that at all.

It was fairly time-consuming and expensive, and the results were nowhere near as long-lasting as the ones I've gotten from psychotherapy, meditation, and studying Buddhism. On balance, I would not recommend it to most folks.

I'm familiar with Impact Trainings, have recently completed their initial Quest program, and am going to intend to proceed with the trainings through the Life Mastery courses. My reasoning for this is simple - I have seen profound results in the lives of others who have gone through this training, and in myself as much as can be expected for the initial 3-day training session.

I think that it is correct to say this fits the definition of an LGAT, but that LGAT's are not inherently bad - there is a human tendency to abuse knowledge and power, and this has happened with some LGAT's, but I do not believe this to be the case with Impact Trainings. I'm very familiar with the negative techniques and connotations commonly associated with the word "cult", and I do not, thus far (and I've looked pretty hard), see that happening here.

Per Wikipedia, the term "cult" has usually refers to a social group defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or its common interest in a particular personality, object or goal. By this definition, Impact Trainings is a cult. So is nearly every church or social group. "Cult" comes from the word "culture", and refers to a group that has cultural commonality. "Cult" does not imply anything negative. It has become associated more with negative because of the human tendency for someone in the leadership position to set themselves up as a strong man, "the only way", etc. to try to claim the knowledge and power they have been graced with for themselves.

There's a lot of details in the first post which are factually accurate about the process. But you can only get so much out of dry facts. Had I known the dry facts of what Quest involved, I would have likely not given it a chance. But since I allowed myself to give it a real chance without knowing in advance what would be involved (which meant going in with quite a bit of hesitation), I've seen the results it had on me and others who made it through the training, which are tremendous!

I'd like to specifically address one of the criticisms above - "Hans claimed to have learned this information and the processes of the Impact Trainings themselves through face to face communications with Jesus, Buddha and other "Ascended Masters"." Why doubt this? Does it really even matter? If it works to provide positive results, who cares where it came from? Furthermore, I find it very ironic that here in Utah, where the predominant religion is based on a founding principle that every individual is capable of receiving revelation from God as preached by Joseph Smith, Jr., modern-day followers of this religion find such claims absurd. I have been fortunate enough in my life, to have received by personal revelation knowledge that could be used to benefit humanity. Furthermore, I think that sort of knowledge is coming at everybody all the time - the question is how receptive we are to hearing it. I have no idea whether Hans actually makes that claim or whether it is true, but I am absolutely certain that it is possible, and it ultimately doesn't matter to me - truth is truth and my experience is that this process truly works based on the results I've seen.

If you want to hear the voice of the Spirit better, I can say with absolute surety that Impact Trainings' Quest program helps with this! It took me a lot of years of work to start being able to hear that voice sometimes; since going through Quest it has been significantly more clear and constant, as I'm able to act from my heart more readily.

Impact Trainings has never pressured me nor anyone I know into anything outside of the context of the short training sessions. I've always been greeted with love and kindness, and not seen a trace of inauthenticity in any of the staff.

Also mentioned above are statements like "I am Perfect" and "I am God". The person above claims that these were statements made by the staff, implying that the staff feel superior to trainees. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Such statements are made by EVERYONE in the training, but not exactly as this reads either. It's more that when you realize God, you realize that God is the great "I AM". It's the realization that we are of the same quality and substance as God, as God's creation. It doesn't mean "I am your God, worship me!" or anything like that, to realize your own perfection and capability of godliness does not take anything away from God. Nothing I've heard here thus far disagrees with scriptures, and I'm well-versed in numerous religions and spiritual paths.

Again, I find this criticism very ironic given that we're in Utah, where a fundamental principle of the predominant religion is that we can each become a God one day.

To be clear, if at any step along the way I see anything that suggests that the leadership of this group is abusing the knowledge and power they have, I will stop attending the trainings and publicly recount everything positive that I've said regarding this group. I'm still early in the process, but I know what I'm getting myself into and how to step out of it if that's where it's heading.

My personal belief is that what Impact Trainings is offering is an extremely valuable service to humanity, and the cost is really not much at all when you realize how much they put into this and how much you get out of it. Even if I were to later find out some unfavorable information and turned away from Impact, I have already gotten such an incredible value out of what I've done that I will have no regret.

They promise self-improvement and happiness, and I have definitely realized that from attending Quest. The only people I've seen not realize that, are those who chose to quit out the training in the middle of it. I've formed deep friendships with and appreciation for many people I would have never talked to prior. I've applied the tools taught to realize major improvements in my life.

Remember, nobody can ever take your power away from you. If you chose to play victim, then you'll end up in victim situations. I'm heading into these trainings not as a willing victim, but as a genuine seeker of knowledge that can help me learn and grow. If that is your intent, I highly recommend overlooking the scare tactics here and checking this out. You choose what you want to accept for yourself or believe, you choose how far you want to take it, you choose what lessons to keep applying to your ongoing life. Somebody can tell you to do something, but the choice is always yours. Impact is no different than anyone else in that they cannot take away your free agency.

Impact Trainings in the SLC, UT area promises self improvement and happiness, but the real goals of the cult are to line the pockets of the Bergers and create and maintain brainwashed attendees. That's it. Their methods condition the desperate and/or uninformed to become heavily dependent on the training and shun outsiders. There is a secret religion of staffs and crystals at the heart of the cult. They break people down through lack of food and social pressure and then build them up as a Hans follower. I've seen these results happen to close family members and friends. The leaders of the group are truly despicable, pathetic people who seek power, money, control and even worship. They will lie and cover up their true intentions and attack anyone who even suggests a hint of logic. I strongly urge against anyone joining this group

I was involved with Impact Trainings for five years, which included the mastery trainings described in the above complaint. I echo the sentiment presented here and can attest to the life-destroying nature of this greater Salt Lake area LGAT cult. Impact nearly ruined my healthy marriage while I watched other people's lives disintegrate around me as well. Please avoid this company like the virulent plague it is. I have found this forum to be an incredible resource for information that increased my awareness and aided in my recovery: http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?4, 15925, page=174

I recently completed Impact Trainings’ Quest program, the first of their three core trainings. I’m a long-time studier of world religion and spirituality, as well as a believer of the Book of Mormon (though not a church member). I did not grow up in the church and have lived in Utah about a year and a half. My wife went through all three core trainings (Quest, Summit, and Lift Off).

The secrecy did create stress in our relationship, as I was not in a place of trust when we began this journey. Nevertheless, I stuck it out as she raved about the benefits and our relations overall improved. Now that I’ve attended Quest, I realize how silly I was to ever be worried, and I have personally reaped TREMENDOUS value from it!

I recommend respecting the privacy of the trainings - as others have alluded, it will have the biggest impact (pun intended) on you if it all hits you with surprise. Quest is intimidating and challenging. The reward it left me with is priceless. I’m committed to completing the core trainings, and already dream of Life Mastery courses eventually.

Just three days really engaged in Quest has transformed my life so much, allowed me to connect with my heart, leave choices that weren’t serving me behind, and given me a glimpse of the whole picture yet to be realized. I know the upcoming trainings will challenge me more, but I’m ready to take on that challenge. At the same time I’ve seen others choose to quit the training before completion die to getting frustrated, and others who complete the training but don’t keep what they learned applied to their life. What you put in, you get out.

The trainings give you new language choices and tools that can be used to assist in creating a more harmonious life with others, but it’s up to each person to really learn and apply these to succeed, or not. Nothing is forced.

Folks, you can find a lot of details of the process rudely disclosed in the above discussion. Reading those will do you no good other that letting you know your spouse isn’t off having orgies without you, but may utterly ruin the training experience for you if you were to enter it knowing these details out of context. This is definitely not a cult - the door is always open to leave and some do every training.

The most significant thing that happens is that you release yourself from the restricting effects of your past and become free to do as you well. A big part of what makes that happen is seeing the miraculous transformation in others during the training, especially if you attend along with someone whose life is in a really dark place coming in. The huge smiles on every face on the way out tell everything.

In Quest, I have had the experience of seeing the world through the eyes of God, and with such astonishing awareness realized that everything is exactly perfect as it already is. I came away from this training knowing more about God than ever before, and they didn’t teach me one bit of it - just helped me clean the window to my heart and thus the Holy Ghost. In the past I have lamented over not being able to her the spirit easily - a mere 3 days in Quest cured that permanently. After Quest, I decided to commit to following Christ by accepting baptism, so this sure doesn’t seem like a satanic work to me.

Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has chosen to take a stance against trainings such as these. They also take stances for and against many other things that are not scriptural (replacing sacrament wine with water, shaving facial hair, etc.) and denounce much truth along with their own past and what Joseph Smith taught (the Lectures on Faith (the doctrine) was removed from the Doctrine & Covenants)! As for me, I’m perfectly content to think for myself and measure Impact by the results, rather than intellectual speculation.

Impact Trainings Quest was the most transformative event for the better in my life. I’ve seen lives change in unbelievable ways. If you’re curious what goes on there, just sign up for Quest and give it your all for maximum benefit. It’s a priceless service to humanity.

Impact training can be of little help with individuals are metal ill! Most people have some sort of illness they are dealing with that they are not aware of! Impact is a small bandage to cover a major.wound!

One of impacts employees instructed an attendee (that was staying at my home for training in April) to steal from my home. Which she did. And I have pressed charges.

I went through the training in 1991. I had good and bad experiences. The GOOD: I have learned that I am in charge of my own life. I learned that I have a choice in how I feel in a situation that is put in front of me. I can make any situation not work by using excuses and blaming others or I can be accountable and make any situation work in my favor. I have learned to let go of control and start trusting others. Many other good things but the greatest was that during my training I experienced unconditional love for myself and others. With all the religious doctrines on loving one another, I never got it until I was clear on what I was about. The training also gave me the courage to forgive others in a way that had no expectations. Even after 26 years I use those tools when I choose to. When I do, I notice how beautiful our world really is...The BAD...IMO, the training is very expensive. In my experiences in the past, the owners of the company had some real ethical issues when it came to their finances. I experienced a lot of manipulations and lack of integrity within the company. They expected accountability in the training but in my experiences they would not practice it themselves. It felt like it was about the money and not the people. Maybe that part of the business is clean now. I would be more supportive if they have.

Impact may seem a bit weird to others who experience a loved one that is making sudden changes in themselves. Changes in a spouse can cause tough times as family and spouse try to keep a person the same as they've always been. Happens all the time in marriage. Marriages go through times of distance and space needed for partners to grow. If it's not given than the marriage may fail as one person is holding the other back. Family with dysfunctions and un healthy behaviors have a very hard time when a family member jumps off the merry go round and quits enabling and starts taking accountability for themself. This happens in AAA and in the 12 step program as well. My message to family- you either support them, give them space to feel the change and balance or go yourself to understand it but if you try to hold them in their past than they'll cut the cords because they are soaring to new heights. Don't talk bad about things you don't understand or haven't experienced yourself or your no better than the father on the Croods trying to keep the family in a "box" of false fears. Impact was the BEST thing I've ever done hands down!

They trick lesbians into thinking their not gay. They tell them to go a on a date with a guy only to be tricked into having sex but it's okay because it's with another Impact member. I know one girl who ended up going to Impact orgy, she's a "teacher" but still brainwashed. Another girl was raped by her "friend" and she still can't get it. Hmm. sounds like a cult to me. I'm glad I saw the fake testimonies at orientations. Impact Training and Quest are a scam cult.

They trick lesbians into thinking they are wrong for bing gay and tell them to go on a date with a guy only to be tricked into sex. but it's okay because it's with another impact member. some are raped and one girl ended up going to an impact orgy. hmm sounds a little cultish to me.

yes you should be very worried! impact training divides families as you have already experienced.start looking for a good divorce lawyer.your wife is gone!

Oops I wrote O instead of I. hello duh spell check.