Forthcoming CPD Event
Integrating CAT for Complexity: a specialist NHS community service approach to working with people diagnosed with severe personality disorder and complex trauma
A one day workshop led by Simon Graham and team colleagues from Liverpool’s Spring House Service
Date: Wednesday September 24th 2025
Time: 9:15am to 4:00pm
Venue: Spring House, 12 Haigh Road, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 3XP
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:
Cognitive Analytic Therapy CAT) has long been recognised as a helpful model for working with complexity in mental health. Given its integrative and versatile nature, the model readily lends itself to adaptation, making it possible for clinicians to incorporate a range of other therapeutic approaches where appropriate to the clinical context. Using CAT as an organising framework, the dedicated specialist NHS community service at Spring House offers a model for CAT and CAT-informed therapeutic responses to working with people who attract a diagnosis of severe ‘personality disorder’ or complex post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), living in community settings. The presenting team are keen to share their experiences, instil hope and promote good practice for this under-served client group.
This day will provide participants with an understanding of the theory and practice of working with those attracting such diagnoses, plus more indirect consultative work with the teams and services around them.
Participants will benefit from presentations about both underpinning CAT theory and practical applications within the Spring House approach. There willl be opportunity for group discussion and exercises, live supervision of clinical dilemmas, and open questions
All attendees will receive an attendance certificate following the event, for their CPD records.
Aims and learning outcomes:
The day will:
- help attendees develop a deeper knowledge base around the concept of ‘personality disorder’ through formulation and helpful theory
- use CAT as a model to support compassionate but boundaried responses to problematic service engagement
- build participants’ confidence in their own clinical practice, including risk management
- illustrate how a range of different psychological pathways can be integrated with a CAT approach, and
- help attendees understand how an attuned, responsive and effective community service can reduce out-of-area placements and local hospital admissions
The team will provide examples of integration of approaches such as EMDR and Narrative Exposure Therapy for PTSD, working with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Attachment-based work, alongside Cognitive Analytic Therapy. Additionally they will describe how the work of other staff is supported and scaffolded through training and supervision using models such as Annesely’s 4P’s model.
Who is it for?
This event is relevant for:
- CAT practitioners and CAT psychotherapists
- trainee CAT practitioners
- other qualified therapists
- other members of staff working within NHS mental health settings with an interest in complexity and interpersonal trauma likely to result in difficulties attracting BPD/EUPD diagnoses
Specialist knowledge of Cognitive Analytic Therapy is not required in order to benefit from the learning this day offers.
Facilitators
All the facilitators qualified at CAT Practitioner level and the team includes several ACAT-accredited CAT Supervisors
Drs Simon Graham, Fiona Craig and Iulian Ionescu; Consultant Psychiatrists and Medical Psychotherapists. Between them they have many years’ experience working in the field of personality disorder across the different services at Spring House. Their backgrounds are in psychodynamic therapy but they have skills across CAT, PIT, MBT, DBT, DID, EMDR, NET and TC, plus experience in supervising CAT.
Drs Julie Blakeley and Debbie Watson; Clinical Psychologists and CAT Supervisors based within the Psychotherapy Service at Spring House, with extensive experience working with complex presentations. Both have clinical experience of CAT, MBT, DBT, CFT, TC, Sensorimotor therapy, EMDR and group work.
Chris Cartright, Manager of the Safe Service at Spring House, a dedicated crisis service to support those with personality disorders. Extensive experience in managing acute presentations and trained in CAT, DBT and PIT.
Group Size
A maximum of twenty-five participants can attend this course.
Venue
Spring House, 12 Haigh Road, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 3XP
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 payment is not received 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.
