Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) – Introducing our service – Patient information leaflet

The aim of this leaflet is to provide information about the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust’s Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) service. We would recommend that you read this in conjunction with our What is CAT? leaflet, which gives a more specific outline of CAT as a psychotherapeutic model.

Please read this leaflet carefully and ask your clinician about anything you are not sure about. If you need support with reading or writing, please let us know so we can find the best ways to help you.

Sessions are held at Benfield House, Walkergate Park, Newcastle NE6 4PF and also at Sycamore, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland SR2 0NB. See below for directions.

• Benfield House, Newcastle
The CAT Service is located at Benfield House on the Walkergate Hospital site, Benfield Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. If you have an appointment please come to Reception at the main entrance of the building. This site is Pay and Display parking. Disabled parking and access is available.

Benfield House is a short walk from Walkergate Metro Station. Enter the Walkergate Park Hospital site and follow the road/pathway straight ahead to the top of the site. Benfield House is the last building on the right. Car parking is available on site at Benfield House.

• Sycamore, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland SR2 0NB
The nearest bus stop is very close to Hopewood Park, situated just before the foot bridge. Contact Nexus Traveline for further travel information: Tel: 0871 200 22 33
Website: www.traveline.info/

The following buses run regularly from Park Lane, Sunderland.
60 (Parkside) Go Northeast
61 (Murton) Go Northeast
23/23A (Hartlepool) Arriva
31 (Darlington) Arriva
31A (Middlesbrough) Arriva

At the roundabout near the red bus stops take the road toward the hospital site. On the left up the road is the Ambulance Station (red brick building). Take the second left and the building on your right is Sycamore Psychotherapy Department.

If travelling by car, car parking is available in Sycamore which is the next building on the left hand side as you travel up to Ryhope.

There is a small amount of Pay and Display parking. There is more parking further up the road on the left which is also Pay and Display.

The CAT service is comprised of multidisciplinary professionals, all of whom have completed additional specialist training and qualifications in the psychotherapeutic model of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT). Our staff are from a range of professional backgrounds such as clinical psychology, mental health nursing and counselling, with experience working in varied mental health settings.

As part of the required training to become a CAT Practitioner/Psychotherapist, your therapist will have completed at least an additional two years training, including their own personal therapy. In CAT, we believe this to be important in helping us to be an effective therapist for you. We recognise that relational patterns are dynamic and as such it is important that therapists are aware of their own patterns and procedures, so that they can help you to begin recognising your own. All therapists attend regular clinical supervision to ensure the quality and safety of their CAT work.

The service offers placements to therapists undertaking CAT training. These are experienced mental health professionals who are undertaking further training in CAT. If you are offered an appointment with a trainee CAT practitioner, you can be assured that their work is closely supervised by a senior therapist, under the same ethical guidelines as the rest of the service.

As part of the Centre for Specialist Psychological Therapies (CSPT) we primarily offer individual psychological therapy. We also undertake psychological assessments, use CAT in helping other mental health staff to work effectively, and train staff to deliver CAT.

The service covers the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear locality including Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. People are referred to the CAT service by their GP or Care Coordinator, or another professional involved in their care. We do not accept self-referrals and encourage people to speak to their GP or other professional such as a Clinical Coordinator, who can refer direct. Referrers can contact us for our referral pack via the contact details below, following which referrals will be considered for suitability. Referrers are advised to contact the CAT Clinical Coordinator for an informal discussion before referral.

Anything you share during assessment or treatment is treated with discretion, and your therapist will discuss the boundaries of confidentiality with you. You can find more on how we manage information in this leaflet

• What is CAT? leaflet
• Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy
This website has a very useful introduction to CAT which anyone can access, plus information on how to find an accredited CAT therapist.
• Self Help Book Change for the Better, Elizabeth Wilde McCormick (2017, 5th Edition), Published by Sage, London.

The CAT Service contact number can be found at the end of this leaflet. You can contact the team by ringing during opening hours, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm or by email: [email protected].
If you need to speak to someone outside of these times in case of emergency, you can contact:
• Your GP
• The Trust’s Initial Response or crisis teams. If you live in:
– Cumbria call 0300 123 9015 or 0800 652 2865
– Newcastle or Gateshead call 0191 814 8899 or 0800 652 2863
– North Tyneside or Northumberland call 0303 123 1146 or 0800 652 2861
– South Tyneside or Sunderland call 0303 123 1145 or 0800 652 2867
• Accident and Emergency at your local hospital
• NHS 111 – open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
• The Samaritans – 116 123 (24 hours)

If you already receive support from mental health services you should have a care plan. This will include details of who you should call in a crisis.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) also provide a free, confidential NHS advice and support service during office hours:
• North of Tyne – Freephone 0800 032 02 02 (9am – 4.30pm)
• South of Tyne – Freephone 0800 328 4397 (9am – 5pm)

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:
• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website www.cntw.nhs.uk (click on the ‘Contact Us’ tab)
• telephone the Complaints Department 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected] Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk
• We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.
You can provide feedback in the following ways:
– the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at
www.cntw.nhs.uk/poy
– complete a Points of You survey, available from staff.

Sessions are held at either Benfield House, Newcastle or Sycamore, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland.

Please contact us at:
Cognitive Analytic Therapy Service
Centre for Specialist Psychological Therapies
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Benfield House
Walkergate Park
Benfield Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 4PF
Tel: 0191 287 6100
Email: [email protected]
Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2023 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ref, PIC/699/0923 Setepmbetr 2023 V7
www.cntw.nhs.uk Tel: 0191 246 7288
Review date 2026