Forthcoming Catalyse Event
Enhancing CAT through Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
A one day workshop led by Maria Kaltsi and Melanie Lee
Date: Friday 28 November 2025
Time: 9.30 am to 4.30 pm
Venue: St Thomas Centre, Manchester M12 6FZ
Fees: ACAT member :: £130.00
non-ACAT member :: £145.00
Lunch and refreshments are included in the fee. [You or your employer can request to be invoiced. This incurs an additional £20 fee.]
Overview of workshop
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a psychotherapy approach developed by Richard Schwartz in the 1980s. IFS posits that all of us are born with many sub-minds or parts, each with their own perspective, interests, memories and viewpoint. These parts are natural—not the product of trauma—and in IFS, all parts are welcome.
IFS also sees people as whole beneath this collection of parts. Everyone has a true self or center known as the Self, with an undamaged essence. Trauma, attachment injuries, and difficult life experiences can force parts out of their natural, valuable states into extreme roles. While these adaptations may have been essential at the time, they can later become outdated or counterproductive.
IFS offers a model through which we can build relationships with our parts. By doing so, we can help them unburden past experiences and restore their original qualities.
This day brings together a CAT therapist passionate about IFS because of its non-pathologising understanding of internal systems and its deep respect for the mind’s inherent healing capacity. Maria is trained to IFS Level 3 and Mel to IFS Level 2.
Aims and learning outcomes
This day provides an opportunity for you, as a qualified or trainee CAT therapist, to:
- Receive an introduction to the core theory of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy through presentation and video
- Explore your own inner world and experience the model somatically by getting to know your own parts—through guided meditation, small group discussion, and creative processes such as journaling
- Witness examples and demonstrations of how key IFS techniques can be applied in clinical work with CAT clients, using clinical material
- Take part in practice opportunities using IFS methods with other participants in small groups
- Engage in whole group discussions and Q&A with the facilitators. Open dialogue will support exploration of the similarities, overlaps, and challenges of integrating CAT and IFS
- Find out more about formal IFS training routes and access a range of written and online resources to continue learning
Who is it for?
This CPD workshop is open to both qualified and trainee Cognitive Analytic Therapists with an interest in Internal Family Systems therapy. Therapists from other modalities who have substantial knowledge of CAT and already practice CAT-informed therapy are also welcome. No prior knowledge of IFS is assumed.
Facilitators
Dr Maria Kaltsi
Clinical Psychologist, Certified IFS Therapist, Approved IFS Consultant, CAT Practitioner
Maria is an experienced Clinical Psychologist working in secondary mental health services and private practice. She takes a non-pathologising, relational approach to psychological distress, using a range of evidence-informed models flexibly and creatively to support each person’s unique process.
Maria has a particular interest in working with adults who have experienced developmental trauma. Her work is grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS), a respectful, neuroscience-informed model that facilitates deep, lasting healing. She often integrates IFS with other approaches—including Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)—to help clients understand entrenched patterns, restore inner balance, and reconnect with their innate capacity for growth.
As an Approved IFS Consultant, Maria is passionate about supporting other therapists through consultation, supervision, and training. She values collaboration and continues to be inspired by the power of integration and the potential for transformation that arises through safe, attuned therapeutic relationships.
Dr Melanie Lee
Founding Director of Trust Psychology and Trust Pain Management.
Clinical Psychologist, CAT Practitioner, EMDR Therapist, IFS Therapist, and SIP Supervisor
Mel is an experienced Clinical Psychologist with a passion for integrating the mind and the body and working with repeating relationship patterns in therapy. Mel specialises in building safe, trusting relationships to offer healing to adults whom have experienced psychological traumas resulting in symptoms of chronic pain and other long-term health conditions.
In addition to offering 1-to-1 therapy, Mel enjoys working together with her colleagues to create interdisciplinary team approaches to client care. Alongside this she teaches, trains and supervises others in psychological approaches. She has a real passion for sharing the benefit of therapy integration.
Mel has specialist therapy training in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). These are in addition to previous trainings in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is also a Supervisor and Trainer in the Somatic Integration and Processing (SIP) formulation model, in a collaboration with her American colleagues at the Beyond Healing Center, Missouri, USA. Mel has published her clinical psychology doctoral work and co-authored two book chapters within the area of therapist learning and development.
Group Size
A maximum of thirty participants can attend this course.
Venue
St Thomas Centre, Ardwick Green North, Manchester, M12 6FZ
Booking Information
We advise early booking to secure your place. You can join a waiting list once the day is fully subscribed, in case of cancellations.
For online booking, follow the link below. When you pay online, you will automatically receive a receipt. You can also request a receipt from the Catalyse administrator.
If you require invoicing, there is an additional charge of £20.00. Please contact the administrator to inform us that you intend to book. You may download the booking form by scrolling to the end of this page. (Please note that for invoiced applications, if the paying organisation has not settled the invoice within 60 days of the invoice date, the delegate will be liable for payment of this fee.)
Terms and Conditions
Before proceeding to book and pay for this event, please ensure you read and understand our terms and conditions.
