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Nuttall, S. and Scott-Stewart, M., 2002. Editorial. Reformulation, Autumn, p.2.
Serena Nuttall & Mog Scott-Stewart
After much discussion we are pleased to rename ACATnews. The new title 'Reformulation', and its sub heading 'Theory and Practice in Cognitive Analytic Therapy', were taken to the last ACAT Council meeting and were voted in by a reasonable margin. A wish was voiced to keep the old title in some form. We have done this by changing Regional Update to ACATnews. London is only one centre of CAT, and so it is inaccurate to describe other CAT trainings or cells as regions that satellite London. It was recognised some time ago, in the supervision meetings that discussed ways of organising CPD events for people from all over the country, that London should not be seen as the centre. So London becomes one of the regions that ACATnews would be pleased to hear from.
Another suggestion for the title was 'Catalyst' which had some support and would be a good column heading for anyone wishing to write regularly for 'Reformulation'. Any polemicist and potential columnist out there please come forward.
Despite all our differences it is curious that we are all so polite about the very different kinds of therapy given within the CAT framework. Do we all live so happily together at all times? The practitioner training will inevitably keep CAT within the cognitive frame while the psychotherapy trainings will tend to open up the object relations' perspective and pursue the developmental aspects of CAT. There may be radically different perspectives in CAT. The view in object relations of conflict is that health is seen as internal integration and external adjustment. Conflict is seen as a return to earlier rivalries etc, which have been integrated into new wholes but have not disappeared. The analytical view that accepts the existence of the unconscious would argue that conflict is always present in inner life and needs to be acknowledged and explored not subsumed too quickly under the notion of healthy integration. What happens to conflict in ACAT? Are we all so healthily integrated, or are rivalries rumbling under our good behaviour?
Our letters column is the place where people can put forward requests, corrections, additional thoughts, agreements and disagreements, points of view. We are beginning to receive letters and also have our first complaint. This highlights the need for us to try and move on from a policy of including as much of the material presented for each issue as possible to planning a number of issues ahead. Paradoxically this means we need much more material and to cast a wider net for the next phase of 'Reformulation'. We are considering whether to develop the publication in such a way as to prepare it for a move into a journal. At present we do all the work via electronic mail. However, the proposed exciting developments in the ACAT office (see Jon Sloper's article in this issue) have enormous potential for extending communication throughout the organisation, and we are mindful of this when thinking about the future of this publication.
After the conference edition in June we have a different set of contributions in this issue; speaking more from the contributors' own clinical and personal experience. So we welcome more emphasis on practice than theory in this autumn edition.
Mog Johnstone Editor
Serena Nuttall Assistant Editor