Deborah Pickvance and Sarah Littlejohn are due to run an ACAT-accredited two day CAT Supervision Training in Manchester on 30th November and 1st December 2017. This is a repeat of a course they led in Liverpool in December 2016. CAT Practitioner Uma Patel reflects here on attending the last run of the course.
I recently attended a cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) two day training event on supervision to help me work towards becoming an accredited CAT supervisor. With life being so busy I was really grateful the course had been modified which meant I did not have to attend on a residential basis. Interestingly the ‘relational’ component the residential would have offered was not lost with the adaptation. There was lots of group work activity and being with other CAT practitioners and hearing their views and perspectives encouraged dialogue. Consequently the dialogic component of CAT was very present and a great way to learn.
I enjoyed the training and it was good to have protected time to reflect and learn about supervision. Supervision is such an important activity and within my current role I offer others supervision however I have not had limited opportunity to attend training events that specifically focus on supervision. Once I had booked my place I was looking forward to it and was hoping to not be too disappointed.
I would say I have a fair amount of experience providing supervision however I still gained a lot from the training event. The two days were jam packed with theory and practical exercises. They involved participation and interaction and the trainers used creative teaching methods which kept me engaged. Learning occurred from the trainers but also from all the group members, promoting a dialogical approach. There was a wealth of experience and expertise in the room and the teaching methods encouraged participation and dialogue and the sharing of experience and knowledge. I thought the trainers were very knowledgeable but also respectful of the wealth of experience within the group.
If you provide clinical supervision then this event is worth attending. I do not think it really matters if you are new to supervision or very experienced. The training day has a lot to offer and it covered the multi-faceted components of individual and group supervision.
One of the most useful components for me was naming and addressing subtle impasses and ruptures that can occur in supervision but can feel difficult to address within a supervisory relationship. I found this invaluable. This can be very challenging however the training day helped me think about how to use CAT tools to address impasses and ruptures. It also supported me to reflect on my own interpersonal patterns and how they can at times be enacted when providing supervision. It was also really useful to hear others talk about challenges they have encountered in supervision; how these were resolved and in some cases unresolved.
I was not sure what to expect from the training however I am pleased to say it was valuable. I did acquire new knowledge and it has helped me to identify areas for further development. Importantly it also reaffirmed my existing supervisory skills and knowledge. If you are after some quality training on supervision I definitely recommend attending this training event.
Details of the forthcoming Catalyse CAT Supervision training workshop (hashtag #CATsup17) are available here.
Further details about eligibility, requirements and different routes to qualifying as an accredited CAT supervisor are available on ACAT’s web pages here. Further dates for the taught component will be listed on those pages.
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