Forthcoming CPD Event
The 6-Part Story Method: A creative tool for assessment and engagement in therapy
A one day in-person workshop led by Dr Kim Dent-Brown, Chartered Psychologist
Date: Friday 27 March 2026
Time: 9.30 am – 4.30 pm
Venue: Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, M60 0AS
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
This workshop will be a practical, experiential day of learning about the 6-Part Story Method (6PSM) and its application in Cognitive Analytic Therapy in particular. The method uses a simple set of instructions to enable the client to create a new, fictional story which they then tell to and explore with the therapist. The themes, personalities, roles, obstacles and problem-solving evident in the story can be useful pointers to material that might be helpful to both the client and the process of therapy. By the end of the day you will have created and shared your own six-part story. You will also have acted as an active listener to help a partner tell their own story.
All attendees receive an attendance certificate following the event, for their CPD records.
Aims and learning outcomes
The event aims to outline ways to use the 6PSM, with consideration of time points when it may be therapeutically useful. For example, you can explore its role
- in assessment and reformulation
- when getting beyond snags and traps
- as a resource for exploring exits
- when reviewing therapy, and
- in supervision and consultation
Although most of the content will be experiential and practical, some theory will be presented briefly. Kim will provide references and links to peer-reviewed research publications on the 6PSM.
As a participant you will gain skills, knowledge and experience to enable you to start using the 6PSM in your own practice, after a period of familiarisation and experimentation. Through experiential learning and the theoretical grounding offered, the day will equip you with the foundations required to use the 6PSM as part of your CAT practice. You will be able to make use of a creative tool of great value in helping clients generate and access creative imagery and metaphors, with all the helpful therapeutic opportunities that these can offer. As a supervisor the day may help you to work with 6PSM material brought by your supervisees in the course of their clinical work.
Service managers may value what this day offers to their staff and service users. The technique adds an evidence-based modality to therapies offered to clients, broadening the acceptability and accessibility of existing approaches.
The day will include presentations, pair work, small group work and large group discussion.
Who is it for?
This day will be relevant for:
- CAT practitioners and CAT psychotherapists
- trainee CAT practitioners (who will not already receive this training as part of their Catalyse CAT Practitioner course)
- other qualified therapists with an existing understanding of how CAT works and its underlying theory
- Therapists open to creative, humanistic approaches and/or dreamwork are likely to find the day useful
- CAT Supervisors interested in supporting supervisees’ use of this creative method
*Please note that the day duplicates content included at the end of year 1 CAT Practitioner training for the Catalyse course over the last few years. It may serve as a refresher for those who have previously received that training. For trainees and graduates of other CAT Practitioner courses the learning may be more novel.
Facilitators
Dr Kim Dent-Brown, now retired, was formerly a CAT practitioner in the NHS. He has been using the 6-Part Story Method in therapy, supervision and training for over thirty years. He initially trained as a Dramatherapist which was where he first learned the technique. Working in a consultation service for people with a diagnosis of personality disorder provided his introduction to CAT, and he went on to complete CAT practitioner training. He won a Churchill Fellowship to study the 6PSM with its originators in 1999. Kim was later awarded an NHS research fellowship to undertake a PhD into the method. After gaining his PhD, Kim combined NHS work with a research post at the University of Sheffield, before ending his career as a full time Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Hull. He has been teaching the 6PSM to CAT trainees on the Catalyse practitioner training for over 20 years.
Kim published a chapter on ‘Adapting the six part story method to CAT‘ in the Oxford Handbook for Cognitive Analytic Therapy in 2024. He has authored several other publications on the the approach.
Group Size
A maximum of thirty participants can attend this workshop.
Venue
Pauline Green Room, Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, M60 0AS
- Two minutes’ walk from Victoria Rail and Metrolink Station
- One-minute walk from the Shudehill Transport Interchange
- 15-minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station
- Well situated for drivers, with plenty of car parks very close by
Booking
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.
