I qualified as a clinical psychologist in 2009 and have worked in NHS secondary care services since then – a mix of adult community mental health team and home based treatment team roles. In my first post-qualification job I was supervised by Dawn Bennett and so began my love of CAT. I found CAT helped me to structure conversations that had previously felt hard to broach and so mapping and talking about the relationship became a core part of my work with clients. I made sure during this time I sought out supervisors with CAT as a model.
I was privileged to start CAT practitioner training in 2019 – an interesting experience during the pandemic! Training in the model enabled me to build on the skills I’d developed through supervision prior to the course. I find it to be a containing framework for allowing change based work with people under the care of a CMHT and ongoing self-reflection and development. It also helps me to navigate the challenges of working in a fraught NHS system where resources are scarce at times. I am hoping to build on this and commence CAT supervisor training as the next stage of my development. I’m interested in the transformation of community NHS services and the use of CAT as one of the 6 modalities. I’m keen to ensure it doesn’t become “prescribed” to a limited client group rather than seen as a key model that can be used transdiagnostically.
In September 2024 I started with Catalyse as a cohort tutor and look forward to bringing my experience of training and the challenges I faced to supporting other people through to qualification.
