Past CPD Event
Thinking Organisationally: Developing CAT Supervision and Consultancy Skills
A one day in-person workshop led by Sue Walsh and Kate Freshwater, ACAT-accredited CAT Practitioners, Supervisors, and Clinical Psychologists
Date: Friday 6th February 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 were included in the fee. [You or your employer could request to be invoiced. This incurred an additional £20 fee.]
Overview
This training day provided participants with the opportunity to focus on organisationally-informed CAT. Two skill areas formed the structure of the day. The first explored the development of organisational CAT skills to enhance supervisory practice, specifically through the use of stories and metaphors. The second area used CAT theory to analyse the necessary conditions and actions for CAT-informed organisational change. This covered an analysis of
- facilitating and limiting factors
- the centrality of contracting, and
- the value (and challenge) of enhancing the reflective capacity of work systems
The day considered the experience of all layers of the organisational hierarchy, from senior leadership to front line staff. Core themes of the day included the impact of organisational harm upon staff working in care-giving systems, and the importance of maintaining organisational mentalization to sustain thinking.
All attendees receive an attendance certificate following the event, for their CPD records.
Aims and learning outcomes
Participants had the opportunity to
- develop organisationally informed supervisory skills, including the use of story and metaphor as outlined in Sue and Kate’s concept of helping organisations to “Struggle Well”
- use cognitive analytic therapy concepts to aid their strategic thinking
- apply these skills to think about wider relational change, and
- use CAT organisationally to support and enhance staff well being
They gained knowledge about how to
- include CAT organisational skills in their self-supervision and supervision of others
- use CAT organisational skills to support the wellbeing of themselves and others
- use CAT skills to inform thinking about work systems and how to change them
- survive work systems where change is difficult to engender
The day included presentations, small group work, pair work and live mapping.
Who is it for?
This day was relevant for:
- CAT practitioners and CAT psychotherapists
- trainee CAT practitioners
- other qualified therapists
- other ‘CAT-interested’ professionals
It was open to those with an existing understanding of how CAT works and its underlying theory.
Facilitators
Dr Sue Walsh has used CAT organisationally since the publication of the first organisational CAT journal article – Adapting Cognitive Analytic Therapy to Make Sense of Psychologically Harmful Work Environments – in 1996. During her career Sue has held academic posts, been a joint director of clinical practice for a doctorate in clinical psychology course, a senior NHS manager and a frontline clinician. She retired from her senior management post in the NHS in 2022. Currently, she provides CAT organisational supervision and mentoring and supports staff returning to work after emotional breakdown. Sue is one of the Catalyse O-CAT Consultants leading the development of the new Organisational CAT (O-CAT) workstream.
Dr Kate Freshwater is a clinical psychologist, CAT supervisor and trainer. She was the Trust Lead for CAT in TEWV NHS Trust for 26 years, and developed a network of CAT staff which grew from one to 56 staff. She has recently moved to a CAT lead post in Cornwall. Kate has a long-standing interest in the contextual and organisational use of CAT and is passionate about using the model to enable relational thinking at every level, from the front line to senior management.
Together Sue and Kate co-authored the 2024 chapter on ‘Struggling Well: Using CAT to make sense of organizational hurt’, published in the Oxford Handbook for Cognitive Analytic Therapy.
Group Size
A maximum of thirty participants could 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
If you required invoicing, there is an additional charge of £20.00. (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
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