ABSTRACT
Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a time-limited integrative psychotherapy developed in London by Dr Anthony Ryle at St Thomas's and Guy's Hospitals over the last three decades. Developed as a primarily individual psychotherapy, CAT has now been applied to couples, groups and as a systemic tool, and has developed a reputation for containing and helping people with more severe self-destructive and self-harming behaviours. Cognitive analytic therapy combines elements of the two major influences on modern-day psychological therapies: cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Older people are more likely than younger people to have some form of disability. Disability generally cannot be seen as a hindrance to receiving psychotherapy. CAT has the flexibility to present material and engage the older person using verbal dialogue, prose writing, and diagrammatic and nonverbal techniques, allowing adaptation to sensory impairment or language difficulty.
