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St Thomas' CAT Practitioner Training
19th September 2016 to 30th June 2018

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St Thomas’ Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) Practitioner Training 2016 - 2018

Cognitive Analytic Therapy is a time-limited psychotherapy (normally 16 to 24 sessions) which is a fundamentally relational model in theory and practice. Theoretically it integrates theories derived from cognitive psychology, psychoanalytic psychotherapy (mainly object relations) and ideas derived from Vygotsky and Bakhtin. CAT involves developing an active collaborative therapeutic relationship with the patient and is particularly applicable to work in NHS settings with people with complex needs. CAT Practitioner Training is relevant to the needs of a diverse range of people working within the NHS and caring professions who wish to establish CAT as one of their core skills. CAT Practitioner Training aims to develop trainees’ ability to work clinically with patients drawing on CAT skills and CAT theory.

Qualification

Following successful completion of the course trainees will be accredited to practise CAT within their core professions and will be entitled to become full professional members of the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy. Successful graduates of the course are recognised by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) and are able to use the protected title ‘Psychological Therapist’.  The course is also relevant to individuals who wish to acquire the Practitioner Training as a prelude to applying for further training as a CAT Psychotherapist and registration with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). This involves further selection procedures and two additional years of training on completion of the Practitioner Training.

Course Structure

Each year is divided into three modules: October to December, January to March, April to July. The intake for this course is biennial.

Introductory Workshop

All successful applicants to the course will be expected to attend the introductory CAT Course Workshop in September 2016 as a prelude to the course. This will introduce CAT and also introduce the structure and process of the course. Trainees will also begin their clinical placements at the latest by September 2016 so that supervisory arrangements, eg, Honorary Contracts, are settled prior to the course commencing.

Training Days

Each module will begin with a two day training workshop and conclude with a one or two day training workshop. These take place on Fridays and Saturdays.  In total there will be ten training days a year. Training days will consist of a combination of lectures, presentations, small groups and experiential work focussing on personal exploration and the development of CAT skills and their clinical application. These will be facilitated by the course trainers, seminar leaders and guest trainers.

Training Themes

The development of the self and damage to the self, self and CAT, the therapeutic relationship, transference and counter-transference, CAT theory (Procedural Sequence Object Relations Model, Reciprocal Role Relationships, Self States), CAT Skills (Psychotherapy file, Target problems, Target Problem Procedures, Prose and Diagrammatic Reformulations, Goodbye letters), Assessment, CAT in context, self and society, CAT research, CAT applied to complex presentations, specialist settings, CAT as a time-limited intervention, boundaries, endings, models of change. Theoretical contributions to CAT: object relations theory, cognitive theory, introducing dialogism. CAT within organisations and teams, and issues of professional practice and personal development.

Seminars

To support and extend the work of the training days each module will have 12 hours of seminar meetings. Seminars will consist of small groups meeting with a seminar leader who will facilitate a mixture of problem based learning, experiential work and guided reading. Some seminars will be peer led. Seminar meetings normally take place in the late afternoon/early evening.

Tutorials

Each trainee will meet with their individual tutors three times a year (once each module) to plan and evaluate their individual learning process. An additional tutorial will take place following the conclusion of the course to assist trainees to complete their training requirements.

Supervised Clinical Work

Supervision takes place weekly for one and a half hours in groups of 3 trainees with an accredited CAT Supervisor. Clinical work is a minimum of two years but usually takes longer. Clinical appraisal forms are completed at 6 monthly intervals. Most trainees are expected to take up a clinical placement at St Thomas’ Hospital IPTT and within other locations within South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. However a small number of places may be available for trainees who are being supervised in other NHS Trusts, for example, Brighton. Trainees are expected to remain in Clinical Supervision for the duration of the course or until course requirements are fulfilled. Trainees are expected to be on placement within an NHS setting. The cost of supervision is not included in the fees for this course. CAT Supervision is normally free in exchange for a clinical placement within a NHS Trust where CAT is established and CAT supervision is offered for trainees taking on patients from within the same service.

Clinical Work

Trainees will be expected to work with a minimum of 8 patients with a range of difficulties including the “hard to help”. Two cases are normally carried concurrently wherever possible. Trainees should have the experience of 6 x 16 session CAT together with 2 longer (24 session) CATS. The time commitment for the clinical work of the course usually extends beyond the 2 years and often involves a further year to complete clinical work. Trainees working in specialist areas will need to arrange a clinical placement which gives them access to patients with a range of difficulties outside their specialism for 4 of the 8 cases (half).  Clinical work includes a commitment to completing departmental administrative and clinical procedures including computerised and paper record keeping.

Personal Psychotherapy

Each trainee will be expected to complete a minimum of a 16 session weekly personal CAT plus follow up during the first year of the course. The cost of this is not included in the fees for the course. Additional personal psychotherapy experience is encouraged during the course.

Written Work

One case study and one theory paper each year. Each paper has a word count of 4000. In addition trainees need to ensure they allow sufficient time for private study.

Psychiatric Placement

In cases where a trainee may not have sufficient psychiatric experience, a placement will be an additional component to the course.

Ethical Practice

Trainees will become Trainee members of ACAT and will be expected to work within ACAT’s Code of Practice and Ethics for Members, Appeals Procedure and Complaints Procedure.

Assessment

Successful completion of the course will comprise of:

Regular attendance of all aspects of the course (85%); satisfactory completion of case studies and written papers; completion of clinical practice requirements; satisfactory reports from trainers and supervisors; completion of personal therapy.

NB: In extenuating circumstances where these criteria are not met, additional requirements of equivalent weight may be set by the course trainers.

Course Location

The taught components is planned to take place on the site of St Thomas’ Hospital and within other locations within South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Seminar groups and clinical supervision will be similarly be available.

Teaching Team

The course will be led by Hilary Beard together with co-trainer Harriet Gamble. In addition a variety of senior CAT trainers will be involved in all aspects of the course in addition to seminar leaders and tutors.

Costings

Initial application fee £35. If called for interview there will be an additional cost of £85 to fund the interview process. Trainees are responsible for paying this fee. Training fees of £2,600 per annum per trainee, this includes the cost of training days, seminars, tutorials, marking, part payment towards attending the annual ACAT Conference and ACAT’s yearly trainee registration fee. It does not include the cost of personal psychotherapy and supervision. As this course is run in conjunction with Lambeth IPTT, a reduction of £250 per annum will be given to applicants who are salaried employees of South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. The course organisers reserve the right to increase fees in Year Two, although the intention is that they remain the same as Year One and will only increase due to unforeseen circumstances.

Criteria for Application

Applicants will generally be expected to be a current member of a health-care profession with 2 years post qualification experience and to have had prior experience and/or training in psychotherapy/counselling at an introductory level. Applicants will be expected to be currently working within a clinical setting. Applicants without a health-care profession may be considered if they can demonstrate evidence of equivalent experience through a mixture of the following elements: attendance at a CAT Introductory Weekend or Introductory Lecture Course, supervised clinical experience, theoretical teaching gained from other counselling/psychotherapy training courses, experience of working within a mental health setting, experience of personal psychotherapy.

The initial priority for selection will be for applicants who are able to take up a CAT clinical placement within SLAM NHS Trust during the life of the course as the course contributes to the CAT clinical service within SLAM NHS Trust. Applicants who hope to take up a CAT clinical placement in other Trusts are also welcomed and encouraged to apply as the selection process focuses also on welcoming applicants from diverse settings.

How to Apply

Please download the application pack (documents below) or contact Niki Larsen, Course Administrator, Email: niki.larsen@acat.me.uk
Telephone: 07564 920824
Address: STH, PO Box 140, Portslade, Brighton, BN41 9DJ

Application Fee and How to Pay

£35 is payable with the initial application.

To pay the application fee online by credit or debit card:

1.  Register as a registered user of the ACAT website.  To register, click the Register link at the bottom of this page and then follow the instructions. You can also register using the link on the website home page. Registration is a free service.

2.  Then login to the website with your user name and password and then

3.  Click the payment link below:

Pay the Application Fee online here

If called for interview an additional £85 will be charged to cover the cost of the interview process.

Timescale

The closing date for current applications is 30th April 2016. Applicants will then be short-listed and interviews will be offered. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as places are limited.  The practice of CAT is regulated in the UK by the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT) which is a member organisation of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

Please see supporting documents which can be downloaded below:

Application Form
Guidance Notes for Applications
Leaflet

We look forward to receiving your application. 

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