Recent posts
Jason Hepple, 2016. Letter from the Chair of ACAT. Reformulation, Winter, p.4.
At the time of writing we have recently heard the sad news of the death of Tony Ryle, the brilliant originator of CAT and the person who has always been there for those of us ‘carrying the banner’ he handed on to ACAT and the CAT sister organisations overseas. Liz Fawkes and I heard the news while we were in the middle of the first training day of our new Somerset CAT Therapist training and it was a powerful and moving end to the first day for our new cohort.
It is a particularly poignant time for me also as I heard of the death of my own father (George Hepple, 1930-2016) the following day. Loss like this brings up many feelings that are often struggling for expression under a striving-containing procedure that has to be enacted to deal with all the immediate demands placed on those closest to the person who has died. People need to know; arrangements need to be made; others need comfort and support. Below this is a feeling of exposure and aloneness that taps in to the feelings of a younger self who not only needs to step up to the plate but who needs to do this without the advice, wisdom and love that the lost person used to provide.
ACAT is in a strong position to take forward Tony’s wonderful legacy. We have an impressive infrastructure and an international community that is wise and caring. Tony made all efforts to empower others to take CAT forward into the twenty first century and I feel that we can move on with the confidence to celebrate his life and contribution and to grieve our loss without fear and anxiety. ACAT is planning a one day event to celebrate the life of Tony Ryle in March next year. Please look out for further details soon. I hope many of you will be able to join us. We will be publishing a special edition of Reformulation dedicated to Tony’s life and work. Further on, we are hosting the ACAT/ICATA international conference in Nottingham between 20th and 23rd September next year. Provisional keynote speakers include Professor Nicky Clayton FRS and Professor Mikael Leiman, with workshops focussed on the skills needed to work with more complex problems. Please make a note of this date in your diaries as it will be a great opportunity to get together with our friends around the world and continue our work on the wonderful project known as CAT.
Jason Hepple
Chair of ACAT