You are here: Home > Training in CAT > CAT Therapist / Practitioner Training Courses > Oxford Practitioner Training 7th Jan 2013

Oxford Practitioner Training
7th January 2013 to 31st December 2014

---

WARNING! This event has passed.

Oxford CAT Practitioner Training

Update:  November 2012:  a few places remain on this course - applications still invited with final interviews to be held mid-December 2012

Practitioner Training is a two-year part-time course leading to Accreditation by the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy. With this accreditation you will be able to become a full member of the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy Ltd (ACAT) and be eligible to practice CAT within your core profession. The course also leads to a postgraduate diploma from Sheffield Hallam University.  Course graduates will also be eligible to apply to do a further two years’ Psychotherapy Training in CAT, leading to UKCP registration, and to apply to gain an MSc in CAT under the auspices of Sheffield Hallam University.

COURSE AIM

The course aims to provide a training, which enables professionals with established competence in their own field to enhance their understanding and skills in psychotherapy, by learning the theory and clinical application of Cognitive Analytic Therapy.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The taught course is spread over two years and consists of training days, seminar groups, supervised clinical work and a personal experience of CAT.

TRAINING DAYS

There are 10 training days per year, covering the following:

• The integrated theory of CAT and its sources
• The sense of Self, its development and disruption
• Fundamental CAT concepts and tools
• Therapeutic skills and the therapy relationship.
• The social and professional context of CAT
• Personality disorders and CAT in specialist settings
• Evidence-based psychotherapy practice
• Theories of change and ethical practice

The training days take place on a Monday in Oxford. The days comprise a combination of taught sessions, group discussions, case presentations and some experiential and group work

SEMINAR GROUPS

There will be nine seminar groups per year, on average three per term, led by an experienced practitioner. The aim of these will be to support and extend the work of the training days and to maintain the continuity of the course content. They will draw on a mixture of guided reading, discussion, problem-based learning and experiential work, and will increasingly be trainee-initiated or -led, as the course progresses.

SUPERVISED CLINICAL WORK

Trainees will be expected to complete  CAT therapies with a minimum of eight patients, under the supervision of an ACAT accredited CAT supervisor. Supervision will normally take place weekly for 1½ hrs, in groups of three trainees. There has to be a minimum of 40 supervision sessions per year, and trainees will be expected to attend regularly. Trainees are required to be in CAT supervision until completion of all clinical work, which will normally take a minimum of two years.

TUTORIALS

Each trainee will have the opportunity to meet with an individual tutor once per term. The aim of the tutorials is to help trainees monitor their learning progress and needs, and to offer guidance about the academic requirements of the course. It is also where personal difficulties can be raised, when they have not been resolved elsewhere.

PERSONAL THERAPY

Trainees are required to undertake a 16 session CAT with one follow-up with an ACAT accredited therapist before or during the training, ideally undertaken during the first year, or at minimum arranged by the end of year 1.

COMMITMENT

Trainees should realistically expect to be able to set aside on average half a day per week in addition to the training components and the clinical work in order to meet all the requirements of the course.

ASSESSMENT
Comprises;
• Satisfactory feed-back from supervisors and tutors and regular attendance at all aspects of the course
• Two case studies, one at the end of each year.
• Two academic essays, one per year.

THE AWARD

Graduates of the course will be accredited as CAT Practitioners by the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy Ltd.  It entitles the holder to practice CAT within their core profession.  Annual renewal will depend on evidence of continuing supervision and CPD.

The course is also accredited, along with the majority of UK CAT Practitioner courses, by Sheffield Hallam University, at Post Graduate Diploma level.  On completion the graduate can apply to pursue an MSc at SHU, usually with the addition of a research module and a dissertation.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

• Core professional training in one of the caring professions
• Two years of post-qualification experience
• Experience and/or training in psychotherapy at an introductory level
• Managerial support for the training (finance and time commitment) and access to clients

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Personal therapy experience
• Work experience in a mental health setting. Where an applicant has no such experience, s/he may be required to undertake a suitable placement

COSTS

The yearly fee will be £2,950. This includes training, seminar groups, tutorials, supervision if clinical work is undertaken at the Warneford Hospital, some reading materials and the SHU and ACAT Trainee Registration fees. Fees can be paid in quarterly instalments. The fee for interview, if shortlisted, is £50.

Personal Therapy:  Fees are negotiated directly with the therapist. Typical costs are currently in the region of £50-£70 per session.

COURSE TEAM

The course will be run by a new Course Director, Alison Macdonald, experienced CAT Practitioner and Supervisor, at the Warneford Hospital and Co-Trainer Mark Walker, experienced CAT Practitioner and Supervisor. Training support is provided by a core group of local, experienced supervisors and seminar group leaders, and by the previous Course Director, Eva Burns-Lundgren, if required in the early stages of the course, again in order to provide consistency and continuity. In addition, a number of specialist, invited speakers will contribute to some training days.

The course is hosted by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, and is jointly accredited by ACAT, The Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy Ltd, PO Box 6793, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 9DL, Tel 0844 0800 9496. E-mail admin@acat.me.uk and by Sheffield Hallam University awarding a PGDip.

Trainees will have access to online training resources via the ACAT website, which also contains general information about CAT and CAT training on www.acat.me.uk.

Our Next 2 CAT Therapist / Practitioner Training Courses

9th October 2025
Catalyse CAT Practitioner Training 2025-27

12th January 2026
Newcastle & NHSE (North East) CAT Practitioner Training 2026-2027