Cognitive–analytic therapy

Cognitive–analytic therapy (CAT) is a brief focal therapy informed by cognitive therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy and certain developments in cognitive psychology. It was developed by Anthony Ryle specifically in response to the needs of the National Health Service (NHS) for treatment approaches of short duration. However, it has advanced far beyond its initial aims and is now a well-developed self-contained methodology backed by a fully structured theory of mental functioning and therapeutic change. Initially, CAT concerned itself with the treatment of neurotic disorders, and it was in this context that the early theoretical and technical elements were established (Ryle, 1990, 1995a). For the past 10 years CAT has turned its attention to the treatment of personality disorders, specifically borderline personality disorder. The need to understand and treat people with this disorder has had a major impact on the theory and practice of CAT (Ryle, 1997). In particular, CAT incorporated ideas derived from both object relations theory and the work of Vygotsky (the Russian psychologist who founded activity theory (Ryle, 1991)).