Past CPD Event
Integrating CAT for Complexity: a specialist NHS community service approach to working with people diagnosed with severe personality disorder and complex trauma
This event was fully booked
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 were 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 provided 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 heard presentations about both underpinning CAT theory and practical applications within the Spring House approach. There was opportunity for group discussion and exercises, live supervision of clinical dilemmas, and open questions
All attendees receive an attendance certificate following the event, for their CPD records.
Aims and learning outcomes:
The day aimed to:
- 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 provided 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 described how the work of other staff is supported and scaffolded through training and supervision using models such as Annesely’s 4P’s model.
Who was it for?
This event was 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 was not required in order to benefit from the learning this day offered.
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.
Group Size
A maximum of twenty-five participants could attend this course.
Venue
Spring House, 12 Haigh Road, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 3XP
Booking Information
This event was fully booked. If you are interested in attending a repeat, please contact the Catalyse CPD Administrator, Rebecca Carter.
If you required invoicing, there is an additional charge of £20.00. (Please note that for invoiced applications, if payment is not received within 60 days of the invoice date, the delegate is liable for payment of this fee.)
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