Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is an integrative, time-limited psychological therapy that helps people understand the patterns in their thinking, feeling, and relating — and where those patterns came from. It is particularly suited to personality difficulties, complex presentations, and people who want to understand themselves more deeply.
Our registered psychologists in Melbourne offer CAT-informed therapy across four clinic locations and via Telehealth.
WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.
CAT was developed by Anthony Ryle in the UK as an integration of cognitive-behavioural and psychoanalytic approaches. CAT helps clients identify and understand the repetitive patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating — called Reciprocal Roles and Procedural Sequences — that cause ongoing difficulties (Ryle & Kerr, 2002).
CAT is particularly suited to:
CAT is distinctive in several ways:
CAT is recommended in UK NICE guidelines as a treatment option for BPD and produces significant improvements in complex presentations (Ryle & Kerr, 2002).
CAT identifies and describes the core problematic patterns — the Reciprocal Roles and Target Problem Procedures — in a clear, collaborative formulation. By making the implicit explicit — naming and mapping patterns that were previously automatic and unconscious — CAT creates the possibility of revision and change (Ryle & Kerr, 2002).
CAT produces change by:
CAT produces significant improvements in symptoms, self-understanding, and relational functioning in complex presentations (Ryle & Kerr, 2002).
CAT at The Talk Shop follows the standard model:
Early sessions involve a thorough exploration of personal history, current difficulties, and relational patterns. The therapist writes a reformulation letter — a compassionate narrative description of the client’s patterns and their origins — which is shared with the client and refined together.
A visual map — the Sequential Diagrammatic Reformulation (SDR) — is co-created, showing how early experiences produced Reciprocal Roles and how these are re-enacted in current difficulties and relationships. The diagram becomes a shared reference point throughout therapy.
The central therapy work: learning to recognise problematic patterns as they occur — in sessions and in daily life — and practising alternative responses. The therapeutic relationship provides a live context for this learning.
The ending of CAT is therapeutically significant — processed explicitly and used as an opportunity for a corrective experience of loss and transition. Both therapist and client write goodbye letters reflecting on the work.
CAT is typically 16–24 sessions. The time-limited structure is intentional and therapeutic — not a constraint.
Your first appointment explores your history, current difficulties, and goals. We will discuss whether CAT is the most appropriate approach for your presentation.
CAT involves collaborative, active participation — including reading letters, contributing to the diagram, and home reflection between sessions.
CAT is a structured time-limited therapy — typically 16 sessions. We discuss the ending from the beginning.
We offer appointments in-clinic at our Mooroolbark, Wheelers Hill, Reservoir, and Melbourne CBD locations, as well as Telehealth sessions from anywhere in Australia.
WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.
Is CAT the same as CBT?
No. While both are structured, evidence-based therapies, CBT focuses on changing specific thoughts and behaviours, while CAT focuses on understanding and revising the underlying relational patterns — the Reciprocal Roles — that produce a range of difficulties. CAT incorporates psychoanalytic and relational concepts not present in standard CBT.
Is CAT available on Medicare?
Yes. CAT delivered by a registered psychologist is covered under Medicare-rebated items via a Mental Health Care Plan.
Is CAT suitable for personality disorders?
Yes. CAT is particularly recommended for personality difficulties, BPD, and complex presentations with a strong relational component. It is one of the few explicitly evidence-based therapies designed for these presentations.
Understanding where your patterns come from is the first step to changing them. CAT can help.
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Ryle, A., & Kerr, I. B. (2002). Introducing cognitive analytic therapy: Principles and practice. Wiley.
