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ACAT Email Newsletter 3 - March 2011

Since getting involved in ACAT I have occasionally thought about it as a swan – sailing gently and serenely down the river – whilst paddling furiously underneath.  The newsletter will, I hope, give you some idea of the effort involved in the paddling.  The result is that we are considerably further upstream, and hopefully in calm waters – at least for the time being!   
 
We have news on the outcome of a 15 year history of working towards charitable status; on the review of Sheffield Hallam University and ACAT by the Quality Assurance Agency, as well as important information for practitioner trainees.  A reminder that the annual ACAT conference is to be held shortly, as well as information about the international conference in Krakow – plenty to entice you to visit Poland in September.  The series ‘Inside ACAT’ continues, with a look at the work of the Trustees – hopefully a timely article with the AGM in sight.

Statutory Regulation
Since starting the preparation for the newsletter there has been an important update on statutory regulation. The Government’s recent Command Paper, "Enabling Excellence" , seems to indicate a change of policy away from regulation by the HPC towards the enhancement of current  voluntary registers.  A body called the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) http://www.chre.org.uk/ is likely to become the National Accrediting Body for Health Professionals who are not currently regulated by statute (such as psychotherapists).  It seems that the planned regulation of psychotherapy and counselling by the HPC will not now be taken forward. This has yet to be confirmed by the HPC but the Command Paper is worth a read and the substance of it clearly indicates a move away from centralised regulation. We will let you know as soon as there is any further news. 

In Mark Westacott’s forthcoming Chair’s Report he states ‘Becoming a charity has been an aspiration of the organisation for over fifteen years and I think it will significantly change how we feel about ourselves professionally and should also improve our ability to raise funds for research’.
 
There are different aspects which will impact on ACAT, and with the help of Stephen White, our Treasurer, I will try and summarise these:
 
The Government views charities differently from other organisations – the principal aim being to enable charities to direct as much of the monies they raise or earn towards their chosen causes as set out in the objects clauses of the organisation. This can be achieved in various ways;

• Tax:  Exemption from the payment of tax on most income and gains.
• Reliefs:  The right to apply for relief of up to 80% of business rates
• Donations:  Eligibility to receive donations under the Gift Aid or Give As You Earn schemes where the government increases the value of the donation by a fixed percentage.
• Fundraising:  It can be easier for a charity to raise funds from grant-making trusts and organisations. Additionally, members of the public feel more confident about giving money to a registered charity rather than a commercial organisation.
• Profile:  Being a registered charity can raise an organisation’s profile and status both with the public and also within its profession. 

The Trustees will be thinking around development and strategy within charitable status.  It is also hoped that we will now be more successful in targeting sources of research funding.

The ACAT annual conference ‘CAT in a Cold Climate’ is on Friday 1 April.  The organisers, Alison Jenaway, Rosemary Parkinson and Vicky Richer have designed the conference in the context of the current political and financial climate, and the impact this may have on CAT in the future.   They invite you to come along and debate these questions with your colleagues and friends:

• Do we reach out to other therapy modalities or pull up the drawbridge?
• Do we have an evidence base with which to promote CAT in these challenging times?
• Can CAT be adapted to those in dire social circumstances?

Confirmed conference presenters are:

• Mark Webster: “Integrating the Third Generation of CBT with Cognitive Analytic Therapy”,
• Stephen Kellett: “Delivering CAT to BPD patients in routine NHS practice; do we deliver the model competently and are we effective?”
• Jackie Fosbury: “CAT in a Cold Climate | Doing CAT in NHS Diabetes Clinics for 20 Years | Some Like it Hot”
• Janet Toye: “The use of CAT within a Resettlement Programme for the Homeless”
• Susan Mitzman:  “’Being a Special Patient’: Working with a male sex offender in High Secure Services using CAT”
• Rhona Brown and Robyn Vesey will be running a workshop: “CAT, social context and inequalities: creative exits and collective possibilities”

Follow the link to make your booking online (£90) or by cheque (£100) http://www.acat.me.uk/acatevent.php?event_id=579

Maddy Jevon

The AGM follows immediately after the conference.  Directors are elected at the AGM and nominations have to be received by the ACAT office no later than 12 noon on Tuesday 1 March.  At the time of writing, I am not sure whether the newsletter will reach you before 1 March.  But even if you are too late to put your name forward this year, if you are a full voting member of ACAT (i.e. fully paid up Practitioners and Psychotherapists) why not think about standing for election next year?  If you are interested in getting involved in the future, get in touch with one of the Directors and find out more.

The AGM is the opportunity to hear more about the work of ACAT undertaken on your behalf. The reports from the Chairs of the different committees will be in the AGM booklet which you will receive by post mid March, but this is your opportunity to ask questions and hear about the workings of the organisation.  Hope to see you there – and at the wine reception afterwards!  Please note - you do not have to have attended the conference to be present at the AGM.

For those practitioners and psychotherapists not able to attend the AGM, please ensure that you make use of your proxy vote - a quorum is required to ensure that proposals can be put to the vote.  The voting forms have been sent out, and need to be returned by 5.00 p.m. on tuesday 29th March.  Make sure that your vote is counted, even if you are unable to be present at the AGM.

I hope to see many of you at the conference – to that end I have included my picture in this edition.  Please come and say hello – I shall have my camera with me too, to capture those ‘special moments'!

Last year, just after we had come through the five yearly inspection from the UKCP (QQR), Sheffield Hallam University told us that every six years each Higher Education Institution gets a formal visit from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). This time it was to be hybrid, meaning it covered both on site courses (run by SHU lecturers for SHU students) and collaborative (partners external to SHU running courses). The key focus of the review is of the university and the robustness of its relationship with its partner organisations to ensure delivery of quality standards, with good communication and working relationships between the two.

We felt ourselves unlucky to be chosen as one of the collaborative partners to be ‘invited’ to take part in the QAA, but it is clearly an important assessment given the nature of our relationship with SHU.

It was, yet again, an enormous amount of work for a few people – in particular Dawn Bennett and Sue van Baars.  We finally had a formal meeting in Manchester with the staff from QAA on one of the snowiest days at the beginning of December, and everyone involved began to wonder if they were going to get home – to Devon, East Anglia, and all points south.  Thanks to all who were involved, including the trainees.

Verbal feedback from SHU was that it had gone very well and the report is due to be published in April.  SHU has 28 partner organisations and so it is not anticipated that we will be required for review again in the near future.  Fingers crossed!

ACAT SHU course Guidelines on Client Confidentiality and Consent

Both ACAT and SHU have guidelines relating to the need to ensure that confidentiality is maintained in the written work and practice of trainees/students and that trainees/students should be asking for consent from patients, clients and service users in situations where they are including information (suitably anonymized) relating to them in their written assignments.
 
These guidelines represent an agreement between ACAT and SHU.
 
Confidentiality
Trainees/students need to include on the cover sheet of all written assignments a signed declaration as below:
 
 By submitting this work:

• I confirm that all service user and personnel names used in this work are pseudonyms and the identity of the service, service users, carers and staff has been protected.
• I confirm that the work submitted is my own and that I have identified and acknowledged all the sources used as part of my submission.

Consent
ACAT and SHU policies have each required trainees/students to obtain the consent of patients, clients or service users to include information relating to them in their written assignments. SHU have required this in the form of written consent.  In November 2010 SHU reviewed its policy for students on health and social care courses as it had become increasingly clear that exemptions to the requirement for students to obtain written consent were necessary to meet the differing realities of different health and social care settings and different groups of service user. SHU have withdrawn the requirement on students to obtain consent from patients, clients or service users to include information relating to them and their care in written assignments.

The joint ACAT SHU position is that trainees/students are required to anonymize all identifying information in order to maintain confidentiality. Whilst consent is encouraged, whenever appropriate, it will not be required but we do expect trainees/students to be professional, sensitive and appropriate in their use of information relating to patients, clients and service users.

Sanctions on breaches of confidentiality
The sanctions imposed by SHU on students undertaking ACAT courses that breach confidentiality are documented (proforma stage 3) – this information will be included in course handbooks in the section on written assignments.

Linda Harvey

We’re glad to welcome Linda Harvey as the new Chair of the Training Committee – she has taken over from Sarah Littlejohn.  She brings a wealth of experience into this post, from her original nursing training (RMN, RGN), followed by a BA Psychology, 1993, an MSC Counselling Psychology 1997 and an MA Psychoanalytic Studies, 2009.

Linda’s association with ACAT goes back to its roots – she was a founder member of ACAT, and in the early days organised the regular supervisors’ meetings, usually at the Centre for Psychosynthesis in Tooley Street, London.  She was Secretary to the Council for two years, and organised CAT Conferences in 1997 and 1998 at Guy’s with happy recollections of trying to get Professor Watson to talk when the Rugby was on!

She has worked as an independent therapist since 1989 after leaving her position as a Community Psychiatric Nurse at Guy’s Hospital in order to be with her young family.  She was worked as a therapist, as a course marker and as a supervisor, and writes that she has thoroughly enjoyed her work and the freedom that being self-employed gives her.

Not content with all this activity, she has been actively involved on the Board of Governors at her local secondary school and is currently the Chair of her local Constituency Political Party – and still finds time to read, and do belly dancing!

It was early in the morning and the house was still quiet. He took his mug with strong coffee to the sitting room and sat by the desk switching his computer on; he navigated his way to his mailbox and clicked on the first email from Maddy:   “Hi! […] I wondered if you would be able to contribute an article to the next newsletter?  I'd be looking for something up to two A4 pages - any pictures you could add would be great. The deadline would be...”

His thought for a minute: an article for the newsletter! What a great idea, maybe the opportunity he was looking for to finally get in touch with the other trainees as well...! “I should start writing immediately” he said to himself, but he then thought: “Oh, there is no rush! There is plenty of time; the deadline is quite some distance away!”

He got ready and set off to go to his supervision group. Ever since he had started his CAT Practitioner Training the year before, Wednesday had become his favourite weekday; a day in his week that was somewhat different: he was not going to work, he was a student/trainee again and - though it was still at times challenging work - it was also very interesting and rewarding. He really cherished this learning opportunity and enjoyed being in a supervision group. He was getting honest feedback there about his progress in CAT and was also learning how to hone his skills in psychotherapy through his interaction with the other members of his group and the guidance of his excellent supervisor. And then it was time to see his patients. Yes, two patients in two hours was hard work, but it was also such a rewarding experience, very different from running an outpatient clinic or doing a ward round all day long. It provided a space to think and work collaboratively with the patient towards reformulating, recognising and revising the patterns the patient was using to relate to themselves and others. It encouraged the use of creativity with the diagrams and letters it involved. Finally – and more importantly for him - it was a humbling experience to be allowed to witness the struggles and the development of the patient through the sessions towards the end of the therapy.

With these thoughts in his mind, he walked towards the bus stop. The bus arrived promptly, but there was a lot of traffic. He kept on looking at his watch and could not help thinking that he might be late (“again?” as his co-supervisees would tease him). This need to rush again brought to his mind other aspects of this training. “Yes, it was true, it was not all rosy with this course; it was also quite demanding”. All trainees had to juggle their jobs with the practitioner training, attend a training day once per month, submit four assignments, treat eight patients (also do take drop-outs into account), keep up with supervision, correspondence for your patients, note keeping, have your personal therapy and also  - did I mention this? - continue doing your job! He also remembered that there was also a cost implication, which was significant, since many trainees were self-funding their training, a significant point given the times of austerity we are living in.

Some of these thoughts led him to apply for the Trainee Rep position, when it became available last year. He thought about the opportunity to represent his co-trainees in ACAT, to participate himself and also encourage more trainees to participate in this organization. He has been in this position - of representing his colleagues - before (“talk about patterns”) and he was very keen to bring in his enthusiasm and – why not? – some ideas as well. With all that in mind, he joined the Council and took over from Robyn Vesey later that year. When he attended the Annual Conference last summer, he had found it stimulating and enjoyable and he started having more ideas: how about a separate section in the Newsletter? How about a page or two in the reformulation? How about an online group for all trainees? How about an event or two at the Annual Conference or now at the International Conference along with trainees from other countries? How about getting more trainees interested in research projects? There were many exciting and promising opportunities ahead. Just to get more people interested and on board really. “Is it within their zone of proximal development?” he thought he heard his supervisor saying, as if he was in the group already. “Well, yes! It certainly is”. The Organization provides the training (the scaffolding) and we trainees are learning within our ZPD about CAT and ourselves and are being shaped into the CAT therapists of the future. In parallel, we are also the future of ACAT (“aren’t we?” he thought to himself), so why not?

The bus was finding its way through the heavy morning traffic and his mind went back to his interview before he got on the Practitioner course. He was asked a question he was more or less expecting about “juggling the demands of the training with his busy job” and he remembered how he had answered “the key is good time management; prioritise tasks, plan in advance, prepare for them and use my time efficiently”. The interviewers had nodded in agreement. “Sometimes easier said than done he whispered to himself” then.

He finally arrived at the hospital and walked briskly towards the Psychological Therapies Department. He knocked on the door of his supervisor's office. He was ten minutes late and his supervisor welcomed him “Hi! Come on in! How are you?” and playfully told him “you will be late for your own funeral”.  This did not sound such a bad idea to him initially, but he took it on board and apologised to all.

The supervision group continued and ended and he then saw his first patient. Post-reformulation letter session and it went well. The patient had read his reformulation letter again and had continued making progress in recognising the unhelpful patterns. The second patient cancelled at the very last minute. “Hmmm! Is this a missed session or not? I ‘d better check with the group next week” he thought to himself making his way to the bus stop. He stopped to grab something for lunch and headed home. His mind went back to the piece he was asked to write for the newsletter and he then decided “This is what I will write!”

Dr Petros Lekkos
2nd Year North London Practitioner Course

P.S. Petros would really welcome your thoughts, comments and suggestions on the points he has tentatively made in the above document with regards to increasing trainees’ involvement, presence and support within ACAT. Please forward these to lekkosp@yahoo.com

Continuing the series looking inside ACAT, this time I am considering the role of the Trustees - a timely article in the light of the change to charitable status and with the imminence of the AGM.

ACAT is governed by its Directors/Trustees. They have overall responsibility for the development of ACAT and for setting the general direction of the organization. Their roles are separate from the members of the Council of Management and are concerned with standing back from the daily activities and thinking about whether ACAT has the vision and strategy in place to make it likely to be able to fulfil the objects of ACAT as set out in the constitution:

Currently these are:

• To protect, promote and maintain health and safety of the community by promoting proper standards in the practice of cognitive analytic therapy. 
• To advance the education of the public in the subject of cognitive analytic therapy including in particular by providing education and training to mental health professionals and members of the general public.

(The revised objects that will be presented at the AGM are as follows

1. Educating health professionals and promoting proper standards and good practice in cognitive analytic therapy: and
2. Increasing awareness and understanding of cognitive analytic therapy amongst health professionals, service providers and the public.)

The Board of Directors is ultimately accountable under the law for everything that ACAT does.

(When ACAT becomes a registered charity, the Directors will become Trustees.  Until then, Director is the correct term.  The responsibilities, however, are identical).

The Directors delegate day to day responsibility to the Council of Management.  Part of the Board’s role is to support and guide the Chair of ACAT. It also reviews the work of Council so that Council can be held to account and the Directors be satisfied it is doing a good job, e.g. that they are focusing on the right issues, using resources well etc.  Its wider remit is to question, make informed judgements and view matters from a strategic, forward looking and broad perspective.  Directors should have a keen sense of the development of CAT and the founding principles of ACAT.  They should be able to take a detached view and not be over involved unless an issue of key importance arises which needs a fuller consultation with members.

Directors are elected by full members of ACAT at the AGM.  There is no maximum term - one-third stand down each year but can stand for re-election if they wish.  There are about ten Directors at any one time; the majority are full members of ACAT some of whom have played key parts in the past such as former Chairs, others who are interested in taking an overview of ACAT.  There are also two places for lay members (non-member Directors).  These may be people who represent the patient’s voice or that of the NHS or the third sector.  Directors meet three times a year in London (with Council of Management), coinciding with meetings of the Training Committee and Exam Board, and also have an annual away day to think strategically about ACAT.

Mark Westacott (Chair), Alison Jenaway (Vice Chair) and Stephen White (Treasurer) are currently Directors and also serve on the Council of Management.  The remaining Directors/Trustees are:  Annalee Curran; Jacintha(Jessie)Emilion; Mary Dunn; Steve Potter; Vicki Richer and Virginia West.

Light and Simple CAT

Nicola Kimber-Rogal is a Chartered Psychologist and Cognitive Analytic Therapist.  Before her work in psychology, she had a successful career in dance and theatre, culminating in a seven-year contract in the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical, Cats.  She now works at Kids Company in writing, training and research, and with a variety of clients, encouraging individuals to use their potential more fully both in and outside the working environment.  She is interested in OCD, PTDS and in how the links between theology, philosophy and spiritual growth can lead to positive therapeutic outcome.

Nicola is close to completing a new self-help book – ‘Light and Simple CAT’.  It will be accessible to all, CAT clients or not, and will describe the basics of CAT and early human development.  It condenses the Psychotherapy File and procedures into a more manageable, macro format.   It sketches examples of SDR’s and explains, simply, CAT concepts such as Core Pain, and Roles and Procedures.  It emphasises the benefits but also the limits of any kind of psychotherapeutic approach and defines the roots of psychology.  Importantly, it shows that without including ordinary notions of the spirit in human development, neither the cognitive-analytic, nor any other approach can get to the soul of good therapy.

Nicola is looking for a publisher for this – if any members have ideas about publishers to approach, she would be very grateful for further information.  You can contact Nicola on nrogal@hotmail.comor phone 07710 230901.

Chinese cousins
Liz McCormick has also been keeping busy. She is working on a new fourth edition of Change For The Better to be published by Sage in 2012.  The new edition will continue to be a self help book based upon CAT understandings, with the addition of having more references to the origins of ideas to assist professional CPD. There will be some new case material and a more comprehensive section on developing psychological literacy and sensitivity.

Liz writes: "I am currently gathering case material in the form of diagrams and prose reformulations and would be very grateful to receive cases as appropriate. I would particularly be happy to receive cases with difficult or borderline presentations. Also, suggestions for this new edition are welcome!  Contact Liz McCormick on liz.mac2@me.com

As well as this, Change for the Better has been translated into Chinese using 'simplified characters'.  It has the same cover as the English one – see below.  The publishers are China Light and the ISBN number for the Chinese edition is: 978-7-5019-7460-3.

The 4th International CAT conference is to be held in Krakow, Poland from 15th to 17th September 2011.  It is being organised by ICATA, the International Cognitive Analytic Therapy Association, a federation of national associations with member countries currently represented from Australia, Chile, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The conference theme is celebrating the method and the model in all its diversity.  ICATA writes ‘We want to focus on the rich variety of clinical applications of CAT on the one hand and the lively debate about the cognitive, analytic, humanistic and dialogic theoretical integration at the heart of CAT.

There will be guest speaker presentations of 40 minutes, clinical practice presentations of thirty minutes plus discussion time, and workshop sessions of one hour. There will be space for poster presentations and for research reports. What we need is any suggestions and ideas for how the program could look.’   If you are interested in getting involved, please email one of the members of the conference organising committee with offers to present a paper or lead a workshop or suggestions for the same – for further details click here.

Krakow is a fascinating place to visit – not just the opportunity to meet your international colleagues, but as a destination in its own right.  If you are thinking of spending a day or two sightseeing before or after the conference, I’ve taken a clip from a couple of websites – http://cracow-life.com and http://www.krakow-tours.com/. In addition, friends of mine visited Krakow last year where the emphasis was on the arts – I’ve added their reflections to whet your appetite!

Krakow Poland - A Survivor's Guide!

Krakow - Poland's stunning second city, is a captivating place both to travel to and live in. With Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004, there has been a slow but steady increase in foreigners and tourists alike looking for (and often finding) something truly special in the city. Cracow-life.com is the city's leading English-language portal for Krakow, with over two thousand pages of useful informationabout everything in the city, from cosy cafes, hip bars and fancy restaurants through to reviews and photos of the best Krakow hotels and apartments if you need help in choosing or booking your accommodation. Thanks to our IT whizzkids we can even show you the exact location of all the above on our fantastic online Krakow map!

As well as presenting you all of Krakow's hottest hangouts (and their whereabouts), we endeavour to keep our readers fingers firmly on the city's pulse, with the latest breaking news, from Krakow and Poland, an up-to-the-minute calendar of events with listings of festivals, exhibitions, parties and concerts, and the latest tricks that Mother Nature is pulling on our weather page. We also provide you the chance to talk to Krakow residents and ask them tricky questions on our forum. Krakow, on the broad river Wista (Vistula) is a beautiful city which has retained a medieval presence, with many storeyed ‘palaces’ around the huge market square at its centre.  These buildings have vast airy cellars, with massive brick and stone arches supporting the floors above.  The higher rooms are built to a very large scale, and the great ceiling joists, usually of larch, beautifully carved, argue an unlimited supply of building timber in previous generations, not so obvious now in the surrounding countryside.

A view of the history and art

In the city itself there is so much to see.  Wawel Castle, with its wonderful tapestries and State Art Collection; the Kazimierz district that is the Jewish quarter with the old Synagogue housing the Museum of History and Culture of Krakow Jewry, and the Jagielloniion University where Copernicus studied (and where the conference is being held).  There are many churches in the city and two magnificent cathedrals sumptuously decorated with bright colours and gold leaf.  The great influence of the Roman Catholic church is very noticeable here, and it very evident that their religious conviction has, above every other consideration, been most responsible for the stoic obstinacy which has preserved the Polish sense of national identity over hundreds of years of invasions and threats.

Outside the city the refurbished castle at Pieskova Skala contains a very fine collection of European art from the middle ages to the early 20^thcentury including furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings and ceramics.  The Royal Salt Mines at Wieliczka is an adventure deep underground.  Rock salt is harder than granite, and there is a beautiful chapel with salt crystal chandeliers and a large restaurant, all cut out of solid rock salt.

Should one visit Auschwitz? It is a difficult question, and a deeply personal one. For many people, be they pilgrims on a private journey, backpackers exploring Eastern Europe, historians, travellers or native Poles, it is a must. The proximity to Krakow makes a visit to the museums a very real option - the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) is an hour and a half journey by car from Krakow. And certainly, having seen the camps (regardless of how many other groups are also filing through) few will regret the experience. The camps and their legacy are an indelible part of today's world, and visiting them is both sobering and edifying.

Talking of paddling hard whilst appearing serene to all about, Jon Sloper is close to completing the nuts and bolts of the new website.  It has turned out to be a very complex process as there are so many links between different sections, and a couple of weeks ago Jon told me that every time he wrote a new code for one bit, everything stopped working!  However, the site is now close to completion and it is hoped it will be officially launched at the conference on 1 April.

I think the timing could not be better as I heard announcements on the radio this morning about the emphasis given to talking therapies but the need for GP commissioners to have better information on which to base their decisions.

The plan is to make the site dynamic so that information available for patients and professionals is kept fresh and up to date, so once you have all had the opportunity to see it, I shall welcome new contributions from yourselves and from people who have had CAT and are willing to share their experiences of it.

We shall have links to other useful websites, but in case you had not come across NHS evidence, I have given the link below.  NHS Evidence is a free service supporting the information needs of frontline staff working in health and social care access a wide range of health information to help them deliver quality patient care. You can access a comprehensive evidence base, including systematic reviews, accredited guidance and patient information.

As well as helping you find information, NHS Evidence also allows you to save searches, save information found while searching and to share this information with colleagues. Go to www.evidence.nhs.uk for more information.

The Learning Disability Special Interest Group

The Learning Disability Special Interest Group continues to meet quarterly.  The SPIG is open to people receiving CAT supervision and who are working or supervising in services for people with learning disabilities.

Meetings start with a catch up on how each of us is using CAT at work.  We can describe the cases we are working with as well as wider interventions using CAT, such as working with staff teams.  We also discuss the systems we work in, our own training and accessing supervision.   We are delighted that two of our members, who often come to meetings, have now found a CAT supervisor for their learning disability work.  Potential supervisors can take the plunge into what may for them be an unfamiliar client group, by knowing they offer CAT experience whereas supervisees offer learning disability experience; a partnership made for those who like CAT’s dialogic, flexible approach.  The SPIG are available to support potential supervisors in regard to the practice and procedures of learning disability services.

Members are involved in a number of current projects.  One person has been asked to present something on CAT at the British Psychological Society’s Advancing Practice Conference (i.e., the annual conference for psychologists working in learning disability services).  Two others have been asked by the Institute of Psychotherapy and Disability (IPD) to present something on CAT at their annual conference in June.  Many of you will recall Valerie Sinason’s powerful description at the 2009 International CAT Conference on what it is like to have a learning disability.  She is one of talking therapists who founded IPD.  We are also delighted that this May, three of the SPIG will be holding our first two-day CAT Introduction Course for people working (or supervising) in learning disability services (see the ACAT web site for details).

The next meeting will be 19^thApril 2011, 10.30-3pm at 1.21 Hills Building, Birmingham University.  This is a special CPD event which is free to members of the LD CAT SPIG (although paid for out of our funds).  Steve Potter will be presenting on Using active CAT mapping to develop relationally intelligent responses to challenging behaviour and the helper’s reactions.

CAT South Program of events - 2011

The Group for Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT) in the South of England. Offering Networking, Support, Training and CPD for CAT trainees, Practitioners and Psychotherapists, Supervisors and everyone who is interested in the practice of CAT.
 

PEER SUPERVISION

For CAT South members:
Please Note: In response to requests from CAT SOUTH members, we will also be commencing Peer Supervision Groups monthly for 3 hours per group of 3 in the following locations. These groups will only be for Accredited therapists and psychotherapists and will constitute one hour supervision per month per participant. Cost will be £10 per session, per participant and all profits from this will go to CAT SOUTH funds to enable CAT SOUTH to subsidise more CPD and networking events. Members attending CPD events have said how useful group discussion of cases can be in response to case study discussions during CPD days so this is your opportunity to ‘do supervision’ within a peer group and at a lower cost.

Fareham – Hampshire – commencing Friday April Romsey – Hampshire – commencing Saturday 9 April

Please check online for ongoing dates. Please e-mail CAT SOUTH if you wish to be part of either of these groups.
We would like to offer these groups in other parts geographically which will be convenient for members. If anyone has a suitable location and would like to consider hosting a regular group please contact Maryanne Steele through CAT SOUTH.

NECAT (The North-East CAT CPD network)

Our most recent event, Chess Denman on Sex and Sexuality in CAT, was a great success.  We were keen to learn and reflect upon this topic that often seems to get overlooked in our therapeutic work.

We continue with our aspiration to balance CAT and non-CAT speakers in our workshops, and we are pleased to be welcoming Prof. Maria Gilbert from Metanoia to our next event in Newcastle on Wednesday 11 May 2011.  Maria has published work on both the process of supervising and of being a supervisee, and she will leading a full-day workshop for us on 'Creating Learning Partnerships in Supervision'.  Maria is an Integrative Psychotherapist and so we will be incorporating time to reflect upon the way her models might be brought into our distinctive CAT model of supervision.  Our events are open to all.  For further details contact Caroline Dower, carolinedower@hotmail.com, or Henrietta Batchelor, profjonbat@blueyonder.co.uk.

CAT Wales (south, mid and west)

CAT in south, mid and west Wales continues to thrive with a meeting in Cardiff on 12 January with a case presentation by Rachel Akande.  Further meetings are planned for 13 April, 13 July and 12 October with topics including 'Bakhtin for beginners' and reports from the CAT conference.  Meetings are 10-12 in Cardiff.

Plans to set up a 'CAT Skills' training in Wales are well in place and the deadline for applications is 10 March.  Teaching days will be in Merthyr Tydfil

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Click to read all news

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31st March 2025
ACAT: Trainers and Supervisors Meeting

2nd April 2025
ACAT: Relational Skills in CAT Supervision Residential

2nd April 2025
ACAT: Relational Skills in CAT Supervision Residential

8th May 2025
CAT and Reflective Practice: Skills for Facilitation - offered by Catalyse

17th May 2025
EDI Race and Culture CPD workshop - offered by CAT Cumbria

23rd May 2025
29th ACAT National Conference

23rd May 2025
Annual General Meeting

8th July 2025
ACAT: Two Day Introduction to CAT - Online

9th September 2025
ACAT: Two Day Introduction to CAT - Online

18th September 2025
Restoring Regenerating and Rewilding residential - offered by the WildCAT SIG

11th October 2025
Developing the CAT model CPD workshop - offered by CAT Cumbria

11th November 2025
ACAT: Two Day Introduction to CAT - Online