A Beginner’s Guide to Cognitive Analytic Therapy: Practitioner and Service User Perspectives

This text provides an accessible, reader-friendly guide to conducting Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) on a one-to-one basis, developed in partnership with service users who have lived experience of CAT.

The book will cover the applications of CAT in clinical practice including: assessment; introducing CAT; the main concepts and how to build a therapeutic relationship; mapping; the middle phase and the integration of other models; monitoring; developing exits; the ending and saying goodbye. Grounded in CAT theory, the content will be ordered sequentially, as one would conduct the therapy, and will feature first-hand accounts from CAT-experienced service users including their own perspectives on the model and the impact it had on their wellbeing.

A straightforward, beginner’s introduction to practicing CAT, this book will be useful for trainee practitioners, assistant and trainee clinical/counselling psychologists, and those practising CAT-informed therapy in supervision.

Dr Sarah Craven-Staines is a Clinical Psychologist and CAT Practitioner with over 20 years of experience working within the field of mental health. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, working for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course at Teesside University and offering CAT in a clinical setting.

Dr Jayne Finch is a Clinical Psychologist and CAT Practitioner having worked in the NHS for 20 years, predominantly within Adult Mental Health Services. She now works in a Clinical Tutor role for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course at Teesside University, as well as conducting CAT clinically.