Go straight to the Listing of Active CAT Practitioner training courses
Listing of CAT Practitioner Training CoursesCAT Practitioner training enables core mental health professionals with competence in their own field to enhance their understanding and skills in CAT as a specific psychological therapy. Practitioner training supports you to learn the theory and methods of CAT as an individual therapy applied to adult mental health. These courses usually last two years and are assessed.
By successfully completing Practitioner training you can apply for accreditation as a CAT Practitioner and will be eligible for full membership of ACAT. You obtain the Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) Therapist / Practitioner Diploma. Additionally you are eligible to apply to join a further two years' training to qualify as a CAT Psychotherapist.
CAT Practitioner training was established over twenty years ago, and has a track record of providing mental health professionals with basic competence in the full use of Cognitive Analytic Therapy.
Since 2023, NHS England has commissioned and funded CAT Practitioner training in four course centres as part of its workforce expansion for adult community services as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. CAT is included as an evidence based therapy which complements the suite of psychological therapies commissioned by Health Education England for clients experiencing severe mental health problems.
For 2025 entry some Integrated Commissioning Boards (ICBs) may fund staff working in other services where CAT is considered an appropriate therapeutic modality. This decision is made at a local service level and neither ACAT, nor specific training courses, can provide advice on this.
CAT Practitioner courses are offered in several course centres across the UK. Some are independent and others are hosted within NHS Trusts. Four course centres currently provide NHS England commissioned training places.
Find out more and locate your nearest CAT Practitioner training on the page listing here.
Applicants are expected to demonstrate that they are academically capable of undertaking post-graduate study. You will therefore have either a first degree or equivalent qualification, or other evidence of academic capability. You will already have (and will be asked to demonstrate) relevant experience of conducting psychological therapies with people in a mental health setting within therapeutic boundaries. You will have either a qualification in an NHS recognised core profession (e.g. nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, occupational therapy, social work), or evidence and qualification which demonstrates an equivalent level of competence.
Applicants must have the personal qualities that make them suitable for the profession of psychotherapy. This includes demonstrable awareness and sensitivity to issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, class and disability, ethnic and cultural difference. Additionally applicants need to have sufficient emotional competence to deal with the psychological aspects of the work.
We will be looking for:
a lively and enquiring mind,
an ability to listen and respond with compassion and respect and without prejudice,
evidence of self-reflection, self-awareness and a commitment to self-development,
evidence of personal stability and appropriate boundaries, and
a capacity for constructive working relationships.
It is desirable, but not required, that you have had your own experience of a personal therapy.
You may need to demonstrate one or more of the following:
For candidates who may not strictly meet the entry criteria but are interested to explore CAT training, read more information at the dedicated page Embarking on CAT Training - Eligibility for 'Career Route' Training
This is a two-year training comprising a combination of workshops or training days, seminars, peer group work, personal learning, supervision, clinical practice and personal therapy. Experiential work focuses on personal exploration and the development of CAT skills and their clinical application. Trainees must complete a minimum of 8 supervised cases and pass all written work required by the course.
Training days cover eight modules. Each day reflects ‘CAT Knowledge in Use’. In training days you may have a combination of preliminary reading, presentations, small and large group work, skills exercises and case discussions. The content will include theory relating to CAT principles and concepts. You will be able to practise using CAT skills, activities and tools, and reflect on your experience in applying theory in clinical practice.
The training days are spread throughout each of the two years. You will learn about to the main features of the CAT model in the early part of training. The content of the programme in year one follows the structure of a CAT therapy, so that teaching topics align with the timing of these phases in your first two training cases.
You will build on Year One learning, to deepen knowledge and skills as the taught course progresses. Year Two days cover a range of applications of CAT and specifically approaches or working with more complex presentations.
You are expected to attend a regular seminar reading group of up to six peers, who meet for 16 hours over each year of the training. Seminar groups provide you with a peer learning environment where you and your fellow group members can study and reflect further on your learning learning. In particular you can make links between the content of training days, CAT theory as outlined in key literature, and clinical experience through your supervised clinical work.
The groups can provide you with support over the duration of the training and the mix of members can mean you can benefit from the diversity of each others' ideas and backgrounds.
Some of the meetings are peer led and others are facilitaed by a qualified CAT therapist. They can take the format of:
As a CAT Practitioner trainee you will be in weekly supervision with an accredited CAT supervisor. You will usually carry two CAT training cases at a time. You must complete a minimum of eight supervised therapies.
Supervision normally takes place face to face in groups. Each group member will discuss each of their training cases weekly. We advise for trainees who work in specialist settings (e.g. forensic, eating disorders) to gain experience of doing CAT in the area of adult mental health, by undertaking at least two cases in this area. Trainees should aim to accumulate a broad clinical experience in terms of presentation, gender, age, ethnicity and socio-economic group.
Trainees develop the skill to practice 16 session CAT but should also gain experience in variations of the time limit, to 8 session and 24 sessions. Of the eight cases required six of these should be of 16 or more sessions. A complete CAT therapy is one in which the trainee develops and shares all three CAT tools (prose reformulation, SDR and goodbye letter). The exception to this is in an 8 session CAT, when a recommended alternative is a SDR and 'hybrid' (reformulation/goodbye) letter being shared at the end of therapy.
Minimum clinical hours for Practitioner training (excluding follow-ups) must total 128 hours. For many trainees, it can take more than two years to meet the supervised clinical practice requirement to see eight clients for CAT. A variety of factors may influence this, including access to suitable training cases, clients who leave therapy before completion, and workplace issues. We therefore encourage you to plan as effectively as possible to increase the likelihood that you can complete close to two years. For example you might ensure that any necessary placements/honorary contracts are set up ahead of the start of your course. You might identify suitable training cases ahead of the start of the course, so that you can begin clinical practice at the earliest stage. As you progress through the two years you and your manager/supervisor may benefit from identifying potential clients in advance to ensure smooth transition as one training therapy ends. In some circumstances, trainees may need to consider the cost of additional supervision if there is a need to extend this.
Click here for more information on supervised clinical practice as part of CAT training.
Successful completion of the course will comprise
assessment and regular attendance (minimum 85%) at all aspects of the course
completion of supervised clinical work
satisfactory completion of written work, and
satisfactory reports from trainers, supervisors and tutors.
Clinical appraisals take place every six months, i.e. four over the two year taught course.
Written Work includes:
You are required to have an experience of personal therapy during your practitioner training. This is a standard 16 session CAT conducted by an accredited CAT therapist. You can find therapists who are willing to offer training therapy through our Directory of Registered Members, or your course may offer you additional listings.
Your personal therapy and the relationship with your CAT therapist are confidential, within the usual exceptions of confidentiality outlined in ACAT's Code of Ethics and Pracfice. Information is not shared with the course other than your therapist completing a brief form acknowledging that you have completed the personal CAT training therapy.
If you have exceptional needs and/or any exemptions to these arrangements, you must discuss these with your course director before embarking on training. It is ultimately your responsibility as a CAT Practitioner trainee to set up arrangements for your personal therapy.
Read more about personal development and personal therapy as part of CAT training at this link.
Following satisfactory completion of the course and accreditation at the ACAT Exam Board, trainees are awarded the Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) Therapist / Practitioner Diploma. With this qualification you are accredited as Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) Diploma Therapist / Practitioner. You can use the title 'CAT Therapist' or 'CAT Practitioner' as long as you remain an accredited ACAT member and adhere to the professional requirements for this (see more details below).
Once accredited as a CAT Practitioner, under current UKCP regulations, you have undergone the first two years in the four year process of qualification as an accredited CAT psychotherapist. You can then apply to join ACAT's Inter-Regional Residential ACAT Psychotherapy Training (IRRAPT) to embark on the final two years of this UKCP accredited psychotherapist qualification.
Once you gain ACAT accreditation following completion of CAT Practitioner training (providing you maintain ACAT membership and continue to fulfil any accreditation or membership criteria, including meeting requirements for CPD, supervision and codes of practice), you can use the title of "Psychological Therapist" as defined by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI). The CfWI's 2013 report confirmed ACAT's recognition as a training accreditation body for psychological therapists. CAT Therapists/Practitioners are also entitled to use the alternative title “CAT Therapist”, in line with the CfWI's approval of CAT Therapists/Practitioners as meeting the criteria for Psychological Therapists working in the NHS.
As from November 2024, NHS England recommends that the title CAT Practitioner should only be used by practitioners on The Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT) voluntary register of CAT Practitioners who have completed a recognised two-year training in Cognitive Analytic Therapy. NHS England also recommends that to use this title CAT Practitioners should also be on a statutory or PSA accredited register that covers delivery of CAT within the scope of practice.
In 2020 it was also confirmed that the Psychological Professions Network (PPN) welcomes ACAT accredited CAT Practitioners / Therapists to apply to be PPN members. They would currently sit in the category ‘Adult Psychotherapist’, although this may change in future.
CAT Practitioner training is accepted as a suitable course for enrolment on the British Psychological Society (BPS) independent route to training for the Qualification in Counselling Psychology (QCoP). This is an integrated, doctoral level qualification leading to eligibility for Chartered membership of the BPS and full membership of the Division of Counselling Psychology. This is open to CAT Practitioner trainees, and accredited CAT Practitioners may also be eligible to apply for accreditation of existing competence. For more information visit https://www.bps.org.uk/qualification-counselling-psychology
* Please note that the QCoP training route is currently closed to applications while the qualification is being reviewed as part of an ongoing consultation of all BPS qualifications, due for completion in Summer 2025.
Updated March 2025
