ABSTRACT
From the early theoretical developments of the late 1970s, Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) has matured into a form of time-limited psychotherapy that draws together a range of ideas from psychoanalytic, cognitive and personal construct theory. I. Duigan & S. F. Mitzman reported the use of CAT techniques applied in a group format to the treatment of a heterogeneous patient group drawn from a psychiatric outpatient population. CAT is founded on this specific model of learning that describes how the client internalises portable, psychological ‘tools’ to understand, reflect upon and negotiate the developmental tasks of life and relationships. Projective identification is another important process which underpins transference and counter-transference responses during therapy, and its conceptualisation within the CAT model is an important facet of clinical practice. The overarching aim of forensic psychotherapy is to help offenders understand, and take responsibility for, their actions in order to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
