We warmly welcome you to get involved with ACAT through one of our CAT therapist membership, or ACAT Friend, options.
ACAT Membership is open to all qualified and accredited cognitive analytic therapists, whether at Practitioner or Psychotherapist level. CAT Practitioner Trainee membership is open to trainees on ACAT-accredited training courses. These include ACAT-accredited Foundation and Practitioner level courses.
By joining and maintaining your membership you will become part of a thriving CAT community where you can draw on the professional benefits this provides. Plus you can contribute your own skills and perspectives to the CAT community and so help the model grow and flourish.
The ACAT administrative team set up membership for trainee and qualified members. For any membership queries please contact Alison Marfell.
If you are an existing ACAT member and wish to renew your membership, you can do this easily through your home page when you log in.
For anyone who is not in training as a CAT therapist, or already accredited by ACAT, you can register as a user of this site for free. You can have access to additional benefits by becoming an ACAT Friend,
All personal information submitted when registering as a Site User, Friend or CAT therapist Member on our website is held in accordance with ACAT's Privacy Policy.
Register to become a Friend or Site User here
RegisterRead the detail about benefits of membership, different types and costs for each, below.
We warmly invite you to register as an ACAT Site User. This is free of charge. If you are new to the website and not a trainee or other member of ACAT you may find it helpful.
It will allow us to provide you with additional functions and services through the website. For example you will be need to create a user account in order to book into our events online.
Nothing. It is entirely free.
All you need to do is follow the 'Register' link above and complete the registration process. Once registered, you can apply to become a 'Friend of ACAT' if you wish.
A Friend of ACAT is a non-membership category if you have an interest in CAT, and in the aims and objectives of ACAT, but you are not trained, training, or qualified in CAT. As a Friend you can participate in the ACAT community.
As a Friend, you receive the following benefits:
When applying to be a Friend of ACAT you are obliged to disclose if you have been disciplined or struck off by any professional or regulatory body, or have any suspensions or restrictions in place. ACAT also reserves the right to withold or withdraw Friend of ACAT status at any time at its sole discretion. Any such decision is final.
The annual fee to be a Friend of ACAT is currently £50 per year.
Follow the 'Register' link above, choose the 'Friend' option and complete the registration process.
Becoming and remaining an ACAT member has many benefits for those in all categories of membership: from Trainees on Foundation and Practitioner level courses, to qualified (Practitioner) members and those who have gone on to train as a CAT Psychotherapist.
Find out how ACAT membership benefits you by clicking on this link.
In this category of membership you have a Voting Full Membership of ACAT by virtue of having completed practitioner or psychotherapy training in CAT and gaining ACAT accreditation.
As a Full Member you are eligible to vote in ACAT's Annual General Meeting.
Please see the Membership Benefits page for details of additional advantages of full membership.
Fees
CAT Therapist / Practitioner Membership is currently £110 per annum.
CAT Psychotherapist Membership is currently £165 per annum.
If you are training as a CAT Practitioner, you must be an ACAT member for the duration of your training until you are accredited. The cost of trainee membership may be included in your training fee. Please check with your training provider. If your course pays yout training fee, then this will only be during the formal years of training. If you take longer to complete your training than the formal taught period of your course, then it is your responsibility to renew your annual membership until your accreditation is complete.
In this category of membership you will be a Trainee Member of ACAT who is currently registered as undertaking an ACAT accredited therapist / practitioner training, or working for accreditation through Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning.
This is a non-voting category (so you are unable to vote in ACAT's Annual General Meeting).
Practitioner Trainee Membership is currently £87 per annum.
If you are registered as a trainee of a CAT Foundation course, you must be an ACAT member for the duration of your training until you are accredited. The cost of Foundation CAT Trainee membership may be included in your training fee. Please check with your training provider.
In this category of membership you will be a Trainee Member of ACAT who is currently registered as undertaking a Foundation Training or working for accreditation through Accreditation of Prior Experience and Learning.
This is a non-voting category (so you are unable to vote in ACAT's Annual General Meeting).
Foundation Trainee Membership is currently £87 per annum
Please see the Membership Benefits page for details of advantages of membership at a non-accredited level.
Once accredited, Foundation CAT Trainees may retain this same category of membership (Foundation Trainee) for a maximum of six years as outlined below.
if Foundation Graduates wish to remain trainee members of ACAT, then they are required to be in regular supervision in line with ACAT CPD policy for a minimum of 1.5 hrs per month. They can then practice CAT within their core profession/professional role as trainee members of ACAT, under supervision with an accredited CAT therapist/supervisor.
If graduates of CAT Foundation courses later go on to do a CAT Therapist/Practitioner second year of training, there is a total six year registration period from the start of the Foundation Course to completion of the second year of CAT Practitioner training.
If they choose not to do further training, the CAT trainee membership will end after a maximum total of three years (one year foundation training followed by two years after) or sooner if the trainee wishes.
If graduates of foundation courses do not wish to remain trainee members of ACAT after the one year course, they can become a 'Friend of ACAT' and can use CAT concepts within their professional role.
Non-practising Membership of ACAT is for CAT Therapist / Practitioner or CAT Psychotherapist members who are in situations requiring extended non-practising leave such as maternity, adoption, illness, family crisis, formal sabbatical, etc.
The Non-practising Membership Fee is currently £32 per annum.
To apply for Non-practising Membership please email alison.marfell@acat.me.uk
2.6. Retired Membership
This category of membership entitles you to be a Retired Member of ACAT who is fully retired from CAT practice and who wishes to keep in touch with ACAT. It will include receiving copies of 'Reformulation'.
This is a non-voting category of membership so Retired Members cannot vote in ACAT's Annual General Meeting.
Retired Membership Fee is currently £32 per annum.
Life Membership can be awarded to any person who has, in the opinion of the Trustees, made an exceptional contribution to the work of the Charity or the promotion of its objects. It will be conferred as a mark of recognition and will not be an automatic progression.
Life Membership is a fully voting membership, so those holding it can vote at ACAT's Annual General Meeting.
There is no annual fee for Life Membership.
This new category of membership was agreed at ACAT's AGM in 2022 but is not yet available. This page will be updated once arrangements are in place.
This is a new level of membership for Senior ACAT members who may be nearing or in retirement. The lower age-range is 60. This will enable continuation of membership of ACAT for those who wish to remain active in roles such as supervision or teaching, but who are no longer engaged in clinical practice. By holding an ACAT Senior Non-Clinical Membership, you will continue demonstrating your commitment to the promotion of psychotherapy practice.
Supervision and CPD requirements will be appropriate to work undertaken, with a minimum of 16 hours CAT specific CPD. It is recommended to meet with an accredited supervisor a minimum of 2 hours a year and submit a CPD log to the Auditors at renewal of membership. To continue to maintain public liability insurance to the level required for role.
The initial membership fee is £65.00 per annum.
The Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy is on HMRC’s approved list of professional organisations where as a member you may be able to claim tax relief for your annual membership subscriptions (core subscription).
You can check this on the approved professional bodies list where ACAT is listed under 'C' for 'Cognitive Analytic Therapy Association of'.
Would you like to rejoin ACAT as an accredited member after a gap in your years of accredited membership?
We are always pleased to welcome you back to ACAT after a period when your membership has lapsed (ie longer than the current membership year). We hope you will find our rejoining process as straightforward as possible. This process is in place to ensure that in returning to CAT and ACAT membership yoiu are fully up to speed with current CAT thinking, supervision and CPD. This helps us maintain training and practice standards.
If your membership has lapsed, please in the first instance contact the ACAT office by email (alison.marfell@acat.me.uk) Alison will send you information about ACAT’s rejoining process, CPD and supervision policies, and a rejoining form. This will ask you to detail any CAT activity during your period without membership, together with future plans for practice, CPD and supervision. Alison will forward this information to the Chair of the Exam Board (the person in ACAT with responsibility for membership).
Once reviewed, if you are considered to be fully “up to speed” on CAT practice, CPD and supervision, then you will gain approval for full membership re-instatement (please see section 2 - fees payable).
If you are deemed to require further actions in order to fully meet membership requirements, then a rejoining plan with a planned completion date will be agreed. You would then become a “Rejoining Member” until the objectives of the plan are met and full membership reinstatement is approved (please see Section 2 - fees payable).
During this time, as a Rejoining Member you will be listed on our Register of Members (publicly available) but within the “Rejoining Members” Section separate to the Psychotherapist / Practitioner listings. Until you have your membership re-instated, you will not be eligible to join the the Private Practice (Find a Therapist or Find a Supervisor) list.
Membership fees become payable once you are reinstated as a member or rejoining membership is agreed. ACAT adopts a continuous membership approach for maintenance of training and practice standards and our policy with regards to those rejoining is as follows:
For those whose membership has lapsed one or two complete membership years, the following rejoining fees are payable. The current year's membership is also payable. Therefore:
For those whose membership has lapsed three or more complete membership years there is a capped flat fee charged to cover the whole lapsed period:
Please note: these fees are as 17 February 2017 and will be adjusted if membership fees generally change.
If you are a “Rejoining Member” and we need you to complete the requirements of a rejoining plan working towards full membership, you need to contact ACAT withoin the period of this plan once you feel you have met requirements. The Chair of the Exam Board will then audit and review and if approval is given then you will gain full membership and be listed in the Register of Members. If it is felt that you need to complete further activity then a revised plan and completion date will be agreed. We anticipate that you will fully complete any rejoining plan (plus extended rejoining plan), and that this will be approved, within a year of commencement.
If your fully reinstate your membership within two years of losing it then by paying the appropriate rejoining fees, your continuous membership is ensured. You can count all work, training etc during that time as if you were a full member. Training of self and others during the current year of full membership reinstatement will be fully included.
If you fully reinstate you membership but with a loss of three or more consecutive membership years, then you cannot count any work / training during the period of non-membership over two years. By paying the capped flat fee you can ensure that work, training etc during the most recent two years of past non-membership can be counted as a full member. Training of self and others during the current year of full membership reinstatement will be fully included.
Please do not hesitate to contact ACAT Administration if you have any queries.
alison.marfell@acat.me.uk
Tel: 07379 359728
Following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31st December 2020, consent is now required for ACAT to keep information about a member residing or working in the EU. To enable ACAT to hold and process this information, the document 'GDPR – ACAT and the European Union' will need to be signed and returned to the ACAT Office: admin@acat.me.uk. You can access the document by clicking on the download link below.
