Cognitive Analytic Therapy

Cognitive Analytic Therapy, or CAT for short, is a particular kind of psychological therapy. It was developed with short-term therapy in mind, and so tends to be offered as either 16 or 24 sessions.

CAT is a relational therapy, as the focus within sessions tends to be on your relationships - with yourself, with others, and with your therapist.

CAT also has a developmental focus, exploring your past experiences and beliefs you internalised about yourself and others around you. Those beliefs can lead to unhelpful or limiting patterns being repeated in different contexts and different relationships. Understanding and changing these are an important focus for change through therapy.

For more information about CAT, check out the ACAT website (Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy) here.