This is a six-month training designed for generic workers in health, caring and support worker roles. By undertaking CAT Skills training the aim is that you acquire a useful working understanding of Cognitive Analytic Therapy which informs your routine practice.
The specific aim is to enable those in supportive caring roles, with competence in your own professional field, to enhance your relational and therapeutic skills by using core concepts and skills derived from CAT. These can inform your work with service users through formulation, intervention, care planning and risk assessment.
The course promotes CAT as a common model and language to aid professionals to understand and support service users with the difficulties they face. In this way CAT concepts can support both you and your colleagues in your dialogue about service users within and across teams.
“CAT has taught me a lot about risk assessment and management in terms of being able to use a patient’s formulation to obtain a richer understanding of exactly where the risky behaviour is located and likely triggers."
A CAT Skills Case Management course does not train you to work as an individual therapist with clients. It does not focus on doing therapy, but instead offers a different application of CAT competencies. The focus is on using CAT to help create the conditions for establishing and maintaining treatment, support and care; also aiding appropriate endings, transitions and/or handover of care. It is not intended as a foundation or pathway to training as a CAT Therapist/Practitioner.
CAT Skills Case Management can be applied with a range of teams and services, and with different client groups. Examples of past applications include:
Courses can be tailored to meet the needs of teams in various settings and situations.
If you train and qualify in CAT Skills and work alongside CAT Practitioners, then you may be able to gain further support to build on these skills. For example you may be able to access CAT-informed supervision or reflective practice. Applying CAT Skills where CAT Practitioners support your work may give you the best opportunity to practise, develop and embed CAT informed case management in your setting.
The training comprises four components:
The training includes a minimum of :
The teaching will cover core concepts of CAT. Trainers may adapt the core curriculum to cover specific areas with most relevance to the trainees depending on their setting. In any case, it will focus on the interaction between service users and professionals in the context of team-based treatment and care. This will include an emphasis on:
As part of this course you will receive at least thirty-five hours of group supervision over the duration of the course. This allows you to extend your knowledge of service users and of different styles of working.
Ideally supervision takes place in groups of three for 1.5 hours per week for the duration of the course (hence 6 hours per month, 36 hours over 6 months). This usually works out as half an hour per week for each supervisee for your own work across the six months. The choice of work varies according to the trainee’s professional role and work setting. However as a common element, all supervisees address the application of CAT’s model and methods to two particular service users in their setting.
Assessment involves
A requirement of this training is that you have a brief CAT Personal Reformulation (PR). This is a personal development opportunity that involves you meeting with a CAT therapist to develop a CAT understanding of the patterns of interaction that are likely to be triggered in you through your professional work. You and the CAT therapist work together to develop a CAT diagram that you can take away and keep after these sessions.
Please click here for further information on personal development within CAT training.
You will receive more information about Personal Reformulation for Personal and Professional Development and how to arrange this once you have started CAT Skills Case Management training.
"I have learnt so much, both about the clients and my own expectations of myself and what is realistically achievable."
To be eligible to join this course you will need:
It is desirable that you will have attended an Introductory CAT course, or equivalent.
When you have successfully completed all the components of a CAT Skills Case Management course, you then submit an accreditation form to ACAT's Exam Board. This Board meets three times a year and agrees and confers the award:- the Six Month Skills Level Certificate in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) (Case Management).
If you opt not to complete all components (for example if you do not submit the written assessments) your course has the discretion to award you an attendance certificate.
CAT Skills courses are usually commissioned by NHS Trusts or other organisations. Across the UK there are usually a number of in-house 'bespoke' courses running at any one time. Occassionally these courses can accept an external applicant if space permits.
At the moment there are no planned CAT Skills Case Management courses open for individual applications. However we can take enquiries from those interested in this level of training. If you want to express interest, or to find out more about commissioning a bespoke CAT Skills course, then please contact Louise Barter, ACAT Administrator.
Updated April 2024
"This course.... appears to have had a positive impact.... enhancing the quality of care via improved boundary management and quality of therapeutic alliance between staff and clients. Overall the course appears to have assisted staff to better understand themselves, their clients and their working context. Hopefully the reflective space created by the course and the supervision will be maintained"
ACAT Course Moderator
