Somerset CAT Practitioner Training 2026-28
This is a two-year in-service training leading to accreditation as a CAT Practitioner by the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT).
This course enables staff already qualified in a core caring profession or with psychological therapy experience to enhance their understanding and skills in psychotherapy by learning the theory and methods of Cognitive Analytic Therapy. This, our eighth CAT Practitioner Training in the Trust, will start in April 2026, with applications being accepted from within and outside Somerset Partnership now.
The training programme is centred around face to face supervised clinical work and 11 training days per year, seminar reading groups, written work, and a personal CAT therapy.
The Course Team:
Sarah Huish, Course Co-Director: CAT Psychotherapist and Supervisor, Joint Clinical Lead for CAT in Somerset Foundation Trust. Registered with UKCP and ACAT. Sarah is an experienced CAT therapist and supervisor in secondary and primary mental health services. Sarah represents Somerset course on ACAT’s training and exam board committee and links in with other southwest training providers. She also represents ACAT on UKCP’s Humanistic and integrative Psychotherapy College Sarah oversees the organisation of the course and provides pastoral care and tutoring to CAT trainees on the course alongside being a course marker.
Amanda Bucknall, Course Co-Director: CAT Therapist and Approved Social Worker (AMP), Joint Clinical Lead for CAT in Somerset Foundation Trust. Registered with ACAT. Amanda is new to our training team this year. She will be joining Sarah in representing the Somerset Course on ACAT’s training and exam board committee and links in with other southwest training providers. She will be offering pastoral care and tutoring to CAT trainees on the course alongside being a course marker.
Jason Hepple; Course Trainer: Jason is an experienced CAT trainer who contributes to CAT courses in the UK and internationally. He particularly enjoys teaching on the topics of Later Life, Dialogism and Obsessionality and has published many papers and chapters. He is an ACAT Senior Non-Clinical Member.
Liz Fawkes , Course Trainer: is a CAT psychotherapist and Supervisor, registered with UKCP and ACAT. She is the Chair of ACAT Exam Board and Training Committee. Liz has taught and supervised CAT extensively for many years within and outside the Trust. She has led the CAT team in Somerset for 16 years until her retirement from the NHS in March 2022, and she has continued to offer CAT, Supervision and Training on a freelance basis.
Applicants from within Somerset Partnership
The course will be open to appropriate staff from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Staff must have the support of their line manager to apply for and attend the course, and applications without a supporting email from the local manager will not be accepted. Commitment and time required to complete the course will need to be negotiated with line manager prior to application. Course Director Sarah Huish is available to discuss the benefits of CAT training and commitment by trainees with team managers and line managers should that be helpful in gaining that support.
Time Commitment: Please ensure you have discussed and agreed the time commitment with your line manager – you will need at least 4 hours a week to see 2 CAT cases and have 90 minutes supervision, plus a day a month for 11 months each year. In return there will be an expectation that written work for the course will be completed outside of contracted hours, unless negotiated with Line manager.
Applicants external to Somerset Partnership
We are pleased to be able to accept applications for external fee-paying places on the course. These applicants will have to demonstrate that they can fund the training, find appropriate clients and meet with them in a suitable setting. If making their own arrangements for face to face group supervision, they will need to demonstrate that this is appropriate for training supervision, that the supervisor is an ACAT accredited supervisor and a current member of ACAT, and that the supervisor is willing to complete the necessary processes and paperwork for ACAT practitioner accreditation. We can provide more information about this and can sometimes help put people in touch with appropriate supervisors.
Clinical Placements within Somerset Partnership: We can offer external candidates a clinical placement via an honorary contract within the Somerset CAT Service, where we offer clinical supervision in return for seeing two cases throughout their training. However these placed are subject to availability and supervision capacity within the Trust.
All applicants will be expected to demonstrate that they are academically capable of undertaking postgraduate study, having either a first degree or equivalent qualification, or other evidence of academic capability. They will already have (and will be asked to demonstrate) relevant experience of working with people in a mental health setting, and either a qualification in an NHS recognised core profession (e.g. nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, occupational therapy, social work), or evidence and qualification which demonstrates an equivalent level of competence. It is desirable for applicants to have attended a 1-day introduction to CAT or equivalent.
Applicants must have the personal qualities that make them suitable for the profession of psychotherapy and have sufficient emotional competence to deal with the psychological aspects of the work. We will be looking for a lively and enquiring mind, an ability to listen and respond with compassion and respect and without prejudice, evidence of self-reflection, self-awareness and a commitment to self-development, evidence of personal stability and appropriate boundaries, and a capacity for constructive working relationships. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, class and disability, ethnic and cultural difference.
Application Process
Applicants are required to submit:
1. A current CV, with two referees. The first referee must be a clinical supervisor or equivalent, who is able to comment on your clinical work and your ability to take on CAT training. If applicants are doing their training within their paid employment role, the second referee must be a line manager or team leader who is able to confirm that the applicant has their support to undertake the training. Please discuss this with the referees and ensure you give us an up-to-date email address, telephone number and ‘snail mail’ address for each.
2. A personal statement indicating the reasons for choosing CAT training and how this fits and/or develops your current ways of working. This should be no longer than one (typed) side of A4.
3. An account of why it is important for therapists to develop an understanding of their own emotional life. This should be no longer than one (typed) side of A4.
These three elements should be sent to Sarah Huish, Clinical Lead for CAT: sarah.huish@somersetft.nhs.uk
DEADLINE for applications: The deadline for applications is Friday 19th December 2025
Interview Process: Interviews will take place in January/February 2026 date TBC. Further details will be sent with the interview offer.
Fees and Costs
Internal Candidates: For Somerset NHS Foundation Trust employees, all course fees will be met as part of its ongoing commitment to improving access to psychological therapies for those with enduring and serious mental health difficulties.
External candidates: We are pleased to say that we have kept our fees the same, at £2600 per annum. Please notes that the full year’s training fee of £2,600 is required before the start of each first training day of the year.
Additional Costs for all trainees: Trainees, whether Somerset FT or external, will be required to meet the cost of a personal CAT therapy (16-session plus follow up) as this is not included in the course fees. Where you have been unable to complete written work within the time scales agreed an additional marking cost of £120 per assignment to be marked maybe required.
Training Dates and Venue
The 2026-2028 course training days have now been agreed. These will take place in Yeovil Innovation Centre, Copse Rd, Barracks Close, Yeovil BA22 8RN from 09:00 – 16:30 on the following Fridays:
Year One:
24/4/26 – 15/5/26 – 19/6/26 – 10/7/26 – 25/9/26 – 16/10/26 – 13/11/26 – 11/12/26 – 15/1/27 – 12/2/27 – 12/3/27
Year Two:
16/4/27 – 14/5/27 – 18/6/27– 16/7/27 – 24/9/27 – 22/10/27 – 19/11/27 – 15/12/27 – 17/1/28 – 11/2/28 – 10/3/28
Please make sure you can commit to the dates prior to application.
Further information and enquiries:
If you have any further questions, or would like to discuss your potential application, please do contact Sarah Huish via her email sarah.huish@somersetft.nhs.uk and she will arrange a time for one of the course team to talk with you.